Rosemary Dickens always worked close to nature. Even when only eight years old she would sketch wild flowers and other things collected when walking or cycling with her lifetime friend, Mary. On return she drew the plants while Mary played the piano.
She trained at Salisbury College of Art in the late 1950's and early 60's, specialising in creative design, embroidery and painting.
Her early oil paintings of the countryside and flowers were executed boldly with palette knife and a collection of Spanish and Moroccan paintings followed. The latter shown at the Medical School Gallery, Southampton University and The Playhouse, Salisbury.

In the 80's, when recovering from a spinal operation, Rosemary started a project which was to continue for the next 25 years. The prehistoric sites roughly between Badbury Rings in Dorset and Stonehenge in Wiltshire were researched and an imaginary geomantic dragon laid out on the landscape, linking all the long and round barrows with henges and hill forts. A series of watercolour and ink illustrations were produced, with dragons representing earth energy at the major sites and wild flowers and plants recorded.

The whole collection was shown in 2006 at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum in the main gallery. The Curator gave it the title 'The Dragon Trail - A Journey in Wessex'. A book giving a brief history of the sites, which also included churches with Saxon and Norman elements, watermills and any other places of interest, went with the collection.

Part of The Dragon Trail, some on loan from new owners, went on display at The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth in 2007.

Then followed a ceramic phase, which produced 'The River', with colourful fish found in British waters, and other creatures.

In 2002 Rosemary decided to start keeping a Sketching Diary again, having produced the first one in 1976. Quick sketches throughout the year, recording the natural world, the seasons, birds, animals, local events, artists and their work, along with family occasions. At the end of each year the work is bound into two, sometimes three volumes and is a very useful record.

In 2015 a collection of colourful gouache and paper collage pictures, representing British birds, animals, insects, beetles and flowers. The cut-outs of Henri Matisse having been an inspiration over the years.
It was followed by a collection of more exotic collages in 2018.

Rosemary had been concentrating on her Sketching Diaries and in 2021 and 2022 kept a separate Diary for LIME KILN DOWN near Salisbury. She is still recording the plants, birds and insects throughout the year. In 2023 there were 10 Lizard Orchids flowering, not known elsewhere in this area and are extremely rare.
It includes the adjoining Little Woodbury Iron Age Farmstead and Great Woodbury Iron Age Hillfort - Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
This small Nature Reserve is now under threat from proposed housing. Without a proper buffer zone Lime Kiln Down cannot survive.

Click here to get your copy of the Lime Kiln Book.