Monkey Business (although orang-utans aren't technically monkeys!)

I'm back from Borneo! It was an amazing experience and I was so lucky to get such close contact with the orang-utans and have such a lovely group of girls to share the experience with. I miss them all so much. The orang-utans are incredible creatures, so clever and so naughty. If you take anything away they literally beat their hands on the floor, scream and throw a mega tantrum... just like children.

I didn't forget, while I was way, to take my trusty moleskin and do a bit of sketching... it's been a while!

Here is my lovely group!

Me and Chiquita.

Me working hard while Tomtom (in quarantine) relaxes!

A pause in posting....

This will probably be my last post for a couple of months. After years of waiting I am off to Borneo, Malaysia to volunteer at the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. Very nervous but it will be an amazing experience (and hopefully I can get some sketching in too!). The photos above are of the orang-utan I've adopted, she's called Lumiyud and is 18 months old.
At the beginning of 2011, the monsoon season arrived  and floods were reported across the state, including at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Later as a local fisherman was checking the fishing nets that he had cast in the raging Kinabatangan River he happened to notice a small furry figure clinging desperately to a tree on the bank.  As he moved closer he realised that it was a baby orangutan, squeaking in distress - her mother was nowhere to be seen.  Amazingly the baby orangutan allowed the fisherman to take her down from the branch.  It was obvious that the baby was starving hungry as well as shivering from the cold, and she was in desperate need of comfort.  The fisherman took the baby to his home and she was then taken to the sanctuary.It was decided she should be called “Lumiyud,” which means Flood in Malay.


I'm away for 2 months but if you miss me too much you can always head on down to Baron Art in Holt, Norfolk where my prints are being sold. The gallery also has some other beautiful works from other artists. If you're nearby, drop in and take a look!