Cast of Crabs

I am a pastel artist, and I work in a traditional, realistic style, almost exclusively drawing animals. I live in West Norfolk, although I grew up in Kent. I have always been an animal lover; I grew up with lots of small pets and my mum worked with horses. I have also loved drawing since I was very young – my favourite place to visit on my birthday was always the Natural History Museum. I would spend hours sketching the animals there.  Despite this I did not consider art as a career until after working around 13 years in the hospitality trade in management. I decided in 2014 to complete a course at home with the London Art College, and achieved a Diploma with distinction in pet portraiture, and then in 2016 I set up my business offering pet portraits and wildlife art. Although I still work part time, I have taken a step back out of management to increase my time spent drawing and focusing on building my little business.
 
I am constantly inspired by the animals around me. When I was young, it was the urban foxes and pond life that I was fascinated by. Now, living in Norfolk, I feel so lucky to live in a beautiful rural area, with so much wildlife always around us every day.  I can look out of my studio window and see red kite flying over and hares on the field outside.
 

I have been lucky enough to win several awards over the years for my art, most from local exhibitions, but my greatest achievement so far has been to exhibit twice with the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year exhibition. This wonderful foundation is committed to conservation and also supporting wildlife artists. I exhibited with them in 2022 and my artwork, ‘A Cast of Crabs’ won the ‘Into The Blue’ category and sold right away. I also exhibited with them in 2023 at the Mall Galleries in London.
 
When I am not working on pet portrait commissions and other wildlife art, I enjoy taking part in local pop up shops, exhibitions and craft fairs.