New Stand for my Paintings in the Kingfisher Tearooms at Potteric Carr YWT Nature Reserve.

The Kingfisher Tearooms at Potteric Carr

New Stand for my work in the Kingfisher Tearooms at Potteric Carr. YWT Nature Reserve.

 

The first display of my work  in the Kingfisher Tearooms at Potteric Carr YWT Nature Reserve.  My paintings are now hanging and for sale on a large stand by the window, this is great as I can add too, and change the display to reflect the seasons and interesting changes on the reserve at any time. I changed this first display at the beginning of March.

 

The present display is about Spurn Point, which is also a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve,  and the Humber Estuary, and includes paintings on driftwood. 

Persons wishing to purchase any of my work, can pay,  either cash or card,  at the till in the Kingfisher Tearooms.
 

I will be changing my display for Easter for paintings of  Bees, Birds and Butterflies.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope you will be encouraged to visit Potteric Carr, a beautiful nature reserve at any time of year. .....Sheila M Bury

Christmas Exhibition at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

When I first heard about the Eels in Schools Project last year I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to get involved by raising money to help fund the release of young elvers in Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

There are enough suitable reed beds to hold nesting Bitterns and by releasing eels into the wetlands both fish and Bitterns would benefit from the reintroduction.

I decided I could raise funds by donating some of my paintings to be raffled and YWT agreed it was a good idea.The Four Seasons Raffle comprises four large paintings, one for each season of

the year, each one to be raffled separately in the appropriate season throughout 2014. 

  

Huxter Well Marsh Autumn

This is the fourth and final painting, tickets will be available in Reception at Potteric Carr  and also 

online, see :-  http://www.ywt.org.uk/shop/product/four-seasons-raffle-draw-4...... 

up until the end of the exhibition when the winning ticket will be drawn.

 Sheila Bury, Volunteer Artist in Residence/Fundraiser. Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

The winning ticket number for this fourth of the Four Seasons Raffles was drawn at the end of the exhibition on 14th December 2014.  The winning ticket number is.... 1789...

A big thank you to everyone who bought tickets .

Sheila Bury

My Paintings in YWT Potteric Carr Shop,

If you are thinking of visiting the beautiful Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, Potteric Carr in Doncaster, be sure to have a look at my paintings on display and for sale in the shop as you walk through onto the reserve.  Cash or card can be taken at the till in reception.

These six small butterfly paintings are each framed in plain wood  and hanging behind  the Deer painting in the photograph above. 

ALSO 

This painting hangs behind the desk in reception and is the fourth Four Seasons Raffle painting.  

"Autumn Palett, Huxter Well Marsh"
acrylic on box canvas, 100cmx50cm.

The Four Seasons Raffle comprises four large paintings which I donated to raise money to help fund the release of Eels at Potteric Carr. One painting for each season, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Each one is being raffled separately throughout 2014 in that order.

By September this year we had raised £1600 with the first three paintings “A Potteric Winter, Highland Cattle in St Catherine’s Field” - “Piper Marsh Spring” and “Peacock Butterflies at Brockadale”, The fourth and final painting “Autumn Palette at Huxter Well Marsh” is now on display in reception at Sedum House and tickets are available at the desk. The winning ticket for this will be drawn on December 14th at Potteric Carr. We would like to raise a grand total of £2000, so fingers crossed, it would be wonderful to make our target..............
Can I hear the Bitterns booming in anticipation.?

more info here 

http://www.ywt.org.uk/shop/product/four-seasons-raffle-draw-4

New Exhibition at Yorkshire Waterways Museum, Goole

These paintings are some of the scenes of waterways and wildlife that have fired my imagination over the years.

The Yorkshire Waterways Museum is a fascinating place by the Dutch River Side in Goole, it celebrates our waterways history and heritage, and has a towpath nature trail. Boat trips are run on weekends and holidays and there are special events throughout the year. It is free to enter, with galleries, cafe, gift shop.

My exhibition is on the barge “Room 58 Gallery", an old grain barge that used to belong to Rank Hovis McDougal which has been converted into a beautiful floating gallery and is moored up beside the museum buildings. 

So...come down to Goole to the Yorkshire Waterways Museum.....there is lots to see and do, and visit my exhibition and see what you think to my paintings.......you might even decide to buy one for Christmas........  

Everybody is welcome, entry is free and free parking.

Eels For Schools and the Four Seasons Raffle.

When I first heard about the Eels in Schools Project last year I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to get involved by raising money to help fund the release of young elvers in Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

There are enough suitable reed beds to hold nesting bitterns and by releasing eels into the wetlands both fish and Bitterns would benefit from the reintroduction.

I decided I could raise funds by donating some of my paintings to be raffled and YWT agreed it was a good idea.

The Four Seasons Raffle comprises four large paintings, one for each season of the year, each one to be raffled separately in the appropriate season throughout 2014. 

The tickets at £1 each or a book of 5 for £5 went on sale at Potteric Carr  in winter 2013. 

The first two paintings  “A Potteric Winter, Highland Cattle in St Catherine’s Field” drawn on New Years Day, and the second  painting “Piper Marsh Spring” drawn on Easter Monday, raised more than £1200.

The raffle for the third painting “Peacock Butterflies -  Brockadale” will be drawn on August Bank Holiday Monday and tickets are still available from the nature  reserve. The final painting, portraying autumn colours at Potteric Carr is yet to be started, but will be raffled this December.

Last Tuesday 24th June, the  elvers were driven up to Potteric from the Severn and Wye Smokery and children from local schools put them in the water at Potteric Carr and Sprotbrough Flash nature reserves. see,

http://www.ywt.org.uk/news/2014/06/23/primary-school-students-release-eels-local-doncaster-nature-reserves

I had the wonderful privilege of also putting some into the water on Hawthorn Field at 

                                                                              Potteric Carr.

A second delivery today and more elvers were put into  Decoy Marsh this morning.  Fantastic.

Have to say it is a very, very satisfying to see and be part of this, and fingers crossed the next two paintings will raise more funds for more Eels for Potteric Carr Nature Reserve and the Bitterns.

Sheila Bury, Volunteer Artist in Residence/Fundraiser. Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

YWT Commissioned Work

  

Humberhead Levels, Summertime.

acrylic on box canvas 60x90cm

This was a recent commission to paint an Interpretation Panel for YWT 'Connect Project' ...... which is all about getting people involved in their local green spaces in the Humberhead Levels Nature Improvement Area.

 The work had to be a clear depiction of the unique wetland landscape of the area,  peat bogs, birch woodland, grassland, tidal reedbeds, and include images of local wildlife and people 'doing things' 

For more information about this most interesting project see:-  http://www.ywt.org.uk/connect  

This map gives some idea of the area covered.

Piper Marsh a Work in Progress

I have been a regular visitor at Potteric Carr since the beginning of this year, the views are varied and interesting, everything seem to be on 'speed' it all grows so fast, colours change almost overnight - although it helps if the sun is lighting up the landscape -  and the wildlife is simply stunning. I have painted some of it, and it has been a delight, my plan is to paint a lot more of it.  

View from Piper Marsh Hide -  a work in progress.

I started this painting of the view from Piper Marsh Hide way back in March, and as sometimes happens, I have so far been unable to finish it. Fairly small at around 19"x12"  I have realised that it need to be much bigger, so it is still a 'work in progress' !!!

The problem is what season to paint?  I loved the ochres and creamy browns of the reeds when I first saw them in March, and the various colours of the silver birch against a blue sky. and the wildflowers on the marshy islands in later months are also very beautiful.

 I have taken many photographs of wildlife I have seen from the hide. In April there were a number of families of Canada geese, they were very protective of their young.

In May I saw Kingfishers many times fishing from a branch by an island to the right of the hide.

On one occasion I counted nine herons !!

In July I took quite a few photos of grass snake on a pile of cut reeds on the bank to the right of the hide.

...and swans in the reeds and wild flowers on the island a few metres in front of the hide.

So in essence I don't really have any problem painting the view from Piper Marsh Hide, I just have to get on with it !!!!!

A New Painting for Potteric.

There are many interesting subjects to paint at Potteric Carr,  beautiful views from the hides of wildlife, trees, water;  wide-angled views of Huxter Well Marsh (in planning);  the many pathways through woodland, light and shade -  the high path along Hawthorn Bank lined with silver birch and Willow Bank with marshy woodland on one side and open fields on the other, and perhaps the chance to see a roe deer or three.

Hawthorn Triangle , Mid March 2012 

(a view from the steps)

This is the first view I had of Hawthorn Triangle on one of my early walks familiarising myself with the reserve. It was a glorious day in mid March, the strong sunlight caught the extraordinary colour of the trees  and emphasised the light and shade in this beautiful space. There have been a few occasions since then that I have thought of painting it, when the orchids were in flower and later the teasles, sow thistles and butterflies. But this was 'a first view'  and will forever be the one I remember.

Thank you for looking in.

Just Morning Dew and Spider's webs.

It was very quiet when I took my morning walk down the riverbank, there was an early mist with the promise of some uninterrupted sunshine, just a few fishermen and hardly any traffic on the bridge.  

I had wellingtons on but I was getting very wet, there is just a footpath through the long grass this side of the river and it is a great pleasure usually to walk along it, but this morning was very special. The wild flowers and the views were off course very beautiful, but I was completely bowled over by the hundreds of spider webs on flowers and grasses, the dew sparkling like precious stones in the sunlight.

At this point I turned back ready for my breakfast, but I remembered............

 .............................. just a few metres past this fence there used to be kingfishers nesting in the bank.

Thank you for 'looking in"

Wood mouse and Foxgloves

Awoke this morning to a beautiful cool day with a slight breeze, just ideal for working in my garden which had become very overgrown with thistles, nettles and yards of goose-grass etc.

So, almost with 'first light' I set to with shears and all the garden tools so necessary for a good garden tidy up, and six hours later had a very respectable heap of stuff for composting.

 Paths and steps are now clear and hopefully I can get some good photographs, maybe even butterflies on the Buddleia.

Its good to be able to just enjoy the garden and not whittle about work that has to be done in it. At least not for a while!!

An added bonus today as I sat with a refreshing drink in the early afternoon sun, a Bullfinch visited the bird feeders and stayed quite a while, to be followed shortly afterwards by  a Wood mouse.

Almost as perfect as it gets!!!

Garden Wildlife

I photographed this Jay in my garden around 6am this morning, I know its not a good photo, fact is I saw it, had the wrong lens on my camera, took a quick shot, changed the lens, and the Jay had gone. Thing is it the first time I have seen a Jay in the valley for a couple of years, which got me thinking!! You just never know when or if you are going to see it again so 'make a note' and I think the occasional addition to my blog is the perfect spot !!!

While I am at it, so to speak I might as well note one or two other things I hope to see again sometime.

Thrush singing from the top of a conifer, also early morning.

Wrens nest , she seems it have used a considerable length from a ball of garden twine which was on the shelf below the nest. There were seven fledglings but unfortunately I did not get a photograph.

Nuthatch, this was wintertime, now I have two which are regular visitors to my bird feeders.

Two Bees on a February Snowdrop

....and a seat by the Bluebells to enjoy it all.

Thank you for looking.