In 1992 in its second expedition, the Artists for Nature Foundation (ANF) working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) sent 32 international artists, including John Busby, to the Biebrza Marshes in Poland. Only three years earlier the area had been designated a Landscape Park and the Biebrza Society were working hard to transform the status […]
Publications
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 […]
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 […]
‘The Gannet’
I recently came across some seabird prints that I thought I recognised. A little sleuthing showed that they were illustrations from The Gannet by J Bryan Nelson, published by T&AD Poyser in 1978 (1st ed). Unlike his previous publications The Gannet was written for the general ornithologist and bird watcher. Nelson “tried to make this monograph […]
PPP Penguins
These cute behavioural studies of penguins are from a worthy monograph on the subject by Tony D Williams published in 1995 by Oxford University Press [not to be confused with a later monograph published by Poyser!] Designed for the ‘professional scientist and the serious amateur ornithologist’ it was part of a series on Bird Families […]
Artist’s cards – and the originals
Artist’s cards are now available to buy. They feature a range of John’s work from his seabirds to mammals, owls and eagles, as well as field and garden birds. Many are also illustrations from his books, Lines from Nature and Land Marks and Sea Wings. The cards are either 15cm (6″) square or 13 x […]
Surprising sights and the role of the imagination
Looking at Birds is aptly subtitled ‘an antidote to Field Guides‘. John is making the point that identifying birds is only the beginning, and that to be open to other ways of watching birds will greatly enhance our time spent doing it. He suggests that we should enjoy the “many times when, because of light […]
An animated Flipbook for you!
The first of three flip books showing the Alphabet pictures. Click on links on back pages to see all three booklets [alternatively go direct to the Alphabet blog here]