I flew 1,000 miles to get my dad the recognition he deserves

The son of a late wildlife artist has flown from New Zealand to the UK because he wants his father's work to receive the recognition he believes it deserves.

Peter Partington, who lived in Kettlebaston, Suffolk, created hundreds of pieces of art dedicated to nature before his death in March 2025.

His son, Jerome Partington, has now created a book to honour Peter's life's work and is hosting events in aid of charities that were close to his father's heart.

Jerome said: "When Dad died a bit out of the blue. I thought thousands of people knew him, but he hadn't had much recognition. So we created this book, and in a way, Dad's done all the hard work. He's painted all these incredible pictures...I've just put them together in a way that hopefully tells a story."

Jerome, who is now based near Auckland in New Zealand, explained his father had always had a love of nature and art from a young age.

He said he had fond memories of his father often showing him insects and flowers while in the garden or enjoying walks together.

His father's love of art and nature also inspired him to pursue his own career in architecture, where he incorporates ecological and regenerative practices.

Partington had his own studio in Lavenham and Jerome said Suffolk had provided much inspiration.

"He would go to each nature reserve in Suffolk and south Norfolk, a few times a year," he continued.

"He knew them all by heart and had all sorts of friends he went there with.

"He loved it, absolutely loved it. He needed no excuse to get out that door with his binoculars and his sketch pad."

Jerome has travelled back to the UK to host events for the book titled The Artists Anthology.

He will be travelling to Sudbury, Lavenham, St Neots in Cambridgeshire and near Gloucester this month.

A share of the sales will go toward creating a bursary for wildlife artists to work with young people and for nature charities.

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