Angela Cater is a greeting card designer, pet portraitist and children’s book illustrator.
Born in 1967, and given my first cat when I was just 2 years old, I have been painting ever since I was old enough to hold a brush. As a mature student, I studied Foundation Art at Chesterfield Technical before undertaking a HND in Graphic Design and Advertising at Doncaster Art College.
I have been a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society from the beginning and hold Silver Signature status.
I have a great affinity and empathy with animals, especially cats, which is reflected in my work. I want people to see animals as individuals with their own feelings, emotions and personality. When you see animals that way it is hard to be cruel.
I am most inspired by the colours of nature and often incorporate the nature that surrounds me into my pet portraiture. On clear, bright autumn days, I get positively punch-drunk on colour.
As a natural born artist, I need to create in order to feel content and well-balanced.
One piece of art may take me up to a month to complete, so my starting point is generally a photograph. When working in gouache, I will use a mid-tone as my base colour and then build up the picture in layers, working from the darkest shade, through lighter tints to finally pure white.
I also love working in coloured pencil because it is so portable and immediate, and I can achieve a fine level of detail that I find tricky with any other media.
I want viewers to feel my love and compassion for the animals I paint and turn that into increased awareness for the nature that surrounds them.