Angela Cater's Pet Portraits & Illustration
 
 
 
 Welcome to my Animal and Wildlife Gallery
Dandelion

This gouache portrait is a memorial to a colleague's pet rabbit, commissioned as a Christmas present for her boyfriend.
Worker at Rest
 
On the hottest summer day of 2006, I met this delightful donkey called "Tony" on Blackpool beach. We were getting on very well and having a lovely cuddle until his friend, Teddy, got a bit jealous and decided to muscle his way in.
Golden Boot
 
I was keen to try my hand at equestrian art so contacted a nearby racing stables.  Elegant Golden Boot is one of the race-horses stabled at the Alan Bailey Racing Stables in Cheshire. Mr Bailey kindly visit his stables and take as many photographs of the horses as I wished.
Pinnewela Elephant's Smile

In January 2003, I accompanied a large group of  students from IDPM, University of Manchester on a field-trip to Sri Lanka. Although we spent most of the week in lectures and presentations, at the weekend we got the opportunity to do some sight-seeing. We visited the elephant orphanage at Pinnewela where we watched the elephants bathing and enjoyed the opportunity to get really close. This coloured pencil drawing is from a lovely photograph taken by Cen Yuhong.
Rainbow in Black and White

This coloured pencil drawing was exhibited at the 2003 "Wild About Art" exhibition in Sheffield. I nearly drove myself insane with all these stripes, being sometimes unable to tell where one zebra ended and another began but thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I thought that I was doing something a little bit different, but lo and behold, zebras seem to be really trendy in that year's exhibition!
Koalas
 
This sketch was created from photos sent by my Australian penpal. It was exhibited at the "Wild About Art" exhibition at the Trusthouse Forte Hotel in Sheffield between 24 February and 3 March 2002. It was a finalist in the PAWS 2002 wildlife painting competition.
Jangali and Po-Chin
 
This sketch features Jangali of Chester Zoo and her young calf Po-Chin. I try to visit Chester Zoo at least once a year to photograph the animals there and they provide the main subject matter for my wildlife paintings. This portrait was exhibited at the "Wild About Art" exhibition in Sheffield during February 2002 and was also a finalist in the PAWS 2002 competition.
Penny of Chester Zoo
 
Like Samara (below), Penny is one of my giraffe friends who I met when she was in residence at Chester Zoo. She is a very beautiful young lady with a very agreeable personality. I had the pleasure of stroking her nose once! This pencil sketch was exhibited at the "Wild About Art" exhibition in 2001.
Samara of Chester Zoo

 Giraffes are a life-long love of mine. The more I learn about them, the more fascinating they seem. Samara is one of my favourites and the mother of the zoo's young giraffe's Bentley, Jasper and Neo. This coloured pencil painting is made up of as many as 15 layers in the dark areas. It was exhibited at the "Wild About Art" exhibition, Sheffield 2000 and was a finalist in the PAWS 2000 competition.
Dot's Donkey
 
In Summer 1999, I attended a Chris de Burgh concert in aid of the "Michael Elliott Trust". The trust owns the Freshfields donkey sanctuary in Peak Forest, Derbyshire, and takes disabled children there to learn to ride. I visited the donkey sanctuary a few times that summer and painted this portrait of an old donkey, with a badly scarred nose, who until her death in 2001 was sponsored by June Brown (Dot Cotton of Eastenders). I met June at the concert and enjoyed a chat with her while she had a smoke outside the concert-hall! Who knows what past these animals have had? Mercifully, they are now safe and enjoy life surrounded by the beautiful countryside of the Peak District.
Harvest Pig
 
A friend rudely suggested that this pastel portrait should be called "Pork and Apple Sauce", but as a vegetarian, I will stick to my own title. The pig was photographed at the children's farm at Heaton Park in Manchester.
Peacock and Irises

This picture is a mixture of ink and pencil crayon.  I met this peacock at Riber Castle Zoo, near Matlock in Derbyshire, and it was very willing to pose for me. Sadly, Riber Zoo has since closed down. This painting was exhibited at the "Wild About Art" exhibition, Sheffield 2000.
Lemur Ball

Blackpool Zoo has a fantastic 'Lemur Walk' where you can go in amongst them and get up close.  I love how they all huddle together and wrap their tails around each other.  This picture was exhibited at the eighth annual exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society held at the Royal Society of Birmingham Artists' Gallery.