Rain and Wild Roses.

Anyone who has visited the UK recently will testify to the remarkable amount of rainfall we have had. Our "green and pleasant lands" rely on the rainfall but it would be good if it would fall only when we are sleeping!

I often get asked where I get my inspiration from, something every creative person must have been asked at some point. Some artists carry sketch books and make notes of inspiring subjects to refer to at a later date; to be honest I have never been able to work in a sketchbook. I find it too inhibiting, instead I prefer to surround myself with images, books, prints, photographs, objects from the natural world - all help in the creative process. By far the most inspiring thing for me to do is to simply walk and look. As I lead a fairly sedentary life I find that walking is essential and I gain great benefit from being surrounded by woodland, wild flowers, birdsong, insect life etc. Whenever I walk I try to take my little pocket sized camera with me. The painting of wild dog roses (above) was inspired by walking and observing a favourite footpath near my home in Cheshire. I probably took about fifty or so images of bees, trees, roses in order to create the painting back in my studio.

I am so fortunate to have a choice of footpaths close to my home. This one is a disused railway line once used to transport goods to the nearby potteries in Stoke-on-Trent. It is now maintained as a nature reserve, popular with walkers but also with the various wildlife that call it home. We have all kinds of native trees and wild flowers. At the moment it is the turn of the dog roses and cow parsley, each plant puts on a show lasting no more than a few weeks before it is superseded by another species. I think the transient nature adds to the attraction of the walk, each visit brings something new to see; a new birdsong to hear, a new insect to discover.

The beneficial effects of walking in nature is something that has been known for centuries by many different people. The Japanese call it "forest bathing", perhaps forest breathing would also be an apt description. The dictionary definition of "Inspire" is "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something creative", perhaps it is no coincidence that there is a simpler definition- "an act of drawing in, especially of air into the lungs". So the next time you find that you are in need of inspiration, get your coat on, pick up your umbrella and breathe in the inspiration that nature so freely provides.

If you would like a copy of my wild roses print you can find it here in my Etsy shop Acornmoon.

Moving on.

January proved to be a very difficult month, fraught with ill health, bereavement and ill fortune. I would never want to wish my life away but I have to say that I am glad to move forward into February. The slight increase in daylight hours, the sound of a blackbird singing, the possibility of catching sight of a kingfisher, sunlight on snow, all have the effect of lifting the spirits and quickening the step.

There has been some very encouraging news regarding the sales of "Can it be True?", you can read about it here in The Bookseller. There may also be new opportunities for those of you who write for the seven to eleven age group, read more in the article.

You may have been aware of the controversy surrounding Oxford University Press who have decided to drop nature words like acorn and buttercup in favour of app and blog. In fact around 50 nature words are to be axed as they are considered to be no longer relevant to today's children. You can read more about it here-

I believe that nature will always be important but technology is too. Why not teach your children about acorns on an app or buttercups on your blog? In "Down the Lane" I have attempted to do both. I will always love actual books but I also enjoy sharing stories and pictures on my iPad. I am sure this has done my grandson no harm whatsoever as I overheard him saying that he wants to be an author/illustrator when he grows up!

You can see for yourself what advantages there are in a book made interactive here.

and all for less than the price of a cup of tea!

National Storytelling Week.

This week is National Storytelling Week here in the UK. To celebrate my book “Down the Lane” has been made one of the featured stories of the week within StoriesAlive. This is a free to download app, which enables you to try out several free stories for children. If you and your children like this way of reading and sharing you can choose to subscribe. I am told that “Down the Lane” will be available free for the month of February.



I wrote and illustrated this book many years ago. Happy Cat Books first published it as a hardback and a paperback here in the UK and I have plans to add it to my Acornmoon book list. Speaking of which, the files for “White is the Moon” have just gone off to the printers so we should be able to offer both print and digital forms of the book in the next couple of months.



The weather here in Cheshire has been very wet and windy but not nearly as bad as other parts of the country. Today has been bright and breezy; I decided to see if I could find any celandines in flower. My February illustration in “Down the Lane” features these delightful shiny yellow wild flowers with blackbirds and a sleeping dormouse. There are blackbirds a plenty in the fields and here in my garden, no flowers yet on the celandines but plenty of glossy green leaves. I also found a beautiful skeleton leaf, which has survived the winter intact.



I have spent the long winter evenings finishing my crochet baby blanket. The photograph makes it look very out of shape; I don’t think it was so out of kilter in reality. By the way, I found out how to make these crochet squares on Little Tin Bird.



My hyacinth finally flowered and its perfume is a welcome reminder of spring days to come.



Ted has been feeling the cold and has taken to wearing his coat on long wet and windy walks. Now he is getting older (fourteen this July) he enjoys finding a sunny spot, preferably with a view. Isn’t it strange the way Jack Russell’s like a window seat. I wonder what tales he would tell?

And the winner is....

Thanks so much to everyone who entered into the Easter Egg Giveaway. I have enjoyed reading all of your comments and was so intrigued by your answers to the question “What would you like to find inside your perfect Easter egg?”

We had chocolates, candy, acorns, shells, jelly beans, memories, plane tickets, wild flower seeds, silken thread, goji berries, tea, a tiny cookie, mini eggs, sunshine, signs of spring, a fluffy baby chick, jelly belly favourites, biscuits, cake, paper wrapped hearts, fluffy chicks and last but not least, a lost wedding ring! I was astounded by your creativity, what clever answers you came up with. I hope I have not left anybody out.

All of the above are worthy winners, however I had to choose just one, mmm….
In the end I decided to let fate do the choosing, so the winner as picked by the random number generator is Judy at CJ Stitching and Blooms. So Judy, if you would kindly email me your postal address my little ducklings will prepare themselves for their long flight across the ocean.

The above illustration is taken from my book "Down the Lane", it depicts a blackbird sitting on our hawthorn hedge. If you live in Britain you will be familiar with this adorable, gentle bird with its sweet, melodic singing. We have many blackbirds visiting our garden, they are permanent residents and as I gaze out of my window right now I can see them hopping about looking for worms. The older I get the more appreciative I am of living in a place where bird song fills the air. It is the one thing that I miss the most when I visit inner city London. I will try to get myself organized soon to show you something of our latest trip to the London galleries and museums but right now duty calls. I am busy working on a new Christmas collection for Makower and I have a meeting tomorrow so I better get a move on.

Bookshop Treasures Unearthed.

In an effort to make a little bit of much needed space, I decided to venture where no cleaning lady has gone before, that’s right the spare room. (Under the bed in the spare room to be precise). To my amazement I stumbled upon a box of my books, previously published but now out of print children’s picture books.

I sometimes get asked for these titles so I have taken the plunge and opened up yet another shop, this one run by Big Cartel, so far so good. I have placed my very limited and probably unrepeatable stock of three titles of children’s books here. You can see these in my sidebar. The books are signed and I am offering them at their original price. They are “Down the Lane”, “The Acorn’s Story” and “Where’s my Share?”

“Down the Lane” is a hardback book and was printed in quite a small edition run, maybe collectable one day, who knows? These “Down the Lane” titles are first edition, signed copies and when they are gone they are gone!

And now, where did I leave my duster?

PS, I have now fixed the shipping problem, the shop (that is me) will ship from my house (now a dust free zone!) to anywhere in the world. Sorry I got it wrong.

Harrogate Exhibition.

We drove over to Harrogate at the weekend to visit Mike Emeny from Books Illustrated, in order to pick up some old artwork and hand over some fresh pieces. Mike was exhibiting at the Harrogate Antiques Fair and was showing work by old and contemporary illustrators.There were pieces of original book illustration by Kate Greenaway, Annie French, Honor Charlotte Appleton as well as newer pieces by Yvonne Gilbert, Peter Malone and Charles Van Sandwyk to name just a few. I had one piece in this show, a painting of fungi, leaves and grasses painted in watercolour and taken from my book “Down the Lane”. You can just about spot it in the corner in the photograph.


One piece that caught my eye was by an artist called Una Woodruff, see the painting of the harp in the photograph, you can see it here in more detail by clicking on the link. Hours, weeks, months of painstaking work have gone into the creation of this modern masterpiece. I gazed in awe at the tiny feathers, butterflies wings, mosses and ivy leaves all painted with a dedication and mastery seldom seen today.


Our time was limited which was a shame as Harrogate is a very beautiful town but we wanted to make sure we had time to call in for a cuddle of this little chap.



On the way home a perfect harvest moon lit up the sky, all in all a beautiful day.



"When the moon hits Your eye
Like a big pizza pie
-that's amore."
Lyric by Jack Brooks (1953)

Whimsies and Wentworth wooden puzzles

Those of you who love doing jigsaw puzzles may be interested to know that Wentworth puzzles have included "sleeping hedgehog" in their latest Autumn Catalogue. Wentworth makes wooden jigsaws, which are rather unusual as they contain special “Whimsies” pieces. These are puzzle pieces cut into the shape of an object, for example a garden themed jigsaw would have some pieces cut in the shape of a garden tool, a plant, a gardener leaning on a spade etc. Nowadays these puzzles are cut by laser but in the past they were cut by using a jigsaw, what else? It took ages before I made that connection. The “whimsies” were so called because they were cut on a whim.

As jigsaw puzzles go, these are quite expensive items but they are made to last and should provide hours of pleasure to generations. Some of them even achieve a cult-like status and become collector’s items, changing hands for very high prices.

When I was a child I had a jigsaw puzzle, which had a picture of ice skaters in an ice rink. I have the image firmly fixed in my mind; I must have stared at each piece for so many hours on rainy afternoons. It was my job to collect together all the straight edged pieces, paying particular attention to those precious corner pieces. I loved those special times when my father, brother or sister would join in and finish a bit for me. I even remember the doctor calling by and helping! I wonder what became of that puzzle?

"Down the Lane" in March

"I saw the March hare racing
Trying to catch the breeze
And a clutch of speckled eggs
Cradled in ivy leaves."

extract from my book "Down the Lane"

We saw lots of hares doing exactly this last year in Scotland, I have to confess that I haven't seen any this year around these parts. There are however, hundreds of baby bunnies, a few primroses, daffodils and even a few bumblebees which is nice because without the bees there will be no flowers, or apples or pears, or beans...... sorry to be droning on.