I have drawn and painted all my life, but also love books and writing. Because of this, I studied English Literature at university, where I met my husband and then went on to have a family. It was only in 2013 that I began to paint in earnest again. Having acquired – and fallen in love with – a cocker spaniel puppy called Fudge, I began trying to capture him in pencil and paint. People saw my pictures and asked me to paint portraits of their animals, so I set up my pet portraiture business Pawtraits-on-the-Hill.
In recent times my work has expanded into painting people and landscapes. I have always enjoyed caricature work, so including portraits of people in my repertoire was a natural progression. I spend a lot of time in Ireland where my family originate from and in between commissions have been painting a series of pictures depicting animals against the inspirational scenery of County Kerry.
I work in acrylic and in oil on canvas and also in colour pencil. In my animal portraiture, I love capturing the character, colour and quirkiness of my subject to create a lasting memory. But the most important ingredient in creating any portrait is the individual essence that makes you think ‘that’s them!’ It may sound cheesy, but a painting does not leave my easel unless it ‘speaks’ to me and unless the light that makes that person or animal special, is there.
