I’ve always had two main passions in life; art and animals. From a very young age, both brought me immense joy and made my heart sing. Growing up around animals; both domestic pets and the abundance of wildlife in the garden, taught me so much about their indisputable sentience, unconditional love and the great comfort they bring during difficult times.  I feel blessed to combine these two great passions in my work as an animal artist, working mainly in pastels, and I like to think my love of animals shines through on the canvas.

My love of art led me to follow a formal art education right through from School, College and on to University where I graduated with a 1st Class honours degree in Visual Communication from Northumbria University. After which, I acquired an agent, and moved to London to work as an Illustrator working on children’s books, along side pet portrait commissions. I won several art awards and had the great fortune to exhibit at the Mall Galleries as part of a collective of artists. Choosing the sensible option however, I fell into a ten year magazine publishing career working as a Picture Editor, until a fortuitous redundancy gave me the opportunity to realign with my true passions, and get back to the drawing board.

I now work full time as a professional artist from my studio in Crowborough, lovingly creating highly detailed portraits, using only the finest archival materials to ensure they last a lifetime. Soft pastels are my medium of choice for the vibrancy and convincing softness they permit. Read more about pastels here.

Meet the team!

Graham
GrahamChief Scrutineer
Meet Graham, my furry art assistant, always on hand to give the most gruelling of critique and to ensure that I am continually striving to improve.