Welcome to my Wild Life Gallery

This group stand together for so long it looks as though they are a group of friends hanging out together this fine autumn morning. I wonder if they know what kind of birds they are. A herring gull and three oyster catchers.

These two herring gulls are strolling along chatting as the tide slowly retreats. It is a lovely autumn morning and the seabirds seem very relaxed and unhurried. Perhaps this glorious weather has affects their mood too.

What do they find to discuss I wonder? This is definitely some kind of conference held on this autumn morning This charming group of oyster catchers are in no hurry today as they huddle together as if discussing serious matters.

This lively bunch are feasting, preening and generally relishing the beautiful golden morning. Me too (apart from the preening part).

It is calm and bright as the Oyster Catchers scamper off quickly... They have spied my dog approaching down the strand...

This morning the sky was intense indigo; threatening rain. I am always amazed at the huge fluctuations in the colour of the sea depending on the light. Today the dark sky reflected on the calm sea turning it so dark I almost miss seeing this beautiful Black Backed Gull standing serenely at the edge.

As I walk along the edge of the sea on this dazzling clear morning I am fascinated by how the colours all seem so much brighter than usual. Then I notice this charming lone Oyster Catcher making its way steadily along the edge of the sea. Luckily my dog does not notice it, so I get to watch it for a good stretch before it flies off to find its friends.

I see these Oyster Catchers and Gulls most days feeding by the river on beach. Here I tried to catch their movement and energy and that of the current rushing behind them.

I wanted to show an arrival to the meeting as I sat watching the gulls gathering on a bright breezy spring day.

When I looked at my photo of this eye catching red fishing boat imagine my surprise when I saw that I had failed to notice the gaggle of Brent Geese feeding quietly in the fore ground. They became my point of interest as they quietly cohabited with boats and cars and tourists busily to-ing and fro-ing. Wildlife comes to town.

The waves retreat leaving fresh azure beach puddles gleaming joyfully. The deserted beach so quiet except for a few scampering oyster catchers and the odd gull. Peace!

Arrested by the stunning song I looked around and spied this beautiful Blackbird singing for sheer joy among the almost ready to burst buds, stark against the deepening late evening sky.

Almost blinded by the dazzling reflection of the sun I grab my camera and take a snap of this enchanting pair of Brent Geese. On viewing later I am surprised to see I photographed the reflection of the sun which seems almost luminous in the photograph so much so I find myself screwing up my eyes to protect them from the glare. In this painting I have tried to give an impression of the intense light reflected on the water and the lustrous sheen it imparts to geese and ripple patterns alike.

Taking it easy drying out their wings the cormorants are watching the quiet wave gently roll in surprising us all appearing from a flat mirror calm sea.

No-one can tell me these two handsome birds are not discussing something this fine winter's morning... They are probably talking about the weather or how the light dances so vibrantly on the ready to break wave in front of them. They seem to be enjoying being close to the edge this clear sunny day as much as me. A welcome respite from the recent barrage of Atlantic storms.

These three oyster catchers are so engrossed in feeding they don't notice me and my dog standing very close by. I am interested by the even spacing and almost identical stance of these three also the vibrant rushing water behind them contrasting with the dark pools at the tideline.

I spied this little creature clinging to the rock at low tide and wondered how it stood up to the bashing and crashing of the huge waves a few hours previously. How can such a delicate looking creature be so tough? I painted it much bigger than reality as I enjoyed looking at it close up stark against the red sandstone which still wet from the waves was rendered dark shades of plums and indigos.

Whelks have such amazing shells . I have always been struck with wonder when I look at sea shells. Such small gelatinous creatures nothing much to look at but the homes that they build for themselves are truly remarkable. The colours shapes and textures could keep the eye busy for ages. But as I have said before. They never look the same when you get them home always so much more glorious in situ on the beach for some reason. I painted this at least 4x bigger than life I suppose as a celebration of its form. I never forget when I first came to Dingle being so excited when I first found one on Ventry beach. In fact I have found many since then but everyone has been at Ventry. I wonder why they don’t seem to like it anywhere else on the peninsula.