ARTIST STATEMENT

My art is about capturing a moment; something that stirs the memory in the viewer.  I believe that when we see beauty in something, it is because we see a certain look in the eyes, a fleeting emotion, a powerful or graceful pose, a play of light rendering previously unseen colours or inherent gentleness in a large, muscled frame.  I strive to capture those moments and in turn convey to my viewer the way that I see the natural world.  My style therefore generally favours portraiture as it brings into sharp focus the details – the lay of the fur and its myriad colours, the beautiful glassy patterns in the eyes or the velvety softness of a muzzle.

TRAINING

I am mostly self-taught and I like to paint in pastel, graphite, coloured pencil, oil and acrylic ink.

I achieved a GCSE in Art when I was 17 and apart from two distance-learning courses, I am mostly self-taught.  Whenever I get the opportunity I enjoy attending seminars or courses with professional artists whose work I admire, which enables me to learn new methods and techniques.

I love to have animals around me and over the years have owned many animals (horses, dogs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, to name a few!), which has been invaluable in assisting me understand animal anatomy and behaviour.

ART RELATED SKILLS

During my working career I have worked with some major corporations and have had the benefit of being a trained presenter, facilitator, course developer and instructor.

I have carried out instruction sessions with amateur artists at monthly society meetings and am now running my own one-day workshops and plan to hold regular classes in my local area.

I am a commissioned artist mainly in the pet portrait arena, but I have also undertaken portraits of adults and children.

I have served on the committee of two established art societies - Marwell International Wildlife Art Society (MIWAS) & Whiteley Art Society (WAS)

ACHIEVEMENTS

MIWAS Exhibition 2009 Best Non-British Species & BEST IN SHOW
MIWAS Exhibition 2008 Runner Up Most Improved Artist - award presented by Simon King, Naturalist and Broadcaster

Wildscape Artist of the Year awards – 2009 (two categories), 2008, 2006

Wildscape Paint a British Species 2005

Wildscape Portraying Movement 2007

Featured in article in MIWAS and local glossy magazines