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Marine and coastal wonders of Woollongong / Dharawal land

Marine and coastal wonders of Woollongong / Dharawal land

The tote bag design for the ESA's 2022 conference - inspired by some coastal and marine plants and animals of New South Wales, and Dharawal country in particular. I was really grateful to be asked once again by the Ecological Society of Australia to create a...

New ‘Gondwana Rainforest Birds’ tea towel design

New ‘Gondwana Rainforest Birds’ tea towel design

The new Gondwana Rainforest Birds tea towel design has just landed in the Paperbark Writer store. It features close-up ‘portraits’ of 15 native birds species found in the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area that spans parts of south east Queensland and north east...

A drawing is more than a photo

A drawing is more than a photo

How it all started. I saw a pair of peregrine falcons mating, and was compelled to jot down the sighting in a very simple way. A few weeks ago I started a daily drawing practice. Although I didn't realise it at the time. I just happened upon a pair of peregrine...

A new nature journal for the Taronga Western Plains Zoo!

A new nature journal for the Taronga Western Plains Zoo!

The lovely Kelly Pfeiffer - whose encouragement was instrumental for the publication of my previous book Take this Book for a Walk in 2020 - recently commissioned me to create a nature journaling resource for Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, New South Wales. I...

Free grassy woodland colouring book to download

Free grassy woodland colouring book to download

Wondrous Box-Gum Grassy Woodlands: A colouring exploration of a diverse ecosystem celebrates the threatened ecological community of the same name. This book was commissioned by the Molonglo Conservation Group, with the support of the ACT Government and National...

A walk in the green room

A walk in the green room

Binna Burra, September 2021 The forest always gives so much. But I need to slow down, to observe, to open myself to its abundance, for this to happen. As I walk into the forest I see the different layers, shapes, colours of green that are the leaves, foliage,...

The helpful and benignly addictive world of INaturalist.

The helpful and benignly addictive world of INaturalist.

The White-banded Hunter Hawkmoth, Theretra oldenlandiae The Navajo recognized and remembered over 700 different types of insects, to three levels of classification.1 Most of these insects did not have a practical ‘use’ for the Navajo (e.g. food). The vast majority of...

Spiky grubs, tiny bats and the giant stinging tree

Spiky grubs, tiny bats and the giant stinging tree

Meet the punk caterpillar who's willing to take on some of Australia's most fearsome plants (the Gympie Stinger and Shiny-leaved Stinging Tree), and spends part of its life masquerading as a bat. In recent years it's also begun to devour the Giant Stinging Tree, in...

A Tale of Three Scrubwrens

A Tale of Three Scrubwrens

Australia has an enormous variety of little brown birds. Some of these are scrubwrens, of the genus Sericornis (The name ‘Sericornis’ refers to the soft, silky plumage of these birds). Three species of Sericornis live in the forests of Lamington National Park, near my...

Tales of Science

How to draw a grassland Part 3: What lies beneath?

How to draw a grassland Part 3: What lies beneath?

Go for a wander in the grasslands of the Riverina and you might notice an abundance of holes in the ground. If you see critters scurrying in and out of the holes (like the meat ants in the picture above) at least you know what type of beast lives in them. But often...

How to draw a grassland, Part two: Ecology in pictures

How to draw a grassland, Part two: Ecology in pictures

Today's post gives you another sneak preview of the Riverina Grassland colouring book, and also describes the collaborative process I use to tell ecological stories through art. One of the things I love about my work are the discussions I have with collaborators about...

How to draw a grassland – Part One

How to draw a grassland – Part One

Matt Cameron from the New South Wales Office of Environment has commissioned me to create a colouring book about the Riverina Grasslands, which are found in south central New South Wales and northern Victoria, and are home to many specialised plant and animal species....

Books: Bird Minds by Gisela Kaplan

Books: Bird Minds by Gisela Kaplan

If they were primates, we’d say they ‘had culture’ ‘were intelligent’ and ‘had complex cognitive abilities’. But as birds, these qualities are largely overlooked. And, what’s more, they are Australian birds. Australia, the arse-end of anywhere, that odd country of...

A fruitful partnership between trees and birds

A fruitful partnership between trees and birds

Many rainforest trees begin their life in the beak of a wompoo fruit dove. And wompoos find it hard to survive without rainforest. This partnership is among the latest in a long series of trysts between rainforest trees and fruit-eating birds. A fruit and its seeds...

Sneaky snippers avoid a sticky end.

Sneaky snippers avoid a sticky end.

The other night, I met Mr Curly on my way to the Indian restaurant. He was hiding under a fig-leaf by the footpath, trying to look inconspicuous. But it was the shape of the figleaf that gave him away. Or what was left of it. You see, Mr Curly eats highly poisonous...

Nature journaling

A Tale of Three Scrubwrens

A Tale of Three Scrubwrens

Australia has an enormous variety of little brown birds. Some of these are scrubwrens, of the genus Sericornis (The name ‘Sericornis’ refers to the soft, silky plumage of these birds). Three species of Sericornis live in the forests of Lamington National Park, near my...

Beechmont Nature Journal, February 2021

Beechmont Nature Journal, February 2021

He waits on the bright green grass, alone. As I approach, he walks quickly away (wood ducks don’t waddle). Dark head held high, a cautious eye looking back, watching my every step. I walk by, and he settles back down on the grass, waiting. Wood ducks are grass-eaters,...

A daily drawing challenge

A daily drawing challenge

About 2 weeks ago I embarked on a daily drawing challenge. That is, to draw something from nature every day. Why nature? Because spending time in nature makes me happy! Why drawing? Because it makes me slow down, and discover wonders by observing closely. Why a daily...

Forest portraits

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Cartoons

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Wildlife illustration

Impressions of Barambah

Impressions of Barambah

I visited the Barambah Environmental Education Centre (about 50 km west of Gympie, Queensland) back in August. I ran a nature journaling workshop for the staff, and did some field work for a series of illustrations for a little book about the centre. Here are some...

Return of the bellbirds?

Return of the bellbirds?

Bellbirds are cute, they make beautiful chiming noises, but they also kill trees. And now they’re back at Binna Burra, after a long absence. What will happen next?

Recent drawings and a new cartoon

Recent drawings and a new cartoon

When I started drawing I was fascinated by line more than anything else. In the last few weeks I've been reminding myself of the importance of tone - lights and darks, and how the contrast of these can bring drama to a picture. I took some photos of the gorgeous wet...