Born in 1993 I am originally from Rochdale, but after travelling much of Europe, Thailand and Australia, I have now settled down in North Wales with my partner and daughter. Currently I am the Secretary of the Association of Animal Artists, whilst also a longstanding member of ARTNorthWales and The Pastel Guild of Europe.
Art and travelling have both been great passions of mine since I was small. I studied art at GCSE level and originally moved onto study Art at A level before making an early decision, to change my career choices and study full time to work in the Travel and Tourism industry. After many years working successfully in the industry, I made a bold move to leave the country and spend some time travelling throughout Europe, Thailand and Australia. Upon my return, and during a difficult pregnancy, I decided to move back onto the path of Fine Art, my true passion, slowly improving my drawing/painting skills at home.
Like many artists, throughout my working life, I have never really been fully happy with the roles I worked towards, and I have come to realise that what I really enjoy is the time I spend picking up those pastels or paint brushes and watching the life unfold off the easel, Art is now my full time role, selling original paintings, limited edition prints and taking on several commissions per year.
Since emerging as a realism wildlife artists in the past 4 years, I have now taken the opportunity to use my platform to support wildlife conservation wherever possible. Currently, I aim to support wildlife conservation and rescue centres across the world, such as the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, by donating portions of my original painting sales. I also have works available on www.africawildlifeart.com which provides a 50% donation to the Invicta Wildlife Fund.
As of 2023 I am proud to say that I have permanent gallery space as a resident artist in a stunning Welsh gallery called Artworks 2 Celf (Betws-Y-Coed), whilst a selection of smaller paintings and prints are available all year round, rotated on a monthly basis at the smaller Bay Gallery (Colwyn Bay). Previous gallery exhibitions included Mall Galleries London, Gallery@Oxo London, Espacio Gallery London, Rose Paterson Gallery, Manchester Art Fair and more.
I'm thrilled to say that I'm the proud winner of many awards since beginning my art career, including but not limited to: 2024 BEST OF 2023 Pastel Guild of Europe 2024 2nd Place in the Pastel 100 Wildlife Category - The Pastel Journal 2024 and 2022 Wildlife 100 Finalist in the Sketch For Survival - EAE 2023 Inaugural Chairmans Award - Association of Animal Artists 2023 Best In Show Award - Association of Animal Artists 2023 Into The Home Award - Association of Animal Artists 2022 Best In Show Award - Association of Animal Artists 2021 Runner Up Award - Association of Animal Artists Final 3 wildlife/animal category SAA PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS OF THE YEAR 2023 2023 Winner Pastel Guild of Europe Summer Get Dusty 2023 IAPS 42nd Global Exhibitor in "The Globe" 2022 Winner of the All Womens International - Light Space Time
http://www.spwildlifeart.com sophie@spwildlifeart.com (for commission enquiries) www.facebook.com/spwildlifeart
www.instagram.com/spwildlifeart
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http://artworks2.co.uk/artists/parkhill_sophie.html