"Rocket and Raz 2: The Little Paintings" Painting

I am a painter and draftsperson who is inspired by the movement and structure of animals. To draw an animal from life is to snatch a moment before the creature moves elsewhere. I study the anatomy of the animal to work out where it may shift to next or may have moved from. My challenge is to find the tension of a fleeting moment. We don’t know what’s going to happen next, but it will happen. Weight and balance and our attempts to not fall over play an important part in my work. An unbalanced creature is a vulnerable one, and the fact that anything can stand or move at all really is extraordinary, and something most of us take for granted. I have been a finalist in the BBC’s Wildlife Artist of the Year in both the 2011 and 2012.  A graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art in Dundee and Central St Martin’s in London, I have a series of awards to my name.  My studies in Dundee focused heavily on the basics of drawing and painting, and despite tentative moves into conceptual work, I graduated as a figurative painter.  Almost immediately after graduating, I was drawn towards film-making and animation in particular.  In 1995 I completed a short film which was screened both nationally and internationally, supported by both the British Council and the Scottish Film Council.  I studied Character Animation at Central St Martin’s before working in the animation industry as a clean-up artist and animator specializing in 4-legged movement.