Life before becoming a Pet Portraits Artist: Colin was born and raised in Zimbabwe where he grew up to love sport, playing rugby, cricket, golf, squash and tennis for his school. As he grew older, he learned to love the open spaces and the wildlife which is so abundant in that part of the world.  Whenever he had the chance, he would sketch wild animals or one of the many varieties of birds and eventually started selling them through word of mouth and through various Art Galleries in Zimbabwe. It was not long before he could not keep up with the demand for his wildlife and birdlife paintings in pastel or graphite. Much of his artwork is now hanging in many homes scattered across the world. If you would like to look at the Pet Portraits/Wildlife Gallery, you will be able to see a sample of a few of these paintings and drawings.

Life as a Pet Portraits Artist:  Because of the problems in Zimbabwe, Colin, his wife and three children decided to move to the U.K. in the year 2000 and settled in Northampton, in the beautiful county of Northamptonshire. Both Colin’s family and his wife, Penny’s family originally came from the U.K. and it was a reason to return.

There had always been pets/dogs and cats in the house that Colin grew up in and he learned to love and respect them. He had ridden several horses in his youth and enjoyed their power, grace and beauty. Besides the wildlife and landscapes, Colin was also requested to do several pet portraits whilst back in Zimbabwe and therefore decided to start doing commissioned pet portraits when he arrived with his family in the U.K. and he has found them to be very popular.  Colin’s pet portraits are now very much in demand. 

Colin is a firm believer that we should give back to society and it with this in mind that he supports a number of charities, one of them being “Animals in Need”, which is based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire.  Animals in Need do a wonderful job in rescuing a variety of animals and pets, ranging from swans, to hedgehogs, dogs and cats. It is through the wonderful people who run centres like this so unselfishly that make the world a better place. There are in fact a few pet portraits sketches of dogs that originate from “Animals in Need” and “Maxicare” within the galleries.

Much of Colin’s inspiration comes from Pet Portraits Artists such as Mick Cawston, whose pet portraits are extraordinary. Harley Brown has also been a huge inspiration.

Pet Portraits : Based in Northampton, Northamptonshire