Catching Up!

Oh dear I have been neglecting my blog lately!  Have got quite a bit of catching up to do which I'll try and do over a few posts, I'll start with our fabulous trip to the Isle of Skye - we went there camping for a week at the beginning of July - the weather wasn't as hot as it has been in the rest of the country but lovely and warm for Skye and it stayed dry which was great.  The wildlife watching was a big disappointment though - we had hoped to see White tailed sea eagles, otters, deer and golden eagles - we were lucky enough to spot a couple of golden eagles far off but none of the others despite paying for a guided wildlife tour and going on an organised boat trip where they feed the sea eagles - but sadly they weren't cooperating on the trip we went on.  We staked out a couple of known areas for otters - but no luck there either - I actually fell asleep at one point and just asked Gary to give me a nudge if he saw anything!  So while sitting in the tent one night I thought I'd just paint an otter instead - this was done in the tent and I've been intending to finish it since I've been home but not got round to it yet!

Another painting that is sitting on the easel waiting to be completed is this one of a siskin and goldfinch, from photos by Gary taken at the Dyfi Osprey project.

I'm still debating whether I should add a bit of a background to this, so any suggestions welcome!

A bit of good news to end this post - one of the paintings I entered into the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art was accepted and it sold within a few days!  I was thrilled to bits to have been accepted as it's supposed to be a difficult one to get into but to sell as well was fantastic!  Here is the painting, it's of some greylags in flight - quite loose as you can see

 - I have to tell you that when I rang my dad to let him know it had sold he said 'Really? I didn't think it was that good!'  - he doesn't really like my looser style and prefers realistic paintings.  For anyone who loves wildlife and loves art and who lives locally to the Wirral, get yourself down to Gordale Garden Centre as the exhibition is well worth a look - 400 paintings and sculptures to drool over  - it can also be viewed online HERE.

I'm off to browse through your lovely blogs now - sorry I've not been around and I know I'll have missed loads, have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back soon with some piccies from the Isle of Skye.