Sheila Scholes

I live in Tytherington, and have been a bird photographer for over a decade. Although I have visited many countries on bird photographic trips, I reckon many our own UK birds are some of the most spectacular - we just take them for granted. It was only recently that I took up the idea of painting from my photographs. My preferred style is to capture the detail of the bird as realistically as possible and that is where I find the most challenge. I only use oil paint as it give me a great degree of control over the painting process and I prefer the long drying time as it allows me time to make small but important adjustments. I quickly realised that painting has the advantage of being able to pull out birds from different photos to create a composition that I would be very lucky to get with the camera. Each of my paintings takes a couple of weeks to complete over many sittings, I also assemble and paint my own frames. It is an immensely peaceful and enjoyable endeavour.