Like many natural artists, Anne spent most of her life from a very early age drawing for her own amusement and that of friends and family. Having been steered away from a longing for a career in commercial art by an art teacher who felt it was a “man’s world” Anne, gave up any ideas of art as a living and trained as a senior secretary which enriched her life in lots of ways with secretarial roles in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London and Peru and the Rugby League Headquarters in Leeds to name but two! This training and experience was later to prove invaluable in Anne’s ability to organize and administer exhibitions.

Exhibiting her own work was a new step when she moved with partner Mike and daughter Alex to Sheffield and joined an art class to make new friends and learn how to paint rather than just using pencils – the biggest discovery being pastels which she’d never used before and took to immediately. Through exhibiting her work at shows, fairs and exhibitions, commissions poured in and Anne was forced finally to give up her “day job” and she has never been without commissions in hand for the past 10 years. Fellow artists and the general public appreciate Anne’s ability to achieve a true likeness of the subject in portraits and wildlife paintings, and then go one step further to breathe life into them…

Anne's daughter, Alex, after gaining her degree is now travelling the world and working on research projects and conservation projects with marine life, particularly great white sharks, so Anne's passion for wildlife has certainly had a positive effect in more ways than one. Meeting fellow artist, Irene Nixon, also a wildlife painter had quite an effect on Anne's working life as Irene came up with the idea of using an annual wildlife exhibition to raise funds for worthwhile charities and between them they have now raised over £20,000 for various wildlife charities including the David Shepherd Foundation. This was a great thrill for both artists as they had both been admirers of David's dedication to conservation and love of painting for many years.

Spending much of the year travelling around the UK, Anne gives demonstrations to art groups on how to "paint" with pencils and also has the following interests:

·      Art Co-ordinator of Art In The Gardens, Sheffield Botanical Gdns

·      Member of the About Face Portrait Group

·      Co-organizing the annual Wild About Art Charity Exhibition

·      Co-organizing the Great Sheffield Art Show

·      Associate Member of  the Society of Feline Artists, the Wildlife Art Society and the UK Coloured Pencil Society

·      Professional Associate of  the Society of Amateur Artists

·      Participating in the Open Studios Weekend, Sheffield

·     Co-Owner of  the Scottie Gallery in Sheffield