Richard Bell is an illustrator and writer, based in West Yorkshire. Since 1998 his illustrated Wild West Yorkshire nature diary has featured the wildlife of gardens, woodland, heaths and waterside on his home patch in the Calder Valley and beyond. In January 2011 he made the move to WordPress format.
You can see his published sketchbooks, walks and local guides at Willow Island Editions.
Hi to you both; as we are approaching 80 (well B is!) we have decided to check through (& edit?) old videos/ slides/ etc. Last evening we enjoyed recalling images of Skokkholm-video taken in 1990; what lovely memories too; so young we were!! They have got copied to DVD-so not erasing them yet a while!!! Very best wishes to you both; PS by the way we’re still travelling, both home & away while the ‘old’ clock still ticks!.Go to Old Moor sometimes so will keep an eye our for you there.
Hard to believe that’s almost a quarter of a century ago! Must get back there. Somewhere I’ve got standard 8 cine footage of Skokholm from way back in Easter 1970, must get that dubbed onto DVD. One of the things we remember about Skokholm is that you could be walking along and there would be a state of the art (such as it was then!) video camera lying by the side of the trail, perhaps left there by someone going out on the Neck. An honest area. Though I seem to remember that you kept to looking back to the mainland to make sure the camper van was still in the car park at Martin’s Haven.
Hi Richard,
Picked up a lovely copy of Wild Britain in Dartmouth a week or so ago and knowing what a fantastic treat it was going to be put off reading it until last night – just terrific we’ve got so used to digitised images it felt like eating fresh food after a life of tinned beans.
Of course there’s also the snob factor “oh yes I’ve been there” – Cleeve Hill, Wistman’s Wood, Rannoch Moor and last but not least lovely Wakefield!
In danger of becoming a big fan.
Rupert
I want to go back to all those places – even Wakefield! – so I’ve got a long term plan for the sequel.
I know exactly what you mean about paper v. cyberspace because I’ve just devoured Tommy Kane’s waywardly globetrotting ‘An Excuse to Draw’. I’m so familiar with his work online but what a difference seeing it on the page. Makes me want to grab my art bag, jump on a plane and get sketching.
I totally enjoy your works, very inspiring to do more myself…many thanks.
Thank you Sandy. I’m feeling inspired myself with a new year and two new sketchbooks to work in, a travel journal (hardback by Seawhite) and a square Pink Pig, spiral bound, for natural history. But I still need a pocket sketchbook for everyday!
Hi Richard,
My mum has had your book “rough patch” on tables in my life since I was very little (I believe she was gifted it by my aunt in Huddersfield when you first published it). Recently I myself have been delving into the world of being some sort of nature/art person. I revisited your book last year through this adult lens and devoured it! (I’m over in Cork, Ireland). It was my exact favourite style of art and I adored the concept. I think I even made an instagram post about it at the time. Then today I went to do a water colour of bramble plant and was googling reference images. A sketch from your blog popped up and i decided to follow the trail of it back to this website as I loved the style of the image. Et Voila! It was you! The author of Rough Patch with a website! Delighted to come across this space online, every inch of it is gorgeous.
Keep it going please!!!
Maggie O’Shea