Louise Brown

I live in rural Lincolnshire and I am a self-taught sculptor and painter, after working as a radiographer for many years.

My great love of animals, both domestic and wild, inspires my artwork. So, the subjects of my paintings and sculptures are either furry or feathered. I try to inject an element of fun and quirkiness into them.

My sculptures are all individually crafted, not made in a mould. I make a rough shape out of newspaper, then apply a thin layer of clay over this and then add more clay to form the shape of the animal. After the sculptures have been bisque fired, I apply the colours in the form of oxides, underglazes and a limited application of glazes.

I prefer my animals to have a matt finish and clear glaze is only applied to areas such as the eyes, to make them shiny and more realistic. The sculptures are then fired again for ten hours.

My paintings are usually created using acrylic paints on canvas. I use loose brushstrokes and lots of colour. My aim is to capture the personality of the animal subject, and their character traits.