Animals are amazing, beautiful, living things; so for me, in a wildlife painting, the most important thing is that the animal has to have life. I want every animal I paint to be seen as an individual, to allow the viewer to get a sense of its character and its soul; a portrait of that animal, rather than just a wildlife painting.

I’ve always had a love of getting up close to nature; I’m fascinated with the detail of things, and where possible, how they feel.

So in my paintings, from inches away, I want you to get the sense of the wispy fur in a leopard’s ear, the velvety softness of a giraffe’s nose, or the thick skin of a rhino’s back, and the feeling that you could reach out and touch it.

When one of my paintings is hanging on someone’s wall; I want them to know that it’s a painting, but to have the thought that the animal could step out of it at any moment.