Welcome
I am Hermione, a freelance professional animal portrait artist based in London. I grew up in Herefordshire on a gorgeous rural farm which was the beginnings of my inspiration as an artist and my love of animals.
Later, my regular trips to the Natural History Museum in London fuelled my curiosity into the natural world. My studies led me to Zoology and I was able to study the Natural World in all its complexities as well as travelling the world to get up close and personal with the animals I loved (this included a wild 4m crocodile whos DNA we needed...its not always as perfect as it sounds...!)
After my degree, it only seemed natural that my love of art and wildlife led me to pursuing a career as a professional artist.
My Work
I have taken a few commissions here and there over the past few years, but I have now pursued professional artistry for just over a year. I specialise in Pet Portraits and Wildlife art inspired by my travels and encounters, as well as zoological illustrations and prints. Being very aware of the environment, I aim to ensure prints and materials are from sustainable sources without affecting the quality of the pieces.
I provide unique, highly detailed, hand drawn portraits and artwork to people all over the UK and I hope in future to all over the world. With my pet portraits, I am incredibly dedicated to producing artwork that is instantly recognisable and captures the character of the animal...we all know they really can be so individual...! One of my quirks as an artist is if given the opportunity to meet the animal I am drawing, I love to do this. It lets me get to know them and understand at least a little of their personalities.
I use a wide range of materials depending on what I am working on. It is important to me that I am aware of the environment and I make efforts to ensure work and prints are as sustainable as possible. You can read more about my materials and processes below in the Materials section.
Materials
Pet Portraits
Pet portraits are fast becoming the most popular of my artwork. I like to work on mount board as it is harder wearing, easier to transport and less likely to bend or fold by accident! I use a wide range of mediums to get a finished piece, but my preference is for Conte a Paris pastels and pencils, Daler Rowney colour and graphite pencils, gouache and a white pen. one piece of equipment I couldn't live without for bringing back details in a drawing and thats a 2.3mm Mono Zero Elastomer Eraser pen!
Zoological Illustrations
This is an area that I absolutely love working on. My zoology background has shown me how useful and beautiful zoological illustrations can be and I try to replicate this in my work. I tend to use Windsor & Newton watercolour and Gouache for these illustrations with small Pro Arte or Cass Art synthetic brushes. usually a 3/0 size for detail!
Prints
All my prints are limited edition Giclee prints printed on handmade Awagami Washi Bamboo paper which is 100% ecological and has many benefits compared to cotton based papers including longevity.
Most print runs are only ever produced as 10 limited edition prints with originals also for sale.
