ANNE SHINGLETON

Born 1953, was raised on a farm in Dorset, England. After attending St. Swithuns' school in Winchester she went to Swansea College of the University of Wales where she graduated in Zoology. This was followed by two years of illustration and graphics at the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art. In 1980 Anne commenced her 2 years of studies in the classical atelier of the famous Nerina Simi (1890 - 1987) in Florence, Italy. Signorina Simi, an acknowledged master and teacher of drawing and painting, was the daughter of the Florentine painter Filadelfo Simi who had studied with Jean-Leon Gerome, the head of the French Academy in Paris in the 1870s.

Continuing to live in Italy, Anne has since developed her own style of painting that combines her keen observation, knowledge of animals and the natural world and her renaissance draftsmanship skills. In 1993, Anne made her first bronze animal (a toad), and has been perfecting her sculpting skills ever since. Working in collaboration with the excellent foundries in Tuscany, she has produced monumental-sized birds and insects as well as a range of smaller animals.

Anne continues to paint plein-air and has been invited to work on conservation projects abroad with Ars et Natura and Artist for Nature. Anne devotes time in her year to teaching, believing that passing on knowledge to future generations is an important part of an artist's career.