The BBC museum piece starts at 24:50. It's only up for a few more hours:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zw0hr/North_West_Tonight_31_03_2011/

If anyone has awesome video capture skills could they please get a clip of it so I can show my family back home?

x Gina

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One of my stipple drawings for the Soil Biodiversity Team at the NHM is finished. This is a dung beetle (Geotropes sp.)

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Animals in the conservation department waiting to go on display in the new gallery:

Behind the museum:

The view from my office

What I did today- cleaned shells and cut out bits of plastazote to mount them on. These will be going on display in the new gallery.

The finished shells (only hundreds to go!):

More pics of the conservation department

That's a human skeleton on the trolley

Going to sleep now. Exhausted but happy

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Last night I was in quite a lot of pain (I still feel sore), but to cheer myself up I decided to draw something cartoony and fun, as I haven't done so in a while. Plus I have a backlog of commissions to finish before I move to Manchester. I think I might draw a series of New Zealand flightless birds as they all seem so odd and interesting.

© Copyright 2011 Gina Allnatt

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There is an article on the Phylo Project in the Natural History Museum children's magazine Second Nature.

Inside is a fold-out poster





This is what you get when you fold it out! (My squid is the second from the left on the top)



Inside the magazine is a competition. You can draw the blue whale from the mammals hall and if your image is chosen it becomes a Phylo card and you get £30 of Museum vouchers. This, along with the Images of Nature gallery is encouraging more children and adults to draw and learn about nature, which can only be a good thing.

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The bird is a Resplendent Quetzal. The image was drawn with graphite, watercolour and colour pencil.



Here is a quick sketch of a study skin too:

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...I got the Manchester position!!!!!!!!

I've been given a month or so to move, Just waiting for paperwork etc. I'm walking on air. HURRAH! I DID IT!

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Stipple drawing of a dung beetle from the New Forest (It's not quite finished):

Life sized:

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Guys, I'm going to work with scientists in the Entomology department. Before any of you go "but isn't that what you already do?" let me explain.

I'm going to do scientific illustration! I told Dan about the internship I was applying for and he said he would find some projects for me to do and that he would appreciate it because they need that sort of thing for papers etc. I don't know exactly what those projects will be yet but man, I'm excited!

Speaking of scientific illustration, the Images of Nature gallery opened today, and it's promoting both old and modern scientific illustration heavily. Here they are talking about one of my favorite images on display bu Mark Russell.


Journal of Henry Walter Bates

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I finally received my copy of the latest Waterhouse Times today while working in Entomology. The magazine officially comes out on Friday, and I will send out the hard copies to those who responded to my Facebook message. Here is the article! You can click through to read a large version:

Also, I recently did a page for jabberworks's The Pickle magazine. I did the science page hee hee. If you haven't checked out Sarah's website and books, you really should do so. I promise you will enjoy them.

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I drew this yesterday. This little guy is for sale. He's drawn with Prismacolor pencils on cotton vellum paper. The drawing measures approximately 9 inches high and 8 inches in width.

Lovebird £30.00

Paypal would be best for me, though I will accept cheques. Thanks for looking!

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wieselkind and I were having a cup of tea this morning before she had to catch her train, when a very loud screeching noise came from outside. I looked up and saw three birds, and was about to turn away again when Heather noted they were parakeets! I should have recognized the shape in flight but I don't really expect to see parrots in England so it wasn't immediately obvious to me. They circled then landed on the flats opposite then dissappeared again in the direction of Ladywell Fields. They then came back (flashing brilliant green) and landed in the tree behind my flat. I took these photos from the porch:


Seeing these guys has lifted my spirits. Not only does it remind me of when I used to see big flocks of Aztec Parakeets flying over my house in Belize, but it's a treat on the first day of the New Year and makes me feel hopeful.

I may go wander around Ladywell Fields later to see if they're still around and I might get better pictures.

More on these type of parakeets here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose-ringed_Parakeet

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I met David Attenborough again, and Richard Fortey! Since I had met Attenborough before I bought Fortey's book instead and had him sign it. I had to- I work in Dry Store Room 1 now.

This was after a talk at the Royal Geographical Society on Zoological Nomenclature. I got a bit misty eyed at the end when Sir Attenborough said "If you lose your wonder for nature as you grow up, you have lost a wonderful thing."

So when I had my book signed, I walked up to Sir Attenborough and said "I've met you before, but unfortunately I could only afford one book this time. I just wanted to say you are a great inspiration to me. Thank you."

At the risk of sounding like an utter fangirl- he touched my arm and said thank you back! Squee!

colonel_maxim is now saying I am an Attenborough groupie. Yeah...without shame. ^^

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Today's work:

I cleaned all these guys with smoke sponge and brush today. Boy were they filthy! Oddly, however, the layer of dirt kept them well preserved. The specimen above is from 1873.

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All trainlines are suffering either major disruption or cancelled. It's actually pretty deep for this time of year in London. *Cue Canadians laughing*

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