News

Discovered this week that I've been awarded the Royal Entomological Society/Marsh Award for Insect Conservation. I did'nt see that one coming and I'm overwhelmed. What tickles me is that much of the insect conservation I pursue is of a fairly unconventional nature. Where it is possible, I like to side-step the beauracracy associated with formal nature conservation and force my data and enthusiasm on the key people who can make a difference on the ground. I guess this award recognises that there are different ways to crack a nut, and even nutcases like me get it right sometimes.

Aside from this, I'm putting huge numbers of hours into my growing Flickr site. I've found an on-line vehicle for my photos and information that could have been designed for me. I adore it. Thanks Yahoo! Watch the site grow, gasp at the beauty of some of the plants and animals it features and enjoy some of the special features like the Hedgerow Surveying section under British Habitats. Louis (my 7-year old) now has his own Flickr area within my site. He takes some astonishing photos, and I've put the best in his folder. Spring is now firmly here and I've been doing lots of photography, but not much hard surveying yet. I have a major Oil-see Rape study to do in April & May and need some decent spells of weather.

Eleven PDF reports have been placed on the website today in the Publications section including lots of stuff on Warwickshire trees and some entomological reports and papers. There are also new links to my LinkedIn account (essentially an on-line CV) on the 'About' page and a link to my fledgling Flickr Pro account on the 'Photographs' page. A few gorgeous photos by my son, Louis, here. He was only 6 at the time, playing around with one of my spare cameras. Taking some more artwork to the printers tommorrow. Should be available within a fortnight

I’ve placed some limited edition prints on my website that can be purchased immediately from existing stock. By the end of 2012 there should be a considerably bigger range. I will also be building up my Flickr site to showcase the massive natural history image library I hold. It is strong across many wildlife groups, but for bees, wasps, flies and trees, it is one of the finest in the country and has taken many years to develop. A number of my on-line PDF publications are also available here. Forthcoming ones include ‘Flies of the Sussex Downs’ and ‘Flies of the New Forest Mires’. Not as esoteric as they might sound, because flies form a huge proportion of the biodiversity of these internationally important areas, so (from a nature conservation stand-point) you ignore them at your peril. The reports will be lavishly illustrated with photos and written in plain-English, wherever possible!

Two big things happened to me in 2011. I was made redundant, and having then taken on a painting commission to re-ignite my career as a wildlife artist, I realised that my eyesight had deteriorated so badly, I could not do it! The only distance at which my eyes work normally now is computer-screen distance. Fortunately, I then discovered that I have lots of beautiful original artwork from years gone by and much of it has never been given a proper airing. Having not looked at much of it for years, I was really amazed at what I’d produced – but the paintings look strangely like somebody else did them. I’m stunned by the detail in some of them and the way challenges such as strange textures or metallic colours have been tackled. Youthful naivety and fearlessness has its good points. Maybe with some better glasses I might one day manage to create some more. But for the time being I want to share the ones that already exist. A big thanks to Ed Phillips for helping me to set up this website and for being so positive and encouraging. I am paying him back in prints!