Catherine Dalling has been painting and drawing since as far back as she can remember (and that is a very long time). She spends many an hour in her studio with her four-legged assistants Freddie & Bramble, who are at her side most of the time (unless someone else in the house is eating).
Being a pet portrait artist can be difficult, she works from photographs as her subjects don’t seem to like to sit still for very long and this has its own problems. She likes to have as many photos as she can of the subject with a general idea of how the owner wants the animal to be posed. The commission process is a collaboration between both parties, each animal has its own personality and Catherine likes to learn about her subject to enable her to capture the spirit of the animal in her portrait.
Occasionally Catherine will be asked to do a person. People are usually done from photographs too as with busy lives it is not always possible for them to spend the time sitting, plus in many cases the painting is for a surprise and having them sit there might give it away!
