Christine Isherwood - Artist and Naturalist

First and foremost, Christine was a naturalist. She loved nature and was never happier than when out of doors, bird watching, plant hunting, rockpooling. That intense love for nature fuelled her art. She wanted to record what she saw for her own pleasure but also for others to enjoy, and to learn from. She wanted people to appreciate, love and protect nature as she did.

She was always on the lookout for things to draw and paint, composing paintings in her head as she went. Not all of these ideas made it onto paper - there wasn't enough time - but the ones that did were beautiful. Her studies of birds, flowers and mountain landscapes are distinguished by their meticulous precision, but also by their simple beauty.

Her paintings were done in watercolour, gouache and acrylic, but she also produced an enormous number of detailed drawings in pen and ink, mostly done using a very fine drafting pen.

Much of the pen and ink work was done to illustrate a series of walk guides, with text by her friend Mary Welsh. Early books covered areas in the north of England, but their major work was a series of twenty one books covering the whole of Scotland, details of which can be found here.

Dryas Press has now published a book of Christine's artwork to celebrate her life, her art, and her contribution to human happiness. Read more...