Beware of the Bear Stare Painting

My paintings and sculptures are designed to bring joy! The love and connection we have with our pets and other animals is very special and through the use of paint and paper clay I aim to bring us closer to those feelings. I used to be a prop maker painting fibre-glass figures for the Disney shops among other things which is why I use Bristol paint in my work now because it’s water based and the one I’m most comfortable with. As a lot of my paintings are of pets it’s important to achieve a likeness so I work directly from photos which makes commissioning a pet portrait very easy. The way we see our pets is very revealing and personal, I just love the ideas people come up with when we discuss a potential artwork. My sculptures are continually developing and I have adjusted the ingredients of my paper clay to the bare essentials and due to the nature of the material I have to make a new batch each time I sculpt. Unlike painting it takes a long time to dry but once they are and I start to paint them their character begins to shine through. Again the humour we see in our pets can be channelled through my sculptures too and I am really enjoying making trophy dog and cat heads with added hats, crowns and deeley boppers! To see some of my past creations visit my Instagram or Facebook page the links are below. How I got here I have always led a diversely creative life after achieving a degree in metalwork and jewellery and following much persistence and a bit of luck I began a career in the prop making industry where I enjoyed making costume props on Star Wars and Gladiator, fabricating crazy critters at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in Camden and painting Disney characters to go in their flagship stores around the world. I gradually left my freelance job and started a business making quirky soft furnishings called Knitwangling Productions this had a short shelf life and after a few years I began concentrating on painting. I am now working in Ironbridge Shropshire with two wirehair dachshunds, a Springer Spaniel and a cat for company….what could be better!