Gary Stinton British, Contemporary

Producing bold and impressive portraits of big cats and hounds, Stinton seeks to portray their power, strength and formidable beauty. Stinton is committed to the in-depth study of his subjects and captures each animal’s individual personality with exquisite detail. Stinton became a professional artist at the age of twenty four. In his early career he mainly undertook commissions of portraits of dogs, creatures he adored for their friendly manner and obedience, which made capturing their likeness not as challenging as his other favoured subjects of horses and big cats. Stinton works predominantly in pastel, a medium made of virtually pure pigment with a little gum tragacanth to bind them. His style is rich in texture and full of depth, and his impressive draughtsmanship is evident in all of his works. This medium provides a velvety soft finish that makes the wild beasts that he captures with such profound skill come to life. Through his work, he has raised awareness about wildlife conservation by working alongside wildlife charities such as Elephant Family, the UK's leading conservation charity for the endangered Asian elephant. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, Virginia, USA and the Kennel Club in the United Kingdom.