Wild Island: A Year in the Hebrides

Jane Smith

mar 2016 · Casemate Publishers

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This memoir of a year on a virtually uninhabited Scottish island, including illustrations of flora and fauna, is “the next best thing to being there” (Scotland on Sunday).

Wild Island depicts a year in the life of Oronsay, a remote Scottish island that is farmed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and follows artist Jane Smith as she attempts to portray the interactions of wildlife, farm animals, and a small number of human inhabitants.

A humorous, first-hand, personal view of island life, both human and otherwise, the book is illustrated with Smith’s vibrant and acutely observed sketches, paintings, and prints. She invites us into her world as she delves into such questions as: What does it feel like to sit in a bog all day? Where are a bird's knees? And why do I always wind up covered in acrylic paint?

Musing on encounters with creatures from otters to oil beetles, conservation management, and the tides, winds, and ferries that affect each journey to and from the island, Smith offers a beautiful portrait of a special place—and shares the ridiculous things that happen when living on a remote island, cut off from the rest of the world.

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Jane Smith was born in Sussex. After gaining a degree in Zoology, she became a wildlife film-maker for the BBC Natural History Unit and National Geographic, winning an Emmy for her work. When her children were born she changed direction, creating wildlife artwork as another way of communicating her passion for the natural world. She now lives in Argyll with her husband, also a wildlife film-maker, and children.