‘The Rutland Bird Life Is A Constant Source Of Inspiration'

Print-maker and painter angela harding.

- Sarah Wilson

I always start the day with a dog walk or a cycle ride, following the muddy track at the bottom of our garden, up over the fields until I come to the point where I can look down over Rutland Water and the Nature Reserve. It’s such a peaceful spot, with trails through the woodland to ponds full of life and birdwatching hides overlooking the water. I’ve spent many hours drawing there. It’s possible to see woodpeckers, nuthatches and marsh tits, and the wealth of bird and aquatic life is a constant inspiration for my work, such as my prints Early Nesters and Frogs and Flax. I always take a sketchbook with me and record the birds I see in scribbles, so that later in the studio I can develop them into more formal designs. In the spring there are nightingales and I have