by Paula Peeters | Jul 8, 2015 | Forest portraits, Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
Look for depictions of forests in art and you won’t find many. Sure, there are plenty of landscapes with trees. But look closer and you’ll notice there are only a few trees, probably to one side of the picture, and the rest is open country. Or it is a parkland, some...
by Paula Peeters | Jun 27, 2015 | Writing
The first showbag at the very first Ekka was a bag of coal. That was in 1876, and some things still haven’t changed. But let me explain to non-Queenslanders: the ‘Ekka’ is what locals call the Royal Queensland Show, the largest agricultural show in the State. Last...
by Paula Peeters | Jun 20, 2015 | Wildlife illustration, Writing
This week I did a little forest bathing – ‘Shinrin-yoku’ to the Japanese. It’s the practice of immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere, and is said to reduce stress, and maybe even prevent cancer. I took my forest bath by walking to Coomera...
by Paula Peeters | Jun 13, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
“There’s far too much wildlife in the suburbs” I heard a woman say the other day. She shuddered, and her face wrinkled up as if there was cat poo under her nose. I didn’t want to start an argument, so I said nothing at the time. But this same urban wildlife is...
by Paula Peeters | Jun 6, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
Australian swans are black, while most swans are white. Why should this be? When I was a child, growing up in Australia, the only swans I saw were black. At Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, or in the Botanic Gardens of Melbourne, the swans were slightly menacing in their...
by Paula Peeters | May 16, 2015 | Tales of science, Wildlife illustration, Writing
This post is co-authored by Gordon Sanson.¹ Early dawn light is creeping across a glassy-still wetland, as wreaths of mist curl upwards. A large white egret stands still, poised ready. Nearby a man is waiting for kangaroos to venture onto the lush grass near the...
