The book is an alphabet of women who have touched Mrs Paine’s life, each name and dedication illustrated with a watercolour painting of wildlife corresponding to the same letter.

“There are so many wonderful women who have really impacted my life and I wanted to honour them publicly,” the author said.

“We all need people to encourage and support us, but we don’t always thank them for that.

“Also there is a lot of anger spilling out between people, over the internet, in politics and I think we need to recognise that kindness is what is important in making our lives liveable.”

Mrs Paine said using the alphabet as a framework helped narrow down her selection of people, birds and flowers.

She acknowledged that she had some nervousness about publically presenting her paintings of flowers and birds, many captured in her own garden in Mudgee.

Mrs Paine said that she had loved the Mudgee region since arriving in 1979 to teach English and History at Mudgee High School.

“I grew up in Miranda in Sydney, near beaches and bushland there, not to mention the crowds,” she said.

“Mudgee was such a revelation and not just because it was much hotter and colder than I’d ever experienced.

“Our circle of hills and rolling farmland were so beautiful.

“Also I’d grown up with mostly sparrows and magpie larks in Sydney but here there are blue wrens and thornbills, hawks and pelicans.

“And I just loved seeing them in town and in the school grounds, or in the bush nearby.”