Carol Gillan
Carol was born in Lancashire in 1961 and studied art in Brighton. After working as an illustrator on a range of projects she finally made a decision to dedicate herself to a job as a fulltime fine artist. Now based in Surrey she paints from a studio in her home and specialises in dramatic and funny animal portraits.
Carol travels to County carnivals for inspiration and frequently accosts dog hikers when she sees a dog that she wants to paint. Because of the nature of her work ( or rather the character of her sitters ) she has a tendency to make in depth use of pictures that she feels best capture the individual identity of the animal in question.
These permit her to achieve a casual, composed painting which is both a pragmatic likeness and a uniquely special interpretation. Carol would rather work in oil on canvas.
Over-painting thin layers of oils she slowly builds up the image, closely cropping the subject to maximise its impact and presenting it against a solid background of colourful color. She employs the channel of oil as it adds such depth to each image, enabling her to portray the feel of an animal's coat, the shadows of its muscle tone, and particularly its character which she suspects can be conveyed thru the expression in its eyes. Carol's work has been exhibited widely in England and Europe and she has undertaken a selection of galvanizing commissions for people and firms. In 2006 she got awarded 1st prize in the respected DeMontfort New Artist competition.