Bluebells – my bit of countryside in the city

Bluebells. I didn’t plant them – they just… arrived. What I’ve always loved about them, apart from that earthy, petally scent on a woodland walk, is their almost-purple. Drawing them, I notice deep blue too, where flower joins stem. Dark stamens show off zingy pollen. Green takes on mauve in stem … Read More

Reporting from an urban garden

This is the launch month for Dispatches from a Small World so I give you… the whole garden! I’ve been drawing all of it periodically, when I spot something new. I notice what dusk does to the greens, how snow highlights the kind of garden it is – and at … Read More

On drawing in the rain

You’ll find me drawing a lot of tulips at this time of year and these, which I’m growing for the first time, do that wonderful thing in nature of no two flowers, or leaves, being of the same stripe, which, I always think, tells us something about beauty. But that’s … Read More

Garden colour, garden ink

I plant daffs in my garden and then the prevailing wind blows them over – so finally, after years of this happening, I’ve planted tiny narcissi instead. I never really thought about the subtleties of their shape until I started drawing them. They vary hugely, from centres like pleated skirts to … Read More