Another cute little bird on a teacup. This time it is a double-barred finch, one of our regular visitors, on a willow pattern tea cup. Willow pattern always makes me think of visiting my grandmother. Amongst the Toby Jugs and Staffordshire Dogs I am pretty sure she had a willow pattern dinner set… or maybe […]
Project Type: Birds
Nectar of the Gods: Scarlet Honeyeater 2016
For those non-teetotaller types I have produced a range of honeyeaters perched precariously on sherry/port glasses. After all, they like nothing better than a sweet aperitif… certainly sweet nectar anyway. This one features the stunningly beautiful and absolutely tiny scarlet honeyeater which we have only seen in our yard once. As you can imagine, I […]
Nectar of the Gods: Eastern Spinebill 2016
I’m sure that if this little eastern spinebill did want to indulge in some sort of alcoholic drink, his tipple of choice would certainly be a Mudgee port of some description… Who can resist the sweet nectar of the gods… Included in my Teatray in the Sky Exhibition Nectar of the Gods: Eastern Spinebill Watercolour […]
The Florist 2016
This painting is based on our lovely but naughty king parrots. We were sitting on the veranda watching the pretty birds as they bit the heads off our dahlia flowers and trampled them into the ground! They looked at us with their cute little naughty faces as if to say “aren’t I pretty, what are […]
Twitcher’s Tea Party 2015
When Artisan on Lewis held my last exhibition, Bird’s Eye View, in lieu of an opening we had a Twitcher’s Tea Party, complete with pots of tea, pretty cups and saucers and Angela’s famous scones with her amazing jams. It was a veritable feast for all the senses… and of course I took photos for […]
Duck Soup 2016
No, this painting is not about eating our locals, it is the title of my favourite Marx Brothers movie, Duck Soup! I guess my next painting should be Horse Feathers… If you have never seen a Marx Brothers movie I highly recommend it… that and Buster Keaton, but they don’t translate to well into bird […]
Easy To Swallow 2015
After having yum cha with friends at 29Nine99 in the historic town of Rylstone I became besotted with their beautiful teapot emblazoned with, you guessed it, sweet little birds, almost as much as their delicious dumplings! How could I use this as part of my new series of paintings “Not So Still Life” where I […]
Wattlebird with Waratah 2015
This is my largest watercolour to date. There is something quite exciting and daunting at the same time. What if I stuff it? Which is as always a very real possibility. Anyway, I took my time and I think it has come together nicely… if I say so myself. As sugar junkies the red wattlebirds […]
Boy Meets Girl 2015
Due to the success of the Redbubble greeting card of the same name which was just a mash up of two separate paintings of a boy wren and a girl wren (ahhh the joys of desktop publishing) I thought maybe I should paint an actual version of it, with boy wren meeting girl wren, of […]
Rainbow Bee Eaters 2015
Every Summer the Rainbow Bee Eaters fly down from warmer climes to nest in the banks of the Putta Bucca Wetlands, a reclaimed quarry just on the outskirts of Mudgee town. 80s makeup and hairstyles inspired by these pretty little birds. Rainbow Bee Eaters Watercolour on handmade 100% cotton paper Image size 21cm x 30cm […]
Party of Pardalotes 2015
Normally you just hear the local pardalotes but never see them. You can imagine my surprise when I stepped outside to see a ‘party’ of pardalotes just hanging out together. Luckily I had my camera with me… this little group of pardalotes have been the models for many of my little tiny paintings, I thought […]
Who’s a Pretty Boy? 2015
One of my favourite local birds. Sadly they do not visit our garden, yet, but I usually come across them in all the local wineries, the red-rumped parrot. What is so striking about them is how stunning the boys are compared to how drab the ladies look. She almost blended into the tree hollow they […]