It’s October – but just as I expect to be drawing all things Autumnal, the garden gives me fresh flowers.
The ivy is alive with bees and wasps. Interested mostly in the top flowers, they let me snip off a sprig to draw, its yellows needing the glow of a highlighter.
The hydrangea has some heads still in bud, flowers opening lime green, petals just starting to blush pink when fully out. The buds and flower centres are arranged in plump quarters, like tiny string-wrapped parcels.
The sedum, a plant stall find, is flowering late, cheeky little star flowers waving sparkly pink stamens from the dark of a flower bed.
Out in late afternoon, my internal clock still set to late Summer, I’ve found myself sketching quickly, racing the light. I finish these three just as the day tells me it’s tea time so I give my paint water to a thirsty plant and scoop up my brushes, pens and palettes, back now in the kitchen waiting for the next garden story.
Ballpen, watercolour, fineliner and highlighter on waste paper.
I’ve been illustrating some bigger habitats for 26 Habitats, a project by writers’ organisation 26 with The Wildlife Trusts, now on to its second part, 26 Pledges. There's a Q&A on my work here.
New in my Teemill shop, seed sketches printed to order on cosy long-sleeved garments and delivered in plastic-free packaging.