Researching the beauty of wildflowers

Dear friends,

Summer is over. How can that be?

The past few months have been busy—too busy—and I've noticed myself slipping out of alignment recently. I’ve been taking on too much work over the past few months, juggling multiple projects, endless email threads, and deadlines stacking up.

Ironically, spending too many hours behind a laptop while working on multiple environmental campaigns has pulled me out of touch with my own true nature. Bills have to be paid, of course, and the nature of freelance work is you have to take the projects as they come (especially when they are as fulfilling as the one I'm sharing with you today).

It's just another reminder of how fragile the balance of working life can be, and how easily we can get swept up in the fast pace of modern society.

But as with any challenge, there’s always an opportunity to be found.

So today, I've managed to carve out a bit of time to pause and reflect on some of the things in life that throw me off track — and those that help me regain balance.

I’d like to share these reflections with you, alongside a glimpse of a new project I’ve been conducting research for with Cheshire Wildlife Trust that will help to revive wildflower meadows and boost biodiversity here in the UK.

These wonderful photos by Alex Sedgmond should give you a flavour of the wholesome two hours I spent of slowing down, getting outside into nature, and closely observing the characteristics of native UK wildflowers, before returning to the studio to begin the illustration process.

If you'd like to check out the finished result of this project, hit the button below. And if you'd like to check out the Pollinating Cheshire project (alongside other incredible projects by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust), check out their website.