Stitch and twirl

I spend a lot of time apologising to spiders at this time of year, their carefully-spun webs across the garden wrecked by one galumphing human. This week, I got to appreciate some of their handiwork without breaking it – two lavender seed heads stitched together, here, with a passing hoverfly.

The wild sweet peas have had craft of their own to show off, pinging out their seeds and twirling the pods. And as they dry, the leaves have transformed into fine green-ochre-tan stripes, like a 1950s textile. I brought watercolour pencils into service for these, to add texture.

As summer blends into to Autumn, with big themes of warming light and shifting colours, drawing has shown me seasonal treasures that are subtle, and no less beautiful.

I’ve been illustrating some bigger habitats for 26 Habitats, a project by writers’ organisation 26 with The Wildlife Trusts. There's a Q&A on my work here.