About me, about me….. hmmmmm, I have been putting off writing an about me page since the day I realised my work maybe good enough to sell and needed to develop a web presence. I am not a great self publicist at the best of times, and unless I am dumped in the middle of a group of people with no option but to converse, am pretty shy, not a great start when trying to establish a business for yourself I know, but tis the way I am and am probably getting to old to change now! Now I know my personal limitations, and am relatively comfortable with them but that still doesn't help with my about me page, sooooo… what the hell shall I write….

Ok lets start at the beginning (art wise I mean, I am sure you don't really want to know about my birth childhood etc!!) I was very much into art as a child, and even up until I was 16 still very much saw it as the path my life would take, all until I went to art college (well I went to college to take art, but pretty much the same thing!) and had any enjoyment of drawing sucked out of me, there are only so many collages you can make and after spending a few months feeling like I was in a kindergarten class, I realised this really wasn't for me, I left college, life took over and art was generally left behind.

20 years later, I saw some incredibly rendered pencil drawings on the internet, the likes of Armin Mersman and Mike Sibley really opened my eyes to what could be done with a pencil, my preferred medium, and I thought, I want to draw like that, so I tried, and you know what it was pretty good, so I drew some more and I fell back in love with something I had given up all those years ago, it's amazing what the right inspiration can achieve.

I entered my first wildlife drawing, Red Ruffed Lemur, and only my third artistic endeavour since I had started drawing again, into the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the year award 2009, and not only was I stunned to be shortlisted and then selected as one of the final 25, I was completely gobsmacked to win the ‘Peoples Choice' award. This has made me even more determined to make a living doing something I love.

Anyway enough of my rambling, if you see something you like, buy it!, if you have any questions about anything at all, please get in touch via info@awildlife.co.uk... Thanks for looking…

Paul Slavin.