A New Chapter and more Puffins!

Another fortnight has flown by since I last posted here and more news to tell! As of tomorrow I will be starting a new job working for an environmental consultancy as an ecologist surveyor which I'm very excited about. All those years of being out and about in the natural world observing birds, mammals, flowers etc. have not been in vain and my seemingly vast collections of natural history books are certainly going to be earning their keep, not to mention my Zoology degree! I know I previously mentioned hoping to study as a veterinary nurse but sometimes you need to follow the paths presented to you and this job is going to be wonderful opportunity to not only boost my knowledge but allow me to assist others with that knowledge which I have already gained and putting it to good use out in the field. I can't wait to get stuck in! You can expect to read more about my exploits as I go along, wellies are at the ready :)

Obviously my embarking on a full-time job for the summer season will mean I'll be spending less time sat behind my desk with pencils in hands BUT this doesn't mean I'll be stopping drawing altogether, far from it. I have a couple of wildlife commissions to complete as well as preparing for my being the "Summer Artist" at a lovely little gallery called Aradia in Emley, Huddersfield where delectable Tuscan edibles and wines are also available www.aradiaglobal.com Here I will be exhibiting both original work and limited edition prints for the months of May and June 2014 so if you're in the area do pop by and say hello! I'll post more about this closer to the time.

Still rather giddy about my Mountain Gorillas drawing  going to that London (read more from a previous blog post here) The exhibition will be open to the public from 3rd June to 7th June 2014. If you're thinking of going it will be free admission and well worth a pop in if you're local-ish so scribble the dates in your diary if you're a fan of wildlife art, there are going to be some stunning pieces there! Here's a link to the Exhibition website where an online catalogue will be available to view from May 10th www.davidshepherd.org/way/ 

I also mentioned I would be posting up a progress post of my Puffin Study that I'm currently working on so here are a few more updates for you:

Taking off or about to land? You decide!

Havin' a scratch

Scratching pose completed and onto a snuggled pose...

A double update as the layering of the feathers has built up, my brain was definitely starting to feel fluffy after staring at so many!

I hope you're enjoying seeing the portrait taking shape, it's great fun to do but as with all my work, very time-consuming. I had an idea of the poses I was going to include from my own selection of reference photos taken while I was on Skomer Island but as the portrait has progressed I've adjusted and swapped round the original ideas do even I'm not sure what the end portrait will look like but that is what makes it so much fun :)

If you're a Facebook-er there are more in-depth posts about each pose and if you want to be more closely informed about progress of my drawings then you can also "like" my page  https://www.facebook.com/megghyllpencilartist

Once the like button is clicked you can hover over it and click "Get Notifications" to be alerted every time I make a new post :)

Hope you're all enjoying your Sunday, here are some pretty Wood Anemones to go on with, I found them while out on a walk yesterday (brushing up on plant ID!)