I have always loved painting and drawing from when I was very young, and I studied fine art, history of art, design and ceramics at school and College. My interest in material culture and design continued with an archaeology degree at Durham University, where I developed a love of medieval art, buildings and landscape. Working as an archaeologist, I began to appreciate the environment and the way it was changed and used within prehistory, and the tools, art, buildings, ceramics and textiles that were made at the time. I went on to study a Masters in experimental archaeology focusing on textiles, dyes and materials used in prehistoric Britain, and through this, I learned about and worked with colours, pigments and techniques used in prehistoric art and materials.

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Since then, I have been working in various office based roles, but I have never stopped painting, studying and appreciating the beauty of our environment, people and animals when I can. I have been painting pet portraits and illustration on a commission basis for over 20 years and just love designing shapes and images around letters.

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Alongside this, I am very lucky to be able to live in the beautiful Devon countryside with a distant view of Dartmoor on one side and Exmoor on the other! I love to walk and explore the beaches, moors, gardens and forests, as well as getting out on the back of a motorbike for a ride when it’s nice weather. I have grown up with cats, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, and various rescued creatures all my life, and currently I have 2 beautiful boy guinea pigs, Spooky and Spoon!

I work from photographs for portraits and my Photos page gives you further guidance on how to take a good photo, and what this needs to include for a detailed portrait. If you are local I am always very happy to come and visit you and your pet and take photos myself. I generally ask for a number of photos and we can also discuss the character and personality of your pet, as I love to bring this personality into the portrait.