I was recently contacted by someone asking for more details about a picture they had found by a bin, liked a lot, and taken home. It was nicely framed but not showing a signature on the front, luckily it had a small label stuck on the back saying that the artist was John Busby and […]
Pictures
New exhibition June and July 2023
It was a lovely exhibition and I do hope you were able to see it. Some of the pictures sold I have put in the Recently Sold gallery, and I hope to start a new gallery of Framed Pictures soon so that you can see the others. —————- We’re just in the last stages of […]
Searching for otters
A recent request for ‘any little pencil drawings of otters not already on the website’ saw me in the studio gingerly opening the drawer marked “Mostly mammals”. As I have written before, John had several chests of architect’s plan drawers to accommodate sketches, unframed watercolours, old illustrations and the like. Although shallow at only about […]
Interesting juxtapositions 1
It’s off to a new owner! The sale of this picture has brought back happy memories of visiting the Old Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh with Dad. On the Royal Mile, deep in Edinburgh’s Old Town this gloriously higgledy-piggledy museum was one of a kind. I remember the small rooms piled high with toys on […]
New Additions
Here are some of the newest additions to the website – enjoy! Those with a BUY NOW button are available from our online shop. The others won’t be far behind but please contact us to discuss options, particularly if you need international delivery. click on picture for details
Jordan bird illustrations
In 1995 John was asked to illustrate the then definitive guide to birding in Jordan, Ian J Andrews’ Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Full of photos by the author, John’s illustrations add a depth of interest and drew on his experience of the country in the 1970’s and 1990’s. As always his illustrations show […]
Not just watercolours
Although this website is mostly concerned with John’s watercolours and drawings, he also drew birds in oils and pastels. Here are just a few to whet your appetite. Click on the pictures to bring up the details.
Ever tried Nature Journaling?
Keeping a visual diary is something that may appeal to you and there are many sources of encouragement from the books of Claire Walker Leslie, a pioneer in the field and a long time friend of John Busby to the online videos and teaching of John Muir Laws in California. Here is John Muir Laws […]
Arlequin Birdwatching guides
In the 1990’s and early 2000’s Arlequin Press published a large number of Birdwatching Guides to different areas, with suggestions for places to go, birds to see and, of course, a tick-list of possible species to cross off one’s lifetime list. The publishing house was set up to offer limited edition wildlife art books (starting […]
One good tern deserves…
Seven good terns! These lovely pen and wash drawings were found bundled together in the studio. They are all initialled and are likely to be illustrations for a book but I don’t know which one. Then I found this guide to Farne Island Birds with very similar illustrations, so our terns might have been for […]