by Paula Peeters | Oct 3, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
Cold wind buffets my breath as the small boat bounces along the waves. We are heading towards a tiny, sun-bleached rocky nub of an island, one of the many that cluster about the sprawling, inverted triangle of Eyre Peninsula, like small fish shadowing a large,...
by Paula Peeters | Aug 27, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration
This is Fleay’s barred frog, one of several species of large frog in the genus Mixophyes that occur in or near streams associated with Australian wet forests. Now when you look at a frog, you might think that it’s a short-lived, rather ephemeral...
by Paula Peeters | Aug 4, 2015 | Tales of science, Writing
Me: Hello little logrunner, how are things with you? Logrunner: (scratch, scratch)…oh…you talking to me? Me: Yes, I’d like to know what it’s like to be a logrunner. Logrunner: (cocks her head, looks at me with a big dark eye) Not sure if I’ve really thought about it....
by Paula Peeters | Jul 26, 2015 | Forest portraits, Tales of science, Wildlife illustration
Many beautiful beasties live in wet sclerophyll forest, including those that dwell or nest in the hollows of venerable old trees. Gliding possums that eat leaves, blossoms or trees sap; owls, tree-creepers and parrots; bats, snakes and antechinuses¹. As I started...
by Paula Peeters | Jul 8, 2015 | Forest portraits, Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
Look for depictions of forests in art and you won’t find many. Sure, there are plenty of landscapes with trees. But look closer and you’ll notice there are only a few trees, probably to one side of the picture, and the rest is open country. Or it is a parkland, some...
by Paula Peeters | Jun 13, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
“There’s far too much wildlife in the suburbs” I heard a woman say the other day. She shuddered, and her face wrinkled up as if there was cat poo under her nose. I didn’t want to start an argument, so I said nothing at the time. But this same urban wildlife is...