The Culture File Debate: Seeing Natures Jane Carkill, Melissa Culhane, Killian Mullarney and Yanny Petters in conversation with Paddy Woodworth

In Partnership with RTÉ lyric fm's Culture File

How do artists capture nature’s limitless beauty for the printed (or electronic) page? What creative tensions arise between accuracy and aesthetics? In this live recording of RTE lyric fm’s Culture File Debate, our panel of nature illustrators and artists reveal the art and science of bringing the natural world to page, screen, and gallery wall.  From field guides to fine art, from children’s books to stand-alone painting cards and calendars our panel explores how visual storytelling helps connect people with the environment. The panelists are Jane Carkill, illustrator of Jane Clarke’s recent acclaimed anthology of Irish nature poems Windfall, Melissa Culhane (Doran), illustrator of Michael Fewer’s much-loved Naturama, Killian Mullarney, illustrator of the best-selling Collins Bird Guide, and Yanny Petters, whose botanical paintings have been collected by the National Botanic Gardens and are currently exhibited at the National Gallery. Join us for this exploration of viewing nature through the media of art, chaired by Paddy Woodworth, environment writer and presenter of The Naturalist’s Bookshelf for Culture File, a series on the nature books he particularly cherishes.

Jane Carkill is an illustrator and textile designer living in The Burren situated in North Clare. She studied Fine Art Textiles at the School of Design and Creative Arts in Atlantic Technological University. She is fascinated by natural ephemeral beauty and intricate detail and combines a love of folklore, narration, myth and story with a precise style of illustration to capture an essence in nature that is both magical and nostalgic. Flora and fauna are the ultimate inspiration for her work, which she combines with the distinctive elements and characteristics of her everyday experience in the rugged limestone landscape. She has provided illustrations to two recent major Hachette Book Group publications: ‘Wild Embrace’ by Anja Murray, and ‘Windfall; Irish Nature Poems to Inspire and Connect’, edited by Jane Clarke, as well as ‘The Keeper of the bees’ by Eimear Chaomhánach, published by O’Brien Press. Her first authored and illustrated book ‘Watercolor in the woods’, published by Page Street Publishing Co., will be released this December. 

Melissa Culhane is an artist and animator based in County Sligo. She illustrated the number one bestselling children’s book Naturama (2016) and its companion book, My Naturama Nature Journal (2017), published by Gill Books. She had solo exhibitions with drawings from Naturama at Íontas Arts Centre, Co Monaghan, and at Bí Urban, Dublin. Melissa leads nature art workshops for children as well as wildflower sketch walks for families. She also teaches digital illustration and stop motion animation to adults. She has an MA in Digital Media Technology, a B.Sc. in Architecture and a BA (hons) in Animation. Her graduate animation, A Quack Too Far (2019), toured festivals internationally, and is available to view online. She is currently working on her new short, Keep Going, Little Snail. In 2024, Melissa was awarded an artist Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland to develop her non-fiction children’s book, Growing Up Human.

Killian Mullarney became fascinated by birds while very young, and gradually became aware that sketching wild birds ‘from life’ while observing them through a telescope not only contributed hugely to his appreciation of their beauty, but gave him a deep understanding of the more challenging aspects of bird-identification. Harper Collins commissioned him to illustrate a new field guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. The Collins Bird Guide, published in 1999, remains the best- selling guide to European birds, and is translated into 23 languages. Killian has also designed 40 postage stamps on Irish birds for An Post, and is currently designing 10 stamps on migrant birds for the Royal Mail. He is also involved with The Sound Approach, dedicated to popularizing the appreciation of birdsong and raise standards in the use of sounds in bird identification. He lives in County Wexford with his wife and three children.

Yanny Petters has been painting exquisitely detailed portraits of wild plants since the 1990s. Fascinated by colour, form and detail, her love and interest in botanical art stemmed from her work as a signwriter where plant themes were common in decorative design. As well as working in watercolours and oils Yanny also specialises in ‘painting on glass’, a technique she has been developing since her signwriting years. Yanny teaches watercolour painting and drawing from nature and the purpose of her work is to raise awareness of the wonders of nature and especially the wild plants of Ireland. Her paintings are in a number of important collections including the Shirley Sherwood Collection at Kew Gardens, London, the Office of Public Works State Collection, & the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin. One of her works was acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland in 2020. Her sculpture, ‘Hand Fan for Habitats’ was acquired by the National Museum of Ireland in 2021.

Paddy Woodworth (Bray, 1951) is an author, journalist, lecturer and tour guide. He contributes regularly to The Irish Times on environmental issues, and broadcasts ‘The Naturalist’s Bookshelf’ on Culture File for RTE lyric fm on his favourite nature books. He has published two acclaimed books on the Basque Country. In 2013, he published a study of ecological restoration projects worldwide, and in Ireland, Our Once and Futur Planet: Restoring the World in the Climate Change Century (U of Chicago Press). A BioScience reviewer wrote: “Highly readable. This book will bring the concept and application of ecological restoration to a broader audience and will help inspire a new generation of restoration practitioners and researchers”. He partners Muhammad Achour on Sanctuary in Nature & Heritage, a project that introduces asylum seekers, refugees and migrants to Irish natural and cultural heritage sites, and offers them opportunities to discuss their own heritages with Irish people.