I am a professional artist, and a Professional Associate with the Society for All Artists (SAA).  As well as exhibiting my own work, I tutor groups and individual artists in my home studio near Torrington, Devon, where I can offer workshops, private tuition, courses and art breaks.  I specialise in animals in pastel. 

Animals and art have always played a large part in my life, and following a move to the West Country in 1983 I decided to pursue a full time career as an artist.  A contract with a top agent saw my work published nationally and internationally on a large variety of giftware products, including greeting cards.  Some of my recent images are now available as limited edition prints through leading publishers Buckingham Fine Arts.

Animals have always been an important inspiration for my work, especially my own cats and dogs.  I used to foster abandoned cats and kittens for an animal rescue charity, in the first summer alone housing and re-homing thirty six waifs and strays.  Many of these willingly helped pay for their keep by posing as models for greeting card designs, before appearing in a variety of top high street shops.

My paintings and limited edition prints are sold by a number of galleries in England, and my work has also been shown and sold at the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art.  

My paintings range from commissioned portraits of my clients’ beloved animals to the livestock of Devon and the wildlife of Exmoor, including the much loved Exmoor Ponies. 

I like to be able to read the expression in an animal’s eyes so that I can capture its character in the painting.  I mainly work in hard and soft pastels, which enable me to render the texture of fur exactly as I feel it should look.  I sometimes also work in oils, although I prefer pastels, as they lend themselves more easily to reproducing fur textures.
 

'First Summer - greetings card'

 Commissions, demonstrations and tuition take up a good deal of my time.  My house has its own studio, where I run art breaks, courses and workshops.  Please click on links on menu for further details of these..