Artist Bev Lewis was born in 1946 and now resides in England.  Bev, who prefers to work in coloured and graphite pencil, told us...

“I grew up in South Africa and studied art at The Johannesburg School of Art. I have had a passion for painting and drawing from the time I was old enough to hold a pencil and with it a love for all animals, both domestic and wild.

It was inevitable that I would combine my passions and paint animals. I started painting animal portraits professionally in 1994 and over time have become fascinated by the relationship we have with our pets and how they become so important in our lives. The world would be a lesser place without our animals.

My favourite mediums are coloured pencil, pastel pencil and graphite because they allow me to get the fine detail I need to achieve the realistic depiction of the animals. I also use oil pastels, watercolours and to a lesser extent acrylic and gouache, and I am a founder member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.”