**PARADISE FOUND**

'Paradise found' is what I call my garden as it wasn't of my creation, but one that
came with my house. So beautifully laid out in an unconventional manner. It provides a little bit of wildness to attract the birds, butterflies, moles, bees, beetles and spiders and all kinds of creatures. Throughout the year my garden grows with drifts of colour, of the Gertrude Jekyll cottage garden style which I can see from my sun room studio. How could I not be inspired with all this beauty?

Some of my friends view me as a wildlife artist because they have seen all the pictures I've drawn and painted of birds, flowers, animals and insects, but for me these subjects are about working from life to become a better painter in terms of technique. Working from life means that I'm thinking about the light sources, the interplay of colour and shade, texture and patterns, and developing a keen eye for observation. The other thing about my art, is that I have no ONE type of material to use, sometimes the subject matter cries out to be painted in watercolour whereas another would be better in pastels. You will become aware over time how diverse my range of materials used truly is.

As you can see, I've added some photos taken in 'paradise found' and I must own up to also working from my photos, as well as directly from life, but more often it's a combination of both.