A significant percentage of the proceeds from the sale of this piece will be donated to the ocean charity of Philip's choice... stay tuned for further info and contact me if you'd like more information about the piece.
I have stepped outside my comfort zone and entered Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year as a wildcard entry and had my drawing of Scotney Castle shown (and discussed by the judges) on one episode of the programme in 2016 - maybe I'll enter again sometime, TV is rather fun.
Where it all began:
I was home-schooled from the age of five until I was ten, and I believe this gave me the freedom to express my creativity (as well as spending more time drawing than I would have done at school!). It also gave me the opportunity to spend more time with my pets, and exploring the wildlife in my garden and Sussex countryside which gave me a deep respect and love for animals.
I took up the Olympic Sport of fencing at the age of ten, and attending at least ten competitions per year (many of them abroad), and training up to 18 hours a week meant that until I retired a few years ago, my art was maintained only as a hobby. Whilst I still coach fencers I am devoting an ever growing percentage of my time producing bespoke pieces of art for clients across the UK and have clients as far afield as Australia and Singapore.
As you can see from recent work displayed in my gallery I am able to produce pet portraits, wildlife and other artwork to order.
I love working with clients to produce portraits that are a true representation of the character of their pet (or other family member) that they can treasure forever.
In 2009 I was commissioned by Simon Cowell, founder of Wildlife Aid in Leatherhead, to illustrate the children’s book he has written based on real-life wildlife rescues.
I have since become a volunteer at Wildlife Aid and been granted the rare privilege of being allowed to photograph the animals in care at the centre. This has given me a unique opportunity to capture fantastic reference images, as well as observing the animals’ movement and behaviour.
Working so closely with our wildlife has given me a real appreciation for the struggles they face trying to survive our encroachment of their natural habitat, and the importance of trying to help them when they are sick, injured or orphaned. If you are passionate about helping animals please visit http://www.wildlifeaid.org.uk/ and find out how you can assist.