"An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.”
Art was a subject I loved at school but didn’t pursue as a career, sadly too many tales of starving artists. My interest in art was revived when we moved to Abu Dhabi in 1997. I joined a pastel art group and really enjoyed learning how to create in this medium, progressing to participating in exhibitions with the group. This lead to being commissioned to do Pet Portraits; it was so nice meeting peoples pets whilst taking numerous photographs to get the perfect shots to work from.
Over the years my interest in art has developed and I discovered a medium I also like to create in is graphite; I like the control I have over a portrait and the amount of detail I can achieve. A new area I am exploring is tinted charcoal pencils and coloured pencils with ink, am loving the detail and depth of colours these combinations can create.
My love of animals makes them my natural subject matter and they are now the subject I focus on; I find nothing more satisfying than trying to capture on canvas an animal’s personality. To further my knowledge, I studied Pet Portraiture with the London College of Art.
Originally I am from Dorset but
have lived abroad for most of my adult life. We recently relocated back to the
UK to Leicestershire from Qatar. Having lived in countries where animal welfare is severely lacking, I am very passionate about promoting responsibility to animals. You will find various animal rescue stories in my blog from my time spent living abroad.
My babies - rescued when they were 2 days old from a carrier bag where they had been dumped in a storm drain in the Philippines. Lots of sleepless nights bottle feeding followed.
Now 15 years old and have very full passports having lived in 6 countries. They are now experiencing the cool air in the UK but aren't overly impressed!
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