Last Days of Summer and "Roaths Ugly Duckling" presentation

An artists intimacy with Nature






I have been building up a lot of experience of observing and painting birds and had been considering the best way to present my work.

I had been offered the opportunity to take up the challenge of speaking to a group at the United Services MESS in Cardiff who have a speaker once a month after a lunch on a Friday.

I was offered the chance to speak at the September lunch about three weeks ago!

Yes it was a great opportunity ... but with all the material i have on record where was I to start.

... So I gave them a title ! Roaths Ugly Duckling.

That gave it a location and still I had so much material but with a bit of planning and well I knew who was to be the ugly duckling ... it appeared in a painting I composed on my birthday back in July.

Roaths Ugly Duckling inspired as I watched Grebes back in early July

My early experiences and intimacy with the pair of swans and their signets as I painted nightly on the Thames would also act as important part and introduction. Then of course there are so many other players on Roath lake to mention ... it was just difficult to decide what not to include!

As I prepared during the week before I popped down to Roath Lake and to my complete amazement I found there was a new Grebe nest I had not seen before. I was amazed, in the second week of September ... do the Grebe never give up!!

The first morning my painting was interrupted by a heavy shower of rain, but I was so excited about finding yet another grebe nest that I returned the following morning to create a second picture.

I had discovered the new nest while photographing the family of Grebes which were now about 5 weeks old but had also had a nest on the fallen tree (see picture left). When I looked at my photos of the new nest I was more than surprised to find that they had a young chick. In the right hand photo one can see the parent turning the remaining egg with the chick, with its grey and black plumage to the right of the nest.

I was so chuffed with these latest developments as I made my final preparations for my presentation ... I realised I could even to suggest and indicate that they too the audience, could view this nest !

Final preparations

As I placed my paintings of birds round the room a long side many of the paintings which depicted various flying machines in action ... it seemed quite an interesting contrast.

As guest of honour we sat down to a lovely three course meal and when the coffee had been served I made my start. My paintings were well received and my extract from Julian Huxleys book quoting his desciption "the bird as if dead" as he descibed the act of copulation, was well received!

I felt I had performed well and all seemed to appreciate the presentation and my friend Roger described my presentation kept going well with my "exploding enthusiasm!"

I must finally thank the United Services Mess for inviting me and hosting this event.

Finally if you have a group or organisation that would like to learn more of the behaviour of Wetland Birds ... this presentation by Tuning into Birds "Roaths Ugly Duckling" can be booked.