Our Planet Week 2026
After the success of last years Our Planet Week drawing challenge I knew I wanted to participate again; a new year, a new challenge and a new list of prompts!
After the success of last years Our Planet Week drawing challenge I knew I wanted to participate again; a new year, a new challenge and a new list of prompts!
I never anticipated when I took part last year how the illustrations I created would resonate with so many of you. It only became apparent to me after I printed a few of them to sell at markets that there was something in the messaging, or perhaps some of the subject matter, that really touched you all. They have now, to my surprise, become some of my best selling prints!
If you haven’t heard of Our Planet Week, let me introduce you to it: Run by artists and illustrators, Our Planet Week is a drawing challenge that allows creatives to respond to prompts inspired by the environment in their own way. The drawing challenge begins on Earth Day (22nd April) and runs for 10 days, with creatives producing artwork that sparks conversations and appreciation for the natural world.
This years prompts were Forests Growing, Rivers Flowing, Wind Blowing, Oceans Glowing and Seeds Sowing. I really wanted to focus on British nature for these prompts as a way to shine a spotlight on actually how diverse and beautiful our flora and fauna can be. I sometimes feel theres this preconceived notion that to truly experience awe inspiring wildlife or landscapes we have to travel to far flung shores and I wanted to use this opportunity to really shatter this belief.
The Inspiration
Forests Growing was inspired by our hidden temperate rainforests which I had been unaware of until reading The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole. I wanted to really convey the beauty and rarity of these hidden gems, highlighting key species that are found in these unique climates. Thanks to temperate rainforests we are seeing the return of beavers and pine martens, as well as being special homes to some very rare ferns and insects such as the Chequered Skipper Butterfly.
Rivers Flowing drew it’s inspiration heavily on the river Usk, a river that is a Site of Special Specific Interest (SSSI) and home to many species of fish, animals and plants. I wanted to capture the joyful motion of the river and the otters that call it home, as well as the special sparkle of the sun as it hits the surface of the water.
Wind Blowing paid homage to what I imagine to be the windiest place in Britain, at our tallest peak of Ben Nevis. Measuring 1,345 meters (4,413 ft) Ben Nevis is also home to many special animals, most notably Golden Eagles who nest in the upper craggy mountainside.
Oceans Glowing was my chance to show that you didn’t need to travel to exotic shores to see bioluminescence in the UK - although a very rare occurrence, bioluminescent plankton and jellyfish can be seen off our warmer coasts. Cue the Mauve Stinger Jellyfish, the star of the show for this piece, who glows in the dark when disturbed.
Seeds Sowing felt like a nice way to close the drawing challenge on a note of hope, and finding hope in some of the unlikeliest places. I wanted to highlight the tenacity of the humble dandelion, who despite being deemed a ‘weed’ is actually a crucial plant to helping bees and butterflies in the early spring months. ‘Nature finds a way, and so will you’ was my way of reminding myself, and hopefully others, that in the harshest of environments we can all thrive.
I am so pleased with how this years illustrations turned out, a set that are definitely a huge change from last years designs which were all black and white! As always a huge thank you to everyone who commented, liked and shared my posts over the duration of the drawing challenge. Your kind words have not gone unnoticed, and really kept me going during the moments I felt like giving up on the challenge because I didn’t feel the illustrations were good enough/would get finished in time etc.
If you would like to own one of these illustrations for your own home, they are now available in my shop in a variety of sizes, all printed on recycled material from my Nottingham studio.
Our Planet Week 2025
Over the past few years I’ve really enjoyed taking part in a variety of drawing challenges on Instagram - I find they’re a great way to work, to really expand your skillset, working to prompts that you may not necessarily set yourself and even in colour palettes that may not be your go to. And at the end you have a lovely little body of work that you can use for products or even in your portfolio.
This year I came across the ‘Our Planet Week’ drawing challenge, which coincides with Earth Day (April 22nd) and immediately felt drawn to it’s message and it’s prompts. If you have been following me for a while you will know how passionate I am about the environment and our need to protect and preserve it. I’ve never really translated my feelings about the climate crisis, or how deeply I feel for nature, through my artwork and this felt like a way to dip my toes into a bit of ‘artivisim’.
Over the course of 8 days there were 5 prompts to create artwork in response to. These were:
Touch the Ground
Feel the Air
Hear the Ocean
See the Wild
Go Beyond
I decided from the start that I wanted these designs to make a uniform set and so to achieve that the designs were to be applied to the same grid layout with the same colour palette; black and off white. Now, I know some people would not necessarily think these tones are the true colours of nature, especially when the natural world is so gloriously vibrant and rich in tones, textures and colour. But, I wanted the designs to all carry the same weight - An illustration related to the air was just as important as an illustration about the ocean etc.
And along the way on the journey, as well as being able to share my work and connect with others in a way I didn’t expect, I also got to see the beautiful creativity of other artists who had taken part. I was particularly taken with the work of Asia Orlando, Martina Stuhlberger and Sarah Von Rickenbach who were but a few of the drawing challenge hosts but loved seeing all the contributions from artists all over the world. It’s incredible how each persons interpretation of a prompt can vary so greatly and have no many different ideas!
So without further ado, I would love to share my illustrations for the Our Planet Week 2025 drawing challenge!
The response to this collection on Instagram was so huge (I can’t thank my community enough for their continued and ongoing kind words and support!) that I decided to offer a selection of the designs as prints. You can find these in my shop available in A5, A4 and A3, all printed from my home studio in Nottingham on recycled material.
I would love to know what you think of my responses to the prompts given, and which were your favourite?