It is only now, after all these years when I am almost 94 years old, that I am realising how incredibly privileged I was as an artist, to have the chance to encounter and paint in situ amidst their natural surroundings these little streaks of iridescence – hummingbirds! Two things I'd like my reader to remember: one, that it was way back in the 70s when the word ‘hummingbird' may have cropped up from time to time in America where they are to be found, but only something in the dictionary in England. Secondly, that I am not an ornithologist, only an artist and these are the personal results of intense observation, pencil and watercolour, as I never use a camera and never paint anything I have not seen.

It also occurs to me that I am one of the few, if not the only one, who has portrayed these little flying gems in watercolour and pencil directly during activity! Over the years, of course, modern technology enabled photographers to ‘freeze' and extend the range of knowledge in all directions of the natural world, but I doubt if anyone has had more  enjoyment than I had with my watercolour and pencil.