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.

The start of new mini-adventures

I've been lost without a dog and it was so painful to lose Bill that I was unsure whether to get another one. But life was not the same and we had no companion to share our adventures with - then along came Finn. Last week we went over to East Sussex to walk part of the South Downs Way. It was a beautiful day - I get a real sense of freedom when walking in the countryside. We met a man who was out hunting with his Jack Russell and Harris Hawk, which Finn was really interested in. The bird would not move while he was around as another dog is apparently a threat to his pack - fascinating.

Jays

I've been fascinated by Jays since childhood and have found quite a lot of their blue stripey feathers over the years. To look down and see the bright blue feather on a muddy path is pretty exciting to me but as I've said before I don't think I get out enough! Lately several Jays have been landing in the tree outside our bedroom window and it has been my first sighting of the actual birds. I've always thought they kept away from people because they were very shy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for reading and a special thank you to everyone who comments. It's lovely to have some feedback and interaction, especially when working from home which can feel a bit lonely. Here's to a happy, healthy & creative 2015.

birds

Our garden is full of birds at the moment, starlings, sparrows, blue tits, goldfinches, blackbirds. They are going mad, flying in all directions collecting food for their babies and then when the babies fledge it's even more chaotic, the noise is intense too. Still it is very inspiring with all this going on as they are so funny to watch. 

I can't decide whether I prefer the more realistic colouring or the bright colouring - any preferences? This little goldfinch visits me every morning on the telephone wire outside my studio window, he's so sweet.

starlings

This is the first illustration I've done for a while and was inspired by these photos. We've had a lot of starlings in the garden recently, you either love them or hate them. I love them and they make me laugh, chattering away. They keep flying into our windows though, but as far as I'm aware none of them has been hurt.© 2013 nicky linzey

Easter

Hope everyone had a good Easter, we did a lot of walking and eating! From left to right: homemade pizza - mmm, beautiful green - euphorbia, woodland - my inspiration, soft blues - hydrangea, still needing a fire - so cold, arundel swan - brrr...

Whisper

Another commissioned illustration, this time the wedding had an Indian theme. I thought it was also suitable for illustration friday this week - 'whisper'.© 2013 nicky linzey

Robin redbreast

On a walk the other day we were followed about by this sweet little robin. I love seeing them and one always comes out to keep me company when I'm gardening.

Stop and stare 17

Murmuration -I love this word used for a collection of starlings. We finally went to Brighton at dusk to see them flying over West Pier. Unfortunately the light was not good enough to get a photograph of the thousands that eventually gathered, this was just the start. Everyone was stopping to stare as they danced round and round in the most beautiful formations, it was very moving. We stayed until it was so cold My Jack Russell was shivering and we had to go home. There were many other interesting sights too.

blown in from afar?

It was crowded at the harbour on Sunday - a beautiful day and excitement because Hurricane Sandy has apparently blown in a Hooded Merganser from North America. I had never heard of one before so I googled it and found this weird looking bird! I hope it is happy in England.

starlings

Apparently the British starling population is down by nearly 80% because of the change in their habitat and they are fighting for food with the invasion of the European starling. I still get a lot in my garden but am yet to see a murmuration of starlings - which I would love to do.  My grandmother hated them - she said they were greedy and took all the food from the little birds but I rather like them. There were about 12 on my yucca tree but by the time I'd found the camera there were only two left. I love that the pattern on the birds matches the blossom on the yucca.

A murmuration of starlings © nicky linzey 2011

Burst

Burst is the Illustration Friday theme this week. I had drawn the background and was going to put dragonflies as the burst of colour. Then on Saturday I saw a Kingfisher at the harbour - a sudden burst of blue and there he was - magical. I've only seen him once before - last year - so he's very elusive.
© 2012 nicky linzey

Hitched

I was recently commissioned to create an illustration to commemorate a wedding. The brief was: fairground memorabilia, birds, old fashioned teacups and a landscape. I must admit to feeling quite ill when I thought about how I could incorporate all these things. However once I started, the picture came together magically and I really enjoyed drawing it. So great too that I was given the chance to produce something with such unusual subject matter in the first place. It certainly stretched my brain a little lot - always a good thing!
Here's to Theresa and William who got 'hitched' last Monday.
For the Illustration Friday theme of 'hitched'.
© 2012 nicky linzey

Twitcher's paradise

There was a lot of excitement at the harbour on Saturday, all about a tiny bird who should have been in India. The Paddyfield Warbler was spotted thousands of miles off course!
At the top is my first experiment of drawing on an ipad and I'm addicted.
PS They weren't really looking in the wrong direction but I love the thought of the birds watching them instead.

Launch

It's the time of year when all the babies launch themselves into mid air - scary!
I couldn't decide upon the background - which one do you prefer?

© 2011 nicky linzey for illustration friday

Journey

They've arrived! It's always a special moment when we see the first house martins. And unbelievable to think they've travelled from Africa on those tiny wings.
I'm really on the last lap for Illustration Friday this week.
© 2011 nicky linzey for Illustration Friday

winter flight

As you can see I'm still in winter mode. It's ffffreezing here despite being the 2nd March. Swarm is the theme for Illustration Friday this week and I always thought it was only used for insects, however looking it up on wikipedia - it says 'collective behaviour exhibited by animals of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse or migrating in some direction'.
I took a photo on a frosty Boxing day morning of geese flying through the early morning sky which inspired this illustration.
© 2011 nicky linzey for illustration friday

Dusk

The evenings are definitely getting lighter now - Spring is just around the corner. I was hoping to get to Brighton this week, where the starlings put on a display at dusk but time is running out ... it's Wednesday already.

starlings in flight

I'm experimenting with my textured photo backgrounds behind these illustrations.

Have spent the morning in A&E - can't believe I've just kicked a wall and broken my toe. Accidentally not intentionally!