2019.
This project began as a commission to create wildlife illustrations for an interpretative information board celebrating the plants and animals of a small Irish town.
The artwork brought together a selection of familiar species associated with the local landscape, including a bat, squirrel, starling, bumblebee and oak tree. I approached the illustrations in my natural-history style, combining realistic observation with enough visual character to make each species engaging and easily recognisable in a public setting.
Although the wider information-board project did not ultimately continue after the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, I’m still fond of the illustrations and the idea behind the project. Community interpretation can be a powerful way of making local biodiversity visible, particularly when it focuses on species that people may encounter in their everyday surroundings without necessarily stopping to notice them.
Projects like this sit at an interesting intersection between wildlife illustration, design and environmental communication. An information board has to work at a distance and in a public environment, but it also has the opportunity to encourage people to look more closely, learn about the species around them and develop a stronger connection with their local landscape.
This project is an early example of the type of nature-focused interpretation work that has continued to form part of my practice, including illustrations and design for biodiversity projects, interpretation boards, educational resources and conservation initiatives.
If you are developing an interpretation or biodiversity project for a town, park, community organisation or conservation initiative, get in touch to discuss how wildlife illustration could help communicate the story of your local natural environment.
