Life before becoming a Pet Portraits Artist : Colin Ashby 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. Much of his artwork is now spread across the world, stretching from Australia to the U.K., the U.S.A. and back to South Africa. If you would like to look at the Pet Portraits/Wildlife Gallery, you will be able to see a sample of some of these paintings and drawings.

Life as a Pet Portraits Artist : Colin decided to move to the U.K. in the year 2000 with his family and settled in Northampton, in the beautiful county of Northamptonshire. There had always been dogs and cats in the house that he grew up in and he had learned to love and respect them. Because of the love for pets that people in the U.K. had, Colin found that there was a demand for them to have pet portraits done of their dogs, cats and even horses and so he turned more towards this line of artwork and it was not long before there was a huge demand for his pet portraits. With the internet being as it is, the world is a small place and he now has many of his pet portraits dotted around the globe. Colin has also had several commissions to do portraits of people in pastel or pencil rangin from small children to the more mature!!

It is fantastic to have a God given talent, but it is only right to give back a little for what has been given 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.  They do a wonderful job in rescuing a variety of animals and finding homes for them. It is through the wonderful people who run centres like this so unselfishly that make the world a better place. 

If you would like to see a sample of Colin’s pet portraits, take a look through the various galleries. There are actually a few dogs that originate from “Animals in Need” and “Maxicare”.

What can Colin Ashby offer as a Pet Portraits Artist :  Colin has been drawing in pastel and pencil for over 30 years and over that period has developed his unique technique into what it is today.  His ability to capture the likeness and character of each subject that he draws or paints as well as his flair for colour make his pictures unique and much sought out for. Post and packaging is free to any destination in the world and you would not have to pay anything until you were completely satisfied with a photograph of the finished pet portraits, be it portraits of dogs, portraits of horses or portraits of cats, which would be e-mailed back to you for your approval.

What inspires him to be a Pet Portraits Artist.  A dog makes such a wonderful pet. What or who could be more faithful or trusting ? The human race could learn a lot from them, wouldn’t you agree ? This is one of the reasons that make pet portraits of dogs such a pleasure to draw, especially when the customer is over the moon when he or she sees the completed painting. What could be more graceful or beautiful than a cuddly cat and yet be so strong for it’s size ? Pastels or pencil lend themselves very well in capturing the softness of their coats. There is so much in a cat that is not seen and Colin loves the challenge in bringing out these characteristics. Horses are wonderful animals to draw or paint. There is so in a horse to capture, the intellegent eyes, the powerful neck, the strong face, the bridle.                Portraits of horses are definely one of Colin’s favourites when it comes to pet portraits.

Much of Colin Ashby’s inspiration comes from Pet Portraits Artists such as Mick Cawston, whose pet art is amazing. Harley Brown has also been a huge inspiration as well as the “old greats”, Rembrandt and Raphael.

Pet Portraits,Portraits of Horses,Portraits of Dogs,Portraits of Cats,Portraits of People, Based in Northampton,Northamptonshire