July

Another time warp - July almost over. I know they say that as you get older - time goes more quickly but this is ridiculous! In my defense I have been pre-occupied with a project in July but that is really no excuse. We went to Hastings and walked through beautiful Hastings Country Park to Fairlight Glen where all the little grottos and waterfalls were Victorian attractions. On the way home we made it up Firle Beacon - Finn loved it!

Apart from that I have been walking and photographing as usual, picking raspberries, picnicking in the heather up at Bignor Park, tending my garden.

Picking samphire, swimming in the sea, walking around pagham harbour, watching the starlings and generally making the most of summer.

Missing

I can't believe I've missed over a whole month on here and I really don't know what I've been doing! We've just come back from South Devon and it was Finn's second holiday. He was a good boy and we spent the days walking along the beautiful River Dart, sketching and just sitting taking in the wonderful British countryside at my favourite time of year. 

beach clean community

I had a wonderful surprise the other day when I was contacted by 2minutebeachclean to say they were sending me a present. It was a lovely piece of jewellery made by the talented staceypumpkin who donated several necklaces made from driftwood and freshwater pearls. It's hard to put into words what pleasure this has given me - to be picked and to wear the necklace. I enjoy the beach cleaning and consider it to be something we should all do without thinking - the people behind 2minutebeachclean work continuously to put the message across in a lighthearted and fun way - even though the problem of plastic pollution and all the rubbish left on our beaches can be so upsetting. What an amazing community it is.

Pics of rubbish collected on Bognor beach, lost shoes at Bracklesham, me with my necklace, Finn enjoying the sea breeze and some of the weird finds I collect.

Blossom

I can feel Spring in the air - even though it is colder than it's been all Winter ... the end is in sight .. 

Finn update

What a wonderful dog Finn is becoming. He's really settled in to our life now and seems to be very happy in his new routine. He's very loving and obviously up for all the walking that is expected of him.

It was Gra's birthday last week so we spent the day out walking, beachcombing, collecting and photographing. Plus a bit of eating and drinking too - the perfect day. Below are pictures of paint on the bottom of boats.

East Head at Wittering was very stormy but beautiful. I did a #2minutebeachclean and in the picture of the sand you can see the tiny pieces of plastic littering the beach - all the black and white bits are plastic too. They can be found all along the sand dunes now and this shocks me every time I see it. I also collected some shells and seaweed to draw.

Beachcombing

Walking along the beach, collecting things is one of my pleasures. Even picking up rubbish on a #2minutebeachclean is enjoyable for me! Here is my collection from the last beachcombing walk at Pagham beach - the inspiration too behind my latest illustration.

Winter

I don't love winter but I'm glad to live in a country with definite seasons. In nature colours, plants and light change dramatically to give a totally different atmosphere which means there's always something new to see and to inspire me.

Here is my mood board inspiration for the last illustration - woodland collection.

Woodland collection

Inspired by looking at the forest floor on my walks and collecting everything I see (which is becoming a bit of a problem in my house!) I've now drawn everything and put it together in a kind of pattern. 

Forest floor

All the walking I do with Finn gives me so much inspiration. Here's my first illustration of the year - inspired by seeing leaves on the forest floor during a walk in the Rewell Wood. I usually do a black and white ink drawing in my book and then colour it and play around with the layout later. Oh the wonders of computers!
© nicky linzey 2016

2016

Happy 2016 - very late but better late than never, I'm hoping this will be a good year. We had lots of lovely walks over Christmas - I actually managed a beach clean on Christmas Day but the most important news of all is Finn's first anniversary. Unbelievable that he's been with us a year now. We had a little family party for him - it was important for my sister to be there as she found him for us. He was the centre of attention and loved all the fuss!