Buglife sell my prints on auction site to raise funds.

Buglife is the only organisation who supports conservation causes for invertebrates...and so are a group after my own heart!! http://www.buglife.org.uk/

 



As such, last year, I donated a collection of my insect prints to sell on their website. Each one sold for £70.00 each and all proceeds went to Buglife.

There are still a few left!!!!....... Buglife have now placed the remaining prints on the "Giving Lots" website. This is a great site where you can buy or bid for special items...and all of the proceeds go to charitable causes. If you care about invertebrates and want to support Buglife, please click below and bid/buy... http://www.givinglots.co.uk/charities/Buglife%20-%20The%20Invertebrate%20Conservation%20Trust

This is one of the prints still available to buy..."Having a Drink" 

 

I love supporting and working with Buglife.....They are a great team of people who all work so hard to help preserve our smallest, but most important life forms.....our invertebrates.

 

Buglife Members' Day and AGM 20th April 2013

 

My prints and greetings cards will be on sale at their Members' Day too and after that, a selection of my greetings cards will be sold on their website on a more permanent basis, to raise funds. 

 

 

I have joined the "Wildlife Art Company"!!

I am over the moon!!..... I have just joined, what I consider to be the mecca for my type of artwork......the Wildlife Art Company!!  http://www.wildlifeartcompany.com/cath_hodsman.php

 

 

Mark Cawardine, BBC Zoologist, the agency's founder identified an increasing demand for top quality wildlife and natural-history illustrations that were scientifically accurate, as well as beautiful, for organisations like Collins Field Guides, Natural History Museums, and so on. The Wildlife Art Company seeks to meet this demand.

 

The agency showcases work from 60 or so, wildlife artists from across the world. The work is incredibly diverse. You can view beautiful illustrations.............anything from fish to fossils...

 

 

 

When completed, I will have 15 images with WAC and I can't wait to see what challenges, being part of this fab group of international artists will bring. This is one of the images from my selection.....one of my favourite paintings and best sellers, "Beautiful British Bees"   http://www.cathhodsmanwildlifeartist.com/2012/12/british-bee-paintings/

 

 







My wild meadow project!

As a wildlife and natural history artist, I love wildlife gardening. Both my husband and myself believe that it is so is important in order to help maintain healthy ecosytems. It is also a fab way of attracting beautiful wildlife into the garden that make great painting subjects. It is a win-win situation for me!!........

We have an area in the garden that is largely redundant, so we are planning to plant a wildmeadow. We want it to look great and also to attract much more wildlife into the garden, especially insects, such as butterflies. This is the area in question. Work will start in march, with the purchase of wild flower seeds and plants and ground preparation.

If you have even a small area in your garden, it is a great project to consider for everyone who cares about preserving wildlife. At the moment we are at the research stage. I have found an amazing website that secialises in wildflower seeds and plugs. It gives useful info on what insects love them and when and how to plant them....a must for someone looking to do this for the first time. The wesbite is  Naturescape.co.uk

So far we have learn that to start with you need to include certain plants that supress the aggressive growth of grasses. These semi-parasitic plants grow on the roots of grasses stopping their rampant spread, and thereby allowing meadow flowers to get established. Such plants include "Eyebright", "Lousewort" and "Yellow Rattle". A couple of which are sold on Naturescape's website.
We have also learnt that with poor soil, which is what we have, it is best to plant perennial wildflowers, so we are on the hunt for those, that also provide nectar and look great too. Flowers, like the Oxeye Daisy and Rosebay Willowherb and Common Toadflax.

We have decided not to take the grass off, but inject holes into the lawn and insert seeds and also plant plugs. We know that we already have some lovely wild flowers in the lawn in this part of the garden. So, it will be a case of allowing them to grow to their full height and then to just keep an eye the rampant weeds, such as thistle and nettle....even though we will allow some to stay, as they provide foods for peacock butterly larvae and the thistles provide seeds for goldfinches.

The meadow will take a few years to become established, but it will be a real labour of love for myself and my husband.....watch this space!!!.......
 

A fab week as Artist in Residence at Nature in Art

 I had such a wonderful time as Artist in Residence at Nature in Art.

The studio is so light and so airy, with plenty of room to hang work and showcase other things, such as prints and greetings cards.....

I had such wonderful chats to lovely like-minded people, about wildlife, insects, conservation, art, photography...even the war!!

It is like one big family there. The Nature in Art team are so friendly and accommodating......I did think about staging a sit-in and refusing to leave!!

I met people of all ages. So lovely and refreshing to see that there are still so many people who genuinely care about, and are interested in, our natural world.......
In fact, I did so much chatting that I didn't get much painting done on my "Spectrum" project. This is it so far.......Pleased with how things are going on it and am hoping it should look effective when it is finished.....

Am already looking forward to my next AiR at Nature in Art. In the interim, will be working on an insect painting course that I hope to run there also. There was so much enthusiasm from people that I look forward spending more time with entomological/painting fans. Will keep you posted vis-a-vis dates.

For more information about this wonderful venue in Glos, click on this link.  http://www.nature-in-art.org.uk/