Changes
“Change always comes bearing gifts.”Price PritchettA change is as good as a rest they say. Recently I needed to take a short break from the botanical art and blogging, and take time out to catch up with my life.Change is good. It gives you a
Bees and Butterflies
African Monarch butterfly © Shevaun Doherty"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned"Peter MarshallSummer is here, and as I write this, I’m sitting in my garden, bathed in sunshine, surrounded by flowers and the steady hum of bumblebees. Every now and then a butterfly flits between
Bloom 2015
Red dates Phoenix dactylifera, GOLD MEDAL ©Shevaun Doherty 2013The difference between TRY and TRIUMPH is a little UMPH.~AnonymousI am walking around with a grin that would do the Cheshire Cat proud. This has been a bit of a rollercoaster year for me, but this week, all the hard
In praise of the Daisy
“The flower doesn’t dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes.”Mark Nepo I have always loved daisies, Bellis perennis . There’s just something so bright, cheerful and positively defiant about them. So I jumped at the chance to do a small painting of daisies for a
Laburnum Revisited
“Be Patient.Respond to every call that excites your spirit.” RumiPatience is an attribute that every botanical artist needs to have. Choosing to paint from life means that we are very much at the whims of nature, constantly marking the seasons and watching the weather. It’s
V is for Vellum
Buff tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris, on kelmscott vellum“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”Winston ChurchillWhere has the time gone? I can hardly believe that it’s been over two weeks since my last blog post but recently I