Amanda Richardson

Sunflowers for the Birs
textile collage 107cm x 98cm
In the summer I visited a field on the cliffs near the Land's End. The crop growing there was for seeds for wild birds. Already a flock of finches were excitedly dining among the millet and sunflowers, all with a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean.

Daffodil Field with Violets
textile collage 104cm x 94cm
This field above Mill Bay is my absolute favourite, not only for it's position just above the a turquoise sea, but for the daffodils that flower here long after they were a commercial crop. This year the violets that flower between the rows were particularly generous and I had to create a collage of this irresistible mix.

Scabious 'Black Cat' with Grasses
textile collage 79cm x 78cm
Black Cat is a seductively beautiful creature that I particularly like when wreathed in golden grasses, and of course attended by the bees and butterflies that love its flowers.

Inula with Bird's Foot Trefoil and Butterflies
textile collage 64cm x 64cm
Bird's Foot Trefoil is laced through my flowering meadow and attracts blue butterflies. Seeing this with the fascinating flowers of Inula, I had to create a collage.

Grey Wagtail beside Waterfall
textile collage 69cm x 61cm
Grey Wagtails visit the Penberth River in search of food, and I love to see them among the mossy stones.

Blue Hydrangea and White Clematis over Water
textile collage 104cm x 103cm
In my garden a white clematis clambers through blue hydrangeas. This collage is a study of rich but subtle blues contrasted by the crisp whites, all reflected in still water.

White Hydrangea over Still Water
textile collage 103cm x 99cm
The shift in colours as Hydrangea flowers age is both subtle and fascinating. This collage plays both with this, and their reflections in water, which are ever changing.

Plum Blossom Nijo Castle
textile collage 117cm x 124.5cm
Early one Spring I was invited to take part in an exhibition at the Kyoto Municipal Art Gallery. This was the perfect opportunity to explore the historic gardens of the city including Nijo Castle with its orchard of ornamental plum trees which were in full flower.

Spring Flowers among Leaf Litter
textile collage 70cm x 84cm
This wildly romantic collection of flowers, fallen petals, and skeletal leaves is to be found in many of our Cornish gardens in early spring. Magnolias drop their huge petals among flowers on the floor below, adding an indulgence of fleeting beauty.

Snowdrops among Ferns
textile collage 67cm x 87cm
My garden is full of many thousands of snowdrops from mid-winter until early spring. I particularly lover where they spring up among the old fronds of ferns, which also abound in my wooded valley garden.

Boulders with Meconopsis and Rhododendrons
textile collage 104cm x 104cm
Traveling in the Eastern Himalayas, there was no-where that caught my imagination so much as this basin where tumbling streams brought melt-waters down to a small lake. Each boulder was covered in gorgeous plants in full flowers

Snake's Head Fritillary and Wood Sorrel on Mossy Boulders
textile collage 61cm x 53.5cm
A native of water meadows, these Snake's head Fritillary are thriving on mossy boulders in a stream, together with that delightful plant of damp and shady places, Wood Sorrel.

Mossy Banks of the Kennal River
textile collage 99cm x 104cm
In May, when the ferns are unfurling and Bluebells flowering, the mossy banks of the woodland rivers in Cornwall are at their loveliest. The Kennal river has many waterfalls, which become spectacular after heavy rain.

Koi Carp with Floating Leaves
textile collage 89cm x 90cm
I visited a lake with Koi when the golden leaves of autumn were falling; floating on the water and glowing in the sunshine while the fish swam below. I visited a lake with Koi when the golden leaves of autumn were falling; floating on the water and glowing in the sunshine while the fish swam below.

White Koi with Fireworks
textile collage 69cm x 70cm
The Japanese Hydrangea 'Fireworks' was the perfect compliment to this elegant white Koi Carp, overhanging the deep green waters of its pool.

Green Hairstreak and Blue Butterfly on Seapinks
textile collage 54cm x 49cm
For the first time, this Spring I saw a Green Hairstreak butterfly on the cliffs of Cornwall, along with our familiar Common Blue butterflies. In celebration of this first siting I have created this collage with the Seapinks they were dining on, above the sea at Nanjulian.

Penwith Hedge in Autumn
textile collage 104cm x 103cm
There is a particular quality of light that can envelop the fields of coastal Penwith in autumn when the sun begins to break through fog. The landscape shifts from ghostly shapes to rich tawny colours, and spiders' webs shine with dew.