Why I Love Birds of Prey

A few days after Christmas, I went for a ramble along one of my favourite local routes, in an attempt to clear the festive fuzz from my brain and breathe some turkey-free air. It was what I consider to be the perfect Winter's day; the sky was clear, the sun was blazing and the air was crisp. The lack of clouds was a blessing for me as it made spotting birds a lot easier. I saw a pair of redwings chasing each other around an oak tree then a little further down the lane, another one take sudden flight from the hedgerow and fly low across the field. The trees were bustling with the usual suspects; blue and great tits, blackbirds, woodpigeon. Robins eyed me from the branches and carrion crows littered the fields.

My highlight, though, was a bird I never tire of seeing, or hearing for that matter, since on most occasions I hear them before laying eyes on them. The unmistakable caw of a buzzard drew my gaze high up and I had to shield the sun with my hand in order to fully focus on the three raptors circling above. I am so fortunate to get frequent sightings of buzzards where I live and a great number of these have been directly above our house. Once, an adult flew so low across the house that I could see the pale under-feathers on its wings.

On this occasion, the birds were obviously hunting, gliding effortlessly in large circles above the fields. One dropped down low to the treetops and the crows feeding in the fields became agitated by its presence, taking flight and cawwing loudly. I carried on up the lane, following the buzzards as they moved higher and nearer to the woods surrounding my house. I lost sight of them briefly but could still hear their calls echoing through the trees. When I next spotted them, I had more or less reached home; the three birds were performing acrobatics between themselves above the fields neighbouring the house. I watched two of them spin through the air, attached to one another by their talons for only a moment before breaking apart. I presumed one of two things was going on; either they were fighting with each other or they were passing food between their feet. I couldn't say for sure since I was lacking binoculars and they were too high for any specifics to be made out.

As I said, I never tire of seeing and hearing them and I doubt I ever will. It's a particular joy in the Summer, when they are extremely active and I'm guaranteed to at least hear the buzzard call a few times in a day. There's something about them that is mesmerising and I think that's a view that I carry through to all birds of prey. They are fascinating to see in action, whether I see a tawny owl drop from the low branches in front of me while I'm driving at night or I'm marvelling at the brilliant strength of a kestrel hovering in high winds.

Rather oddly, my favourite raptor (a word that is the Latin for "to seize and carry away", as I discovered today) is one I've never actually seen in the flesh, and that is the osprey. I'm always fascinated whenever I catch segments on tv showing them in action; the coverage of Monty and his mate on Springwatch made for wonderful watching. They are such striking birds and it is definitely a dream of mine to see at least one in its natural habitat.

I think it is the strength and intelligence of raptors that has me so besotted. Owls may not be able to turn their heads the full 360° and might not be quite as wise as they are often portrayed in children's books, but their brilliantly-honed hunting skills are enough to set them apart. The marsh harrier can dismember and eat a dragonfly while on the wing and a vertically-plummeting peregrine reaches unbelievable speeds; these are birds that are experts in their fields.

I was lucky enough to receive a falconry experience as one of my Christmas gifts and I am so excited. I have handled owls in the past but only small breeds so I'm looking forward to learning more about other birds of prey and getting some hands-on experience.

Take Two

Yesterday, I shared my first completed portrait of 2015 on my Facebook page. It is of my aunt's cat Twinkle and was quite a challenge as her fur is flecked with orange and white so it took some real concentration. At the forefront of my mind while I was working on it was the fact that I've drawn her before, when I very first started doing pet portraits in 2012. In fact, I was working from the same photograph that I referenced for the portrait the first time around, so I was keen to compare the two pieces once I was finished, to get a sense of how I have progressed in two years. 

On the left is the most recent version and on the right, the 2012 piece. It makes me cringe to look at the older piece, because I'm so self-critical. My style was very different; much looser and certainly less detailed. It's a good exercise, though, to see how much I have developed my skills since then, however difficult I find it to look back. 

Of course, I still have plenty of space for improvement and I'm hoping that in another two years time, I will have honed my technique even more. 

Minions Wanted!

Today, I'm blogging from my sick bed. I haven't updated this blog since early September which doesn't sound like long but so much has happened over the past three months that it seems a distant memory.

You might wonder why I am blogging when I'm ill. Well, I have learnt something new about self-employment that I was already aware of when I started MMD but has become painfully apparent to me in recent weeks: there is no one to cover me. I sometimes forget, when I'm wrapped up in a portrait and only come up for air for a cup of strong tea, that I am in fact running a small business. Every aspect of this, including accounts, marketing and admin, is listed on my job description; there is no one else to do any of it. Yes, I could hire someone to do the accounts, for example, but I'm definitely not in that position and thankfully they currently remain fairly straightforward.

My point is, when life happens, which it does and chooses the most inopportune periods to do so, my work simply has to sit on my desk until I'm in a position to get back to it. There's no calling in sick; no co-workers to take on my workload; there is no pause button. That's scary. Let's go back to my present state of germ-harbouring (sorry!) Yesterday I woke up feeling pretty unwell after coughing all of the previous day. I still dragged myself out of bed, had breakfast, got dressed and got going on my To-Do list.

 I had a lot to do and, with Christmas lurking only a few weeks away, a short time to do it in. I packaged portraits, printed vouchers, answered emails, drew out a new portrait and ventured out into the bitter cold to pay a trip to the post office. By the time I got home, I felt horrendous. There was absolutely NO way I could do any more work. Today is even worse; I woke up early (because I was hot, not because I wanted to) and could only just manage to make myself a cuppa before falling back into bed. I'm not handling it well though because I am VERY much aware that I have so far lost a day and a half of work time. The work waiting for me sits heavily on my mind.

Back in October, my Nanna passed away. I won't go into details because those are personal to my family and I,

but it resulted in my having a fortnight off. I tried to get on with a portrait at the time but I wasn't focused and I didn't want to spoil the piece by forcing myself. Some things just have to wait. There was lots to arrange and extended family were staying with us, so I just took the time.

 I had worked out a schedule for my Christmas commissions and those 2 weeks obviously set me back. I got myself back on track after a while though and began to feel a little less pressured. Right now, I'm worrying every moment I'm not working. That's not healthy and certainly won't help speed up my recovery but it definitely comes with the territory of self-employment.

When there is nobody to cover you, there is a higher level of stress because you can't relax. I know I'll be able to make up the time; I just wish I didn't have to. I also know full well that I have yet to find the balance between work and my personal life. Maybe it isn't completely possible to find a perfect balance of the two. When I do find time for myself, say coffee with friends or a ride on my bike, I find myself feeling guilty for not working. Now, I wouldn't feel like that if I worked 9-5 in an office but, at the end of the day, I DON'T work in an office and my hours are not restricted.

 I'm lucky to be doing what I'm doing and that people continue to commission me; I never would have believed it two years ago. What would be extremely welcome though, is an "off'" switch! If you are in the same position as me, I would love to know how you handle this! Tips will be most gratefully received. In the mean time, please send helpful minions who know their way around pencils!

Getting organised

When my order book is very busy, as it is at this time of year especially, and my energy is almost entirely focused on my portraits, I find it particularly easy to let other aspects of my business slip. It's about finding a balance and I will gladly admit that balance isn't my strong point.

First and foremost on my mind recently has been my tax return which, to be fair, isn't due until January, but I really didn't want it hanging over my head longer than it had to be and I knew once it was done, I would relax that little bit more. Also, I'm off to Venice for a few days in a couple of weeks and I was aiming to have it done before then, since my return meant that Christmas would be EVEN closer and my panic would definitely set in!

Unfortunately, it isn't a half-day job (for me anyway; I'm not sure about others!) and I spent a long time printing out invoices and expense receipts until I had a huge pile of paperwork to go through which in itself took a whole evening. It made realise that I really should make a conscious effort to be more organised with my accounts. I guess it's one of those things you learn as you go with a small business. I keep all my receipts and I have an order book but I've decided that it would make my life SO much simpler if I kept up-to-date with these things; i.e. print out invoices once they are paid and the order is complete and shipped. 

Now that my tax return is done and submitted to HMRC, I definitely feel a teensy bit more relaxed and the fact that I've started a spreadsheet listing the status of all of my outstanding orders has helped me gain a sense of control. I've placed orders for packaging materials that were running low and started making notes for my website update in the new year, so now I feel completely justified in breathing a small sigh of relief.

It's amazing how much difference it can make to take a few days out just to get things ship-shape again. I feel like a weight has been lifted. Oh and I have to mention the beauty of writing a to-do list; it really helps! It's been said before my many but there really is a sense of immense satisfaction that comes with ticking an item of the list.

Now just to tackle my long list of portraits!

Wildlife in France

I recently came back from a trip to France with my family. We were staying with my aunt who lives in Bourges, about 40 minutes away from the official centre of the country, which gives you an idea of just how smack-bang in the middle we were! It's a beautiful area with an awful lot to offer and we spent some lovely days visiting various sights, including a walk along the Marais. This literally translates as the swamp but it's certainly far from a swamp, or how I picture one to look! It's a series of waterways that runs for miles through Bourges and surrounding areas, creating little islands of land that are used as allotments. 

It was a bakingly hot day (a max. of 38 degrees!) so there wasn't a huge amount in the way of birdlife. There were several families of coots with chicks at various stages of development; some brand-new and still fluffy and other nearly fully-fledged adults. I also spotted a heron flying across the horizon. 

Most exciting for me though was the pair of little grebes I glimpsed briefly. Although I've seen great-crested grebes before, little grebes were a new one for me so I was quite pleased that I spotted them before they ducked under the water and swam off. I actually heard them before I saw them; they have a pretty distinctive call! 

Not a great photo but they didn't stick around for the paparazzi!

As I said, it was extremely hot for the entire week and this meant that there were a huge amount of butterflies out and about. I snapped a couple which is an achievement I feel, as they are the most difficult creatures to photograph! They either flutter around so quickly you can barely identify them or, when they land, they close up their wings and hide away their beautiful colours! 

Walking along the marais, I also spotted a beautifully coloured moth which I'd never seen before and had to Google for I.D. The only reason I knew it wasn't a butterfly was because of the shape when it landed. When I had a look online, I discovered that it was in fact a Jersey tiger moth. Another first for me!

Look at that fab pattern!

The other thing I noticed while in France was a huge number of birds of prey in the skies and in the fields. That particular area (Bourges, Sancerre etc.) is very much arable which is very different to the grazing land around us at home. There were buzzards, kestrels, hawks, all sorts!

My favourite moments were sitting in the garden and watching the butterflies in the mornings, although I won't miss the flies over there; they bite!

Featured in Etc. Magazine

If you follow my Facebook page or are one of the few who read this blog, you will know I recently did an interview for Etc. Magazine. Well, the issue I am featured in is now live on their website and the hard copy of the magazine is out soon, and yesterday I got to see the finished piece.

You can read the full interview at this link, just look for pages 109-111. Apart from the rather unflattering photo on the first page (I've never liked my arms!) I'm really pleased with it! The journalist asked for some examples of my work and I sent a large selection over but I never imagined they would include so many pieces. That is a bonus really as it shows a good variety and proves I don't just draw dogs!

I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy at some point next week (hopefully) then it will feel real. Let me know if you have read the article and what you thought about it!

Exciting news for Miss Magpie Designs!

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from one of the feature writers at Etc. magazine asking whether I would do an interview for them as they were interested in doing a feature on my work.  I'm quite familiar with Etc. (a complimentary magazine that is part of the West Sussex County Times) and have seen some lovely features in previous issues about local artists, craftspeople etc. (ha!) so naturally I was extremely excited to be asked!

As they were aiming for publication in the August issue, it had to happen quite quickly to work with the deadlines so I answered some questions via email then had a photographer visit last week to take some pictures of me at work. The latter was interesting as it meant I had to have a HUGE tidy up of my work space, which is at one end of my bedroom (no studio just yet, maybe one day...)

Quite conveniently, I happened to have a portrait in progress on my drawing board so that made it much easier for me to 'pretend' I was drawing for the photos and I think it will help to show a little of my process in the article. I can't wait to get a copy of the issue and see the piece although I'm quite nervous at the same time; especially having my photo in there! Hopefully it will provide a little local advertising for me as I have a reasonable online presence but not too much locally at the moment.

If you live in the Sussex area, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for Etc. in August and let me know what you think!