This year my inspiration for the calendar is birds and pattern. Being a textile designer prior to starting Decorque, I have a large archive of work, beautiful hand painted textile designs that really need to see the light of day! As I also love painting wildlife and especially birds, I thought why not blend the two into some new beautiful designs. A circle of nature standing out on a background of pattern.
I have chosen some birds we frequently see in our gardens and around the countryside and others like the amazing ‘Hoopoe’ and the ‘Bee-Eater’ that only visit our country at certain times of the year on their way to warmer climes.
As you can see, the tropical Hoopoe is now a favourite as was chosen for the front cover.
JANUARY, we begin with the’ Jays’, the most colourful of the crow family, with that distinctive flash of blue. They do love acorns, so are mainly located in the woods.
Set in a white circle these two hand painted birds, male and female are at home on a nest of leaves and feathers. They are surrounded by a hand-painted feather pattern which a have set on a dusty blue. The Jays are also nesting on a Birthday Card.
FEBRUARY I think it’s time we noticed the wonderful ‘Wood Pigeons’ and their beautiful subtle colouring of greys, browns, lilac and blue. Living adjacent to fields and large trees around us we are visited by lots of birds. Sometimes, in the walnut tree you can easily count fifteen or more pigeons roosting.
Wood Pigeons do mate for life, and I wanted a design to complement this loving couple, and colour was the key. I chose a hand-painted passionflower design, the dusty purple trellis mixes well will the colouring of the birds.
MARCH A cold month but we still see the ducks, geese, coots and waterhens by the water. When painting birds I always use a mix of media, coloured pencils, water colour and sometimes ink pen to bring out the detail, as you can see on the featured waterfowl.
To brighten up this month of March I have paired this scene with a water-coloured floral on white, the grey leaves complement the coolness of the wildlife scene. The ducks and water scene is available on a blank card too.
APRIL A taste of Spring! This Bluetit is a tiny bird but bit in character usually flies in with other birds of the tit family to feed. Here he’s perched on a branch with some pom-pom Chrysanthemums.
This is not about the flowers but the coordinating colours of Spring. The greens, blues and browns of the all-over floral water-coloured floral design blend in well with the circular scene of nature. The bluetit also appears on cards for many other occasions.
MAY We are warming up nicely in May with the eye-catching blush coral-pink chest of the Bullfinch. He is a stunning bird and is happy among the roses and butterflies.
The soft pink and coral roses make a beautiful floral design with delicate lace detail all in water-colour it frames a pretty scene.
June As I mentioned, the exotic Hoopoe bird has become a favourite, featured on the front cover and ready to take us through June. Set on the beautiful butterfly bush background which is also available as a card.
The colour of the coral roses and fabulous head feathers of the Hoopoe coordinate so well. Although it is rare, it is a frequent visitor when over-shooting its migration from Africa to Europe. Would love to see one!
July Has to be bright and beautiful and that’s exactly what the European Bee-eater is, similar colour to our native Kingfisher. They are not breeding in the U.K but aren’t we lucky that sometimes the southern winds blow it off course – and it can be spotted Norfolk.
I chose a pretty floral design with lots of small flowers, plenty of bees around for this colourful bird to catch. The initial design was on white, but as you see I’ve introduced a pale green ground to match the strength of colours of the Bee-eater.
August Tropical Parakeets fly in for this month! They are now quite common in this country; they didn’t get here under their own steam but were introduced over the years by the pet trade. We have them in the University Parks in Oxford, and they can be spotted or heard, a distinctive screeching sound, in London and Kent.
Known as ring-necked parakeets because of their rose-coloured band around the neck, I have paired them with a design of large rose-pink flowers and lots of green leaves.
September We are in the garden. I received this new bird feeder for my Birthday and the little garden birds love it as you see. The robin, sparrow, bluetit and wren are frequent visitors. All these garden birds feature on a Birthday card too.
The choice of a background design for this garden scene is reflected by the time of year as the climate cools. The pattern is a stylized design with more Autumnal colours which stand out on a black background.
October has the striking Goldfinch encased in an orange autumn glow. To attract them to the bird feeder you need Niger seed, they love it! This beautiful male is on his own here, and a group of goldfinches is called a “charm” like the hummingbird.
Framing this special little bird is decorative floral design with imaginative patterned leaves and large orange flowers. It brings us that familiar warm autumn glow through October.
November The leaves are falling fast, and the rakes are out! The grey partridge may not be the most colourful bird but once very common is on the red endangered list. It does have a distinctive orange head and is a ground bird so never seen in a pear tree!
The leaves have fallen already on this surrounding design. Originally painted on black I have replaced it with a stone colour so as not to over-power the simple nature scene. All the leaves are painted in gouache for stronger flat colours and shapes.
December is Christmas-time with lots of colour. The proud male pheasant reflects that with its spectacular-coloured plumage, turquoise, green, blue, purple, yellow, rust, brown and black – amazing!
This pheasant makes a strong image standing on a rock looking out over a winter scene and needs a surround of the same quality. The stylized leaf design I chose was in tones of gold and has been recoloured in the pheasants’ colours. A few extras, holly, mistletoe and cones have added to make it more festive. He is also featured on a Christmas and blank card.
If you decide to purchase this desk calendar you will have twelve great new designs to look at and take you through the coming year.
Some of new birds that are featured will be appearing on cards soon – Christmas, Birthday and maybe some other occasions.
