Animal Magic

From capturing the intense power of a horse in full gallop to intricate, technical anatomical drawings of a tiger’s jaw, Norwich based SAMANTHA ELMHURST is a leading animal illustrator of international renown

 

- Samantha Elmhurst

WORKING as a teenage waitress in the café above Norwich arty institution Brambles, Samantha Elmhurst would spend any quiet moments climbing the stairs to the attic to watch a group of illustrators at work. It was, she says, those precious minutes which helped shape the rest of her life.

“Brambles had this wonderful arty atmosphere, but what I loved most were the illustrators who worked upstairs. It was heaven, it was the moment I realised illustrating could be an actual job,” she says.

Her love of art was long established, but, advised to pursue more traditional subjects at school, it remained little more than a hobby.

“I think my parents assumed that if I studied art it meant I would get up late, spend hours thinking about painting, not earning much money and living this very bohemian lifestyle. Ironically, my artistic profession is actually very rigid. Even the course I did was very strict. All artists are invariably self-employed so we need to be dedicated to pay the bills.”

Having doggedly pursued her artistic dreams, Samantha is now an internationally renowned animal illustrator, producing extraordinarily detailed anatomical drawings and pieces of art capturing the beauty, strength and power of a huge variety of species.