This watercolour 'Polar swim' is from seven years ago when I became slightly obsessed with showing how climate change was happening, using a swimming polar bear to illustrate the point. These amazing animals can swim really well but they need pack ice to help them feed. The ice gives them the element of surprise to catch seals, their main prey. But sea ice is rapidly diminishing and the bears are having to paddle longer distances, sometimes hundreds of miles, to seek their food. This saps their precious energy and contributes to their death.
Ice at the North Pole freezes and melts through the seasons but is shrinking at a frightening rate. Over the last 40 years we have lost Arctic sea ice equivalent in area to 18 UKs due to man made climate change. That’s 1.5 millions square miles of ice. This has happened when we have increased the global temperature by just 1.1 degrees. Changing the natural cycle of freezing and thawing in the Arctic is not only affecting polar bears, it is changing the world’s weather patterns in unpredictable ways.
And yet, here we go again. COP27 is up and running and as its name suggests it has been meeting for 27 years. Are we any further ahead? Not really. What the scientists have been telling us about the dangers of climate change is studiously ignored by oil firms, weak flip-flopping politicians and sad conspiracy theorists. Climate change is no longer a prediction dismissed as fake news, it's here for all to see. Let's hope, at this final opportunity, enough actions are put in place to limit warming to 1.5 degrees – which is still going to drastically change our lives.
Many thanks to Tatler for the little mention here
Pleased to be supporting Somerset Wildlife Trust in their Virtual Auction that is now live. This painting of an amazing oak tree standing in the field behind my house is available here
A quick sketch of the amazing Killochan Castle in Ayrshire. It's a beauty
The lovely
Kevis House Gallery
is open for drinks and an evening viewing on Thursday 13 October 6-8 pm. I'm proud to have work included in their Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness show. Sadly I won't be able to make it to the event, but many other exhibiting artists will be there.
Painting en plein air in St.James's Park, London with members of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours is on Saturday 15 October. Meet at 10am at The Mall Galleries and join other painters for a (free) days painting……Sadly I won't be able to make it
Some more pages from my sketchbooks are now framed and on show at the lovely Folde Dorset shop at the top of Gold Hill
Proud to be part of the Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness exhibition in the lovely Kevis House Gallery in Petworth, Sussex. My tree watercolours are peeking out of the windows
Many thanks to Watts Gallery for inviting me to be part of their Into the Woods exhibition running now until 30 October