The inspiration behind Janet’s art usually results from a fleeting moment or chance encounter with nature;  the dazzling blue flash of a kingfisher, or a flock of curlews rising from the shore. Growing up in a tiny village in North East Fife, Janet has loved to draw the animals and birds around her since a very young age. Her passion for both wildlife and art led her to a career as a scientific and natural history illustrator, travelling to exciting places such as Madagascar. 

Many years later, now living in a beautiful part of North Lancashire, Janet completed a welding course and discovered a love of metal working. Using her sketches and observations of wildlife for inspiration, Janet’s metal art is laser cut for accuracy, then carefully finished and assembled by hand in her studio. She uses a variety of techniques to create the patinas on the metal, but her favourite is to temper the steel using a gas torch. As the metal is heated it turns different colours and she finds this process magical, like painting with fire. 

The final stage when creating a new sculpture is to run it past Quality Control: her team comprises five hens and two cats, with occasional help from her two small boys.

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