Mid winter:

We are in the depths of of winter and today is a perfect example... overcast sky, rain, cold and southerly blasts predicted for later - perfect weather for indoor activites and after writing this blog entry I'm going to sort out the details for my submission into Canberra Botanical 2010. I'd completely forgotten that Friday is the deadline for all entries into the BASA  http://botanicalartsocietyaustralia.com/  Annual Members' Exhibition (until a reminder arrived yesterday) and I'm just not prepared... It's a little disappointing, but on a positive note also a gentle nudge in the direction of the next submission.

The opportunity to exhibit botanical work in a major exhibition is rare in New Zealand. Because of this I make a point of sending work offshore as often as I can to make up for this lack of local exposure - I find that it's a very good way of keeping up the momentum and maintaining a public profile. I have to say that running two little online shops has been a major distraction of late and I really need to set more time aside specifically for my botanical drawing. My personal challenge for the month...

Earlier this morning I followed a link from http://mademoiselle-poirot.blogspot.com to another site which offers copyright free images for personal use. After an enjoyable browse I found a number of charming old botanical prints - see below. There's no information regarding the artist or plant origin, however the two ferns immediately made me think of New Zealand.

 

Images courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com