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We are
sorry to report that Mick Cawston passed away in October
2006
If you
were to meet Mick Cawston
walking down the path towards you in his old battered
jacket, his hair down to his shoulders and his knee
hanging out of his jeans you would be forgiven for not
realising that he is one of the finest dog painters
working in the world today. His work is comparable to
that of John Emms or Maude Earl and he works equally
well in oils, water colours or pastels. No matter what
breed of dog he portrays, the character and likeness of
the dog are always superb. Many of his works have been
reproduced as limited edition prints and he has been
voted 4 times, in the Fine Art Trade Guild survey, as
one of the top selling artists, finally wining it in
1998. Born in 1959 in Dagenham, Essex. It was at Robert
Clock comprehensive school that he won his first
exhibition at the age of seven. On leaving school he
trained as a cabinet maker before signing up in the army
for three years. Throughout all this time his passion
for drawing grew stronger and on returning from Europe
he spent six months sketching people’s children on the
pavements of Covent Garden, in pastel at £3 a time. From
here a London silversmith employed him to design
silverware, largely for the Arab market. However,
interesting as this was, it was never Mick’s great
passion and before very long he moved away from London
and spent the next three years living in a small cottage
on a farm in Burnham-on-Crouch and returned to selling
his work on the streets, although this time his price
had gone up to'£18'a drawing. Despite his price increase
he could not make a living and as a result he started to
paint seriously in oils in the early part of 1987.By the
middle of 1987 he had been discovered by Sally Mitchell
and by the end of this year he had his first two limited
edition prints published after his work. He has never
looked back,2000 saw the publication of his 300th highly
successful, limited edition print.
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Caroline was born in
Cornwall and has painted horses and other animals since
she was old enough to hold a paintbrush. She sold her
first painting, a study of a fox cub, when she was 15.
She is self taught and her paintings are mainly of
horses in action, particularly racehorses, paddock and
stud scenes in vibrant but subtle acrylics. Until
recently, she only undertook private commissions, as she
combined her painting with her role as assistant to her
husband, former West Country racehorse trainer, Trevor Hallett. Many of these commissions are of National Hunt
horses including the great Desert Orchid for his
trainer, David Elsworth. Caroline's paintings reflect
her love of thoroughbreds and her passion for racing.
Her work with racehorses, particularly her knowledge of
racing injuries and their treatment has enhanced her
understanding of the anatomy of the horse, which is
reflected in her work. Caroline Cook is resident artist
at Cheltenham Racecourse. A permanent stand on Race Days
is situated in Hurdlers Hall behind the Arkle statue.
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David has combined his love for horses and his natural artistic talent
from an early age. During his career working on racing yards in
Newmarket as well as a spell as a jockey, “Mouse” also took the
opportunity to paint commissions so as to develop his artistic talent.
His originals have been exhibited at all the top race courses and has
been honoured by having one of his paintings ‘The Pre Parade Ring at
Newmarket’ showcased on the racing card cover of the Rowley Mile Course
2005 flat racing season. This is an excellent achievement for any equine
artist.
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Malcolm is Internationally recognised as one of England’s leading
equestrian artists, having won numerous awards. Born and based in North
Yorkshire he
‘lives to paint’ travelling across the globe studying and getting a
great deal of inspiration. He is renowned for his ability in the use of
light and movement.
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Tipped
as one of Scotland's up and coming artists,
Angela was born in
Aberdeen in 1969 and grew up on Speyside. An artist who
is entirely self-taught, Angela's inspiration usually
comes from her local surroundings. So, every time a
highland coo sticks its nose through the fence and into
the garden, it stands a fairly high chance of being
immortalised on canvas or paper. The standard of Angela
Davidson's paintings ensures a constant stream of
commission work. So, if she's not working on an original
for her gallery or another picture suitable for her
print collection, she'll be creating a portrait of
someone's nearest and dearest, or a horse, a dog, cat,
garden, house, seascape...
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Paul lives in his home
county of Warwickshire with his trusted Border Collies,
Paddy, Belle and Sally. He was born in 1964 and grew up
in Coventry and attended boarding school in Shropshire
at the age of 11. This was to be a starting point for
his lifelong love of art. He loved nothing better than
to while away the hours in the art room to which he had
his own key, creating detailed pictures of motorbikes,
cars, wildlife and fantasy. On leaving school, Paul took
a position as an apprentice draughtsman. Recognizing his
talent, a firm position was offered which led to Paul
travelling the world producing promotional graphics at
sales and marketing conferences for many well known
companies.
In 1997, Paul decided to become a professional artist so
he left his job and set about finding a publisher with
his already extensive portfolio He met Sally Mitchell.
Sally spoke at length with Paul, offering lots of advice
on how to progress and being impressed with the
standard, offered to publish some of his work. Paul says
“Sally was the only publisher who offered me the
chance to paint whatever subjects I wanted to, this gave
me the fantastic opportunity to explore the ideas I had.
I wanted my pictures to tell a story and Sally let me
find my feet”. The first picture published was a
Black Labrador, entitled ‘Watching’, this proved to be
the start of a succession of highly successful prints,
many of which sold out quickly. His achievement in such
a short space of time has been astounding, and he was
honoured to have one of his works accepted into the
prestigious Kennel Club Gallery in London during 2004.
Paul proceeds to create the picture on ‘drafting film’
using coloured pencils, acrylic paints and an airbrush
technique. Consequently the description of ‘Mixed Media’
is well suited to his works. Paul will have many
pictures on the go at any one time and due to his
workload being so high, only finds time to fit the odd
commission into his schedule, hence his waiting list for
this remains around 18 months. Paul says that painting
has changed his life, his ultimate ambition is to be
remembered as ‘the guy who painted dogs’, he gets a
great kick out of people buying his pictures and likes
nothing more than demonstrating at shows such as the CLA
Game Fair and Crufts.
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Nicole lives in an old Victorian cottage situated in the country side of
Monmouthshire but not far from the sea, which provides source and
inspiration for her work.
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Debbie was bought up in
Warwickshire, from a very young age painting and animals
played a big part in her life. In 1986 having gained her
degree in Graphic Design and Illustration Debbie was
able to move to Cardiganshire to the heart of the Welsh
Cob Country and she has never looked back having
forfilled her dream to paint full time and have her own
yard of horses "MOCHRUM STUD".
Working
mainly in oils Debbie attempts to capture the light and
atmosphere as well as the dramatic forms and colours of
the horses in her pieces. Whether a peaceful tranquil
scene of a mare and foal or the fine dash and fire of an
Arabian stallion. ”Oils have a superbly rich texture
and quality to them that I love. When I paint I feel
that I am almost sculpting with colour and light. I
liken it to getting into the picture and modelling the
horse in three dimensions, feeling the texture of the
coat, looking at the way the muscles move, capturing the
soul in the eye. What is he thinking? Which way will he
move next? How does the light play on the colour of his
coat?"
Ultimately, Debbie would like the observer of her work
to feel drawn into the scene, to have a sense of the
moment, and light and life that is there. "Whether I
succeed in this is up to the viewer, but there is no
doubt that I will continue to try as I cannot
contemplate a life without horses or art!”
As well as equines she also enjoy painting other
animals, and has a keen interest in human portraiture.
Debbie's work can be found in private collections across
the U.K., Europe and Worldwide.
Closer
to home Debbie is proud and honoured that works have
included commissions for H.R.H Prince of Wales Private
Collection, The King’s Troop and the W.P.C.S.
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Thomas has had an illustrious career painting figurative and equine
portraiture. He is often compared with the famous Sir Alfred Munnings.
His originals are very sought after by British and European leading turf
Devotees.
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Her
chosen medium is water colours; “Just when you have the
hang of it, it surprises you. I love the way rich
pigmented colours move in the water, almost as if they
have a life of their own. I love to guide them on to the
paper rather than command them.”
Sheila trained as a
pharmacist but decided to return to her first love and
finds living in the Peak District very inspiring.
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Debbie
was born and raised in a small village in Somerset,
surrounded by horses & ponies, which developed her
interest in the animal kingdom. After school Debbie
studied at Somerset College of Art and Technology and in
1990 moved to Newmarket in Suffolk to be closer to the
horse racing industry, working as a stable hand by day
and painting the horses by night. Although Debbie is
currently experimenting with and studying many different
breeds, her own black Labrador Friday, and Springer
Spaniel Toby, provide the main inspiration for her
unique drawings. She works in soft pastels on sandboard,
which she finds helps to achieve the
shine and texture of her subject's coats.
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Working mainly to commission from worldwide Arabian
horse enthusiasts and Art connoisseurs
Lesley is dedicated
to immortalizing the beauty, nobility and grace of the
Arabian horse through her art. Occasionally there has
been a little time to also paint pets, people, wolves
and wildlife.
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London
born Michael has exhibited and won awards worldwide and
is collected by many of the world's leading sportsmen
and women. His career spans a period of some forty
years, having trained for five years at the Somerset
College of Art and Brighton College of Art and Design,
England. His work is collected both in the U.S. and
throughout the world. He was Senior Lecturer at Falmouth
School of Art and Design, from 1983-1986, before moving
to
live and work in Stockholm, Sweden for two years as
resident artist for Studio Frank. This was followed by
representation in New York, by the agent Artco. Michael
now concentrates on commissioning primarily golfing and
horse racing works for his wide range of collectors.
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Jacquie’s spontaneity and spirited use of colour brings her paintings to
Life. Growing up in London their was no question of her having a horse
so she
learnt to create her own on paper. Later she was drawn to Newmarket and
worked for a short spell on Henry Cecil’s training yard. With no formal
training Jacquie has never looked back and has over the years exhibited
world wide, her originals are in many collections including Royalty in
England and the Arab Emirates.
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"Born and raised in the south of England, horses and art
became the focus in my life at an early age. As a young
child with no opportunity to learn to ride I celebrated
my heroes of the horse world through drawing and
painting. Throughout these formative years I would go on
to develop my artistic skills through continual
practice, trial and error and observation. Later, when
at last I was given the chance to learn to ride, the
desire to portray the equine image in my artwork
remained. Though offered a place to study fine art at
Epsom School of Art & Design, I chose initially to
follow a career as a riding instructor. After qualifying
through the British Horse Society instructor training
system I went on to teach both in England and the USA.
Eventually compelled to return to my path as an artist,
I feel I have come full circle, back to the place where
I express my experience of the world and connection with
the horse through art. For me the equine form is totally
beguiling in its endless beauty of line form and
expression."
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Roy began work in a
Commercial Art Studio at the age of 14, studying in the
evenings at the Manchester Regional College of Art. He
has exhibited in numerous shows and galleries, including
the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1961. Roy is
particularly known for his equestrian paintings, for
which he has specialised since 1973. Roy has been
commissioned
to paint horses for owners, trainers, breeders and
jockeys in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan. H.M The Queen has Roy's
painting of Her Majesty's classic filly, Highclere. Roy
is a full member of
both the British Society of Equestrian Artists and the
American Academy of Equine Art.
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Julia
lives on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border. A lifelong
artist and horsewoman she combines her two passions in
creating individual pieces which can be as big as 80
square feet. Her style displays her ability to distil a
single instant into oil and give it life. Her work is
much sought after with a substantial following of
Collectors.
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Her natural artistic talent was nurtured from childhood. After a brief
stint in the W.R.A.F. at 17 years of age Judi decided to follow her dream
and take up painting professionally concentrating on horses and dogs.
Together with her partner wild life artist Alan M. Kent they have
travelled world wide providing them both with plenty of inspiration and
ideas. As well as being an accomplished artist
Judi is also a qualified BHS AI. Her love for horses extends to a very successful Arabian breeding
and showing yard she and husband Alan run at home in the National Park
of North Yorkshire.
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Mary Ann Rogers works
from her studio at her home near West Woodburn,
Northumberland, Mary has had numerous articles written
about her and her work in publications such as Country
Living, The Field and The Scotsman. Her Original
Paintings and Limited prints are exhibited at selected
Galleries in Great Britain as well as New York and Hong
Kong.
Her paintings are highly sought after, and feature in
private collections throughout the world. Mary has been
voted 'top living female artist in print' by the fine
art trade guild in Nov 2006, and is also top self
publishing artist.
She keeps two horses, and is closely involved in country
life, spending her summers out crow - hawking (falconry)
on horseback, with Dr Nick Fox, & his falcons, on the
wild hills around the Roman Wall, as well as following
the Border Foxhounds all winter, in the remote hills of
the Coquetdale, and the Cheviot hills of the border.
Mary also keeps a menagerie of birds, including
guineafowl, runner ducks, buff pekin bantams and geese
who are an inspiration to many of her paintings.
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Born
in Denbigh, due to failing her art O-level
Elizabeth went and
studied domestic science at Eastbourne. This lead to
some interesting posts such as hunting cook in
Gloucestershire, Isle of Mull and Ireland. During this
time she continued to sketch and was spotted by Bay de
Courcy-Parry who introduced her to artist Michael Lyne
who steered her on to become a full time artist.
In 1978
Elizabeth married a captain of the Royal Scots Dragoon
Guards, which for the first 20 saw them moving often
around the UK as well as Germany. Over the years
Elizabeth was very fortunate to have the chance to spend
time with famous artist of whom were a great influence
on her, these included recluse Ann Dallas, Peter Howell,
Peter Curling, Andrew Festing Julian Barrow and German
Rien Poortvliet. With husband John they have settled in
North Wales with their menagerie of animals and
Elizabeth works on an endless demand of commissions.
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Born 1949 in Lanarkshire. He thinks his artistic talents stem from his
Portuguese grandfather. Smith's interest in painting matches his passion
for horses and as a child he always aspired to becoming a equestrian
artist. He attended Carlisle and Glasgow School of Art. He now lives in
Ayr making full use of the beautiful landscape and sky.
Peter's work is
much sought after and his canvases grace art collections world wide. |
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Katy has been working as a professional artist since 1995, specialising
in watercolour. Whilst living near Newmarket her interest in equine art
grow, so much so, that she has recently been promoted to Full Membership
of the Society of Equestrian Artist. Katy's painting skills are mainly
self-taught, she
originally trained and worked in Architecture.
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Born
in Scotland, the extremely talented
Jacqueline has
been painting and ‘selling’ portraits of horses and dogs
in oil since she was a child. At the age of ‘14’ she was
commissioned to paint the legendary race horse Nijinsky.
Independent and self-publishing,
Jacqueline is
internationally established as one of the world's finest
sporting and portrait artist. A lifelong love of animals
and respect for the natural world has provided her with
all the inspiration she needs to paint.
Rich, detailed, sympathetic portraits and vibrant racing
scenes are prepared and executed with equal skill and
enthusiasm. Her human subjects, too, receive the same
degree of attention and the bond between horse and rider
is apparent.
From family pets to equine superstars her approach is
the same, to capture their likeness, texture and
caricature in a dignified, beautiful work of art.
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Paul is an award winning
Oil Painting who specialising in British and European
mammals; most notably Hare, Fox, Deer and Wolves. He has
the most amazing ability of portraying movement "I
have been painting for nearly twenty years. I have
become increasingly drawn to British Wildlife subjects
as well as some of our ex-native animals. Quite often I
can be found at my easel painting more than one canvas
at a time, a method I sometimes adopt in order to give
me time to think about what the other canvas maybe
lacking. I've always tried to portray in my paintings a
sense of mystery and vivid quality of life and from
this, I hope that the animals character shines through
and helps to provoke the imagination".
Self
taught and now in his mid 30's Paul has held a number of
solo exhibitions since he turned professional in 2002
and has since been made a Fellow of the British Society
of Painters. He has won many awards including: Runner Up
National Exhibition of Wildlife art (NEWA) 2007(Awarded
by Wildscape Magazine); Finalist in the Society of All
Artists (SAA) 2005; Winner in the Daler-Rowney Art Award
2005; Winner in the Swiss Caran D`ache Award (for
originality) 2004; Winner in the Mail on Sunday Award
2003.
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Thuline was born in Bruges and
finished her studies in interior Architecture in 1993.
After a 3-year break, during which time she worked as an
educational assistant in an immigration centre,
travelled to the states, Ghana and several countries in
Europe.
"In 1995 I had a holiday romance in the mountains of
Andalusia, which was the reason I moved to Kendal. It
was my partner (now husband) who encouraged me, to start
painting again. I became a member of the Green Door
Studios, an artists association, based in Kendal.
Working alongside other practising artists has provided
me with much support and played a vital part in the way
my work has evolved over the years.
I observe animals, their shapes, gestures and mannerisms
and in developing my ideas, I take them quite often out
of their context. I like using bold colours.
In my work, I explore the possibilities of bringing the
subjects in and out of focus. Composition plays an
important role in my paintings. I sometimes use
perspective to distort images.
I enjoy the gathering of information as much as I do the
painting. Cows are funny creatures. Just like humans,
they have their own characters. Their faces show
expressions and a curiosity that never stop to amaze and
fascinate me."
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When
the "Shooting Times" declared
John Trickett as the
"finest Labrador painter in England, if not the world",
they were really echoing the thoughts of many before and
many since. As well as dogs he paints fantastic shooting
scenes, landscape and seascape. John is quite a
character having trained first as an accountant and then
becoming a professional football player. He also went to
art school and lasted a morning.
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Whether it is the domestic pet or wild horses,
Nikki recreates the very
personality of the animal producing very powerful pieces of work. Nikki
lives in the Sussex area.
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Jonathan was born in
1966 and he spent much of his childhood exploring the
countryside in the company of his father, Keith, a more
than competent painter himself. In his late teens and
early twenties Jonathan struggled to find a direction.
He studied courses in Philosophy, Theology and Fine Art
before qualifying as an Occupational Therapist working
with people experiencing severe mental health problems.
He now lives in Devon, finding inspiration of Dartmoor
and the countryside around Exeter has given new impetus
to his interest in depicting the badgers, foxes and
voles that his naturalist’s eye observes everywhere. His
animals are always rooted in the soil, as much a part of
the landscape as the sky and the trees. His rare ability
to give to each of them their unique characteristics and
personas, while dressing them up in old cast off human
garments never robs them of their intrinsic “animalness”.
Although rooted in the heritage of English illustration
it is Jonathan’s unerring draughtsmanship and his humour
that nevertheless makes his work unmistakably
contemporary. His pallet, because it is always true to
the siennas and ochres of the real landscape, may at
first appear muted. His characters, however, are of the
mould and grime of the soil, unsentimental and honest.
Painting has always been central for Jonathan, a
passion, and has been published as a children’s book
illustrator along the way.
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Born and bought up in the South of France where his father breed and
trained race horses. In 1976 he became a professional artist holding his
first one man exhibition in the famous Maisons -Lafitte. In 1977 he won
first prize in the Les Sept Collines de Rome Exhibition.
Hubert soon
became recognised as one of France’s leading equestrian artist. As
testament to his talent his work now features in private and public
collections world wide including Her Majesty the Queen.
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Born
in Egypt, Annie spent
much of her childhood in Australia where her love of
horses was nurtured. "The horse has been the key that
opens Nature's door from the moment of my first ride,
aged ten, racing bareback across a sun-baked Aussie
paddock". At school in England she drew horses as
'my symbol of freedom, taking me back to the wild empty
beaches and rolling hills of New South Wales.' Her love
of colour grew as a student at St Martin's School of
Art, London, where she studied Fine Art in the early
1960's. Horses remained at a distance during her years
in London. Later, in the Cotswolds, her children,
gardening, permaculture and homeopathy engaged her time,
although painting wove in and out of my life.
She then moved to a small farm on the edge of the
Preseli Hills in West Wales. In this romantic landscape,
where the farmers have a passion for breeding Welsh
ponies and cobs, Annie's childhood dream of owning her
own horse was realised. She was given two Welsh Cobs
and, dealing with their strong temperaments, she had to
learn quickly to speak the language of horses. In this
she was helped by Monty Roberts when he visited Wales.
It came as no surprise to Annie that, when she began to
paint again, horses rather than gardens, were the
subject. "Here on the Preseli Hills I am inspired by
the dark skies, the rush of birds overhead, old trees
bent in the wind – and I love to paint horses in the
landscape. I am happy to portray horses from any sphere,
be they Shetlands, Shires or show jumpers. My
overwhelming wish is to bring to the viewer the truly
glorious spirit of the horse."
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MORE ARTISTS WILL BE APPEARING HERE SOON |
