About MeI'm Gillian and I live in Calne in Wiltshire with my two Persian cats, Gypsy and Chelsea, who I adopted in February 2021. Pictured is Ebony, who sadly passed away in November 2020. I think she considered herself my 'muse' as she liked to be with me in my studio, and of course I have painted her as she was very photogenic! I have owned Persians for over 20 years now, and my very first Persian was Joe, who was 19 years old when he passed in 2017.
I have always loved drawing and painting, but hadn't painted seriously for a number of years, as I run a very busy cat grooming business. About 10 yrs ago I was introduced to pastels by local artist Carol Kibble. Suddenly I felt I'd found the right medium for me to work in and I began undertaking a few commissions. It seemed to come naturally to paint cats as they are such a passion of mine (I had 14 at one point!) but I enjoy painting all animals. |
My Materials |
Pastels are lovely to work with as they are pure colour pigments in a convenient stick (sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'chalks'), or pencil form - and last but not least in little pans (not dissimilar to eye make up containers) which are applied with soft sponges. I also draw in graphite pencil and charcoal.
To achieve the lovely soft texture of animal fur, I use a few different types of pastel papers, one of my favourites being Hahnemuhle Velour (which has a similar texture to Fuzzy Felt - those of a certain age might remember Fuzzy Felt!). |
My Art |
As well as painting a good likeness of your pet, I also try hard to capture something of the soul of the animal. So, if I haven't met the animal I'm painting and I'm working just from photographs, I will ask you for lots of background about that particular pet - it all helps me to build up a picture of their character in my mind so I can hopefully convey that in my painting.
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