Stephen Gayford (b 1953) is a renowned & possibly retired British wildlife painter and has been a professional artist for many decades, having created a large portfolio of limited edition prints and original artwork.
Painting similar wildlife to the late David Shepherd (minus the military and railway art) and Jonathan Truss, he has created scores of ‘big cat’ imagery over the y
Stephen Gayford (b 1953) is a renowned & possibly retired British wildlife painter and has been a professional artist for many decades, having created a large portfolio of limited edition prints and original artwork.
Painting similar wildlife to the late David Shepherd (minus the military and railway art) and Jonathan Truss, he has created scores of ‘big cat’ imagery over the years but has also accomplished art featuring e.g. polar bears, wolves, elephants & macaws.
Stephen paints his brilliant imagery using watercolour, pencil and oil on canvas.
We are not sure if he is still actively painting, but his limited editions do trade on auctions sites, as do his originals for time to time.
On researching online, he has licensed the rights to many of his artworks, and many sell as cross stich designs in the United States.
Stephen in his own words:
"Painting, for me, has never been a hobby, it's not a relaxing experience - I feel compelled, even driven to paint - I have heard professional writers and sportsmen say the same. Since I was twelve I have always painted.
It is a passion, a labour of love. I dislike front light, (i.e. the sun behind the observer), I prefer back light or side light, or diffused light as on a cloudy or dusty day. I love dust and mist because it portrays the volume of air between the objects.
I start with little sketches in pencil on an A5 sized pad. I may do one, two or twelve until I get the right composition. When painting I have a large mirror behind me and I sometimes view the painting in reverse. If something in the painting does not feel right to me, it becomes obvious in the reflection and I can then easily correct it.
People often ask how long it takes me to do a painting. The answer is, I don’t really know. I work on between two and ten at once. I like paintings when I first start them as they have a simplicity, and the more I work on them, sometimes the further away from the original inspiration they can become, so I start another one.
By the time I have started the third or fourth one I can return to the first and work on it with a new inspiration."
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