Pollyanna films ‘A Day in the Life of a Wildlife Artist’

For a full day in May, Pollyanna’s studio, gallery and garden became temporary television studios as a team from the Create and Craft channel visited to record ‘A Day in the Life of a Wildlife Artist.’

Pollyanna sketched several owls from life as the cameras rolled – Barratt the Barn owl (above), and three barn owl chicks – all resident at Woodie’s Wings owl sanctuary. They also brought along ‘Gandalf’ – a huge Great Grey Owl – and the first one Pollyanna has ever painted. As she sketched, Pollyanna talked about the challenges of working from live models – but also the opportunity of learning the character of the individual owls. She described her sketching techniques, and talked about the materials she uses to capture the detail of the feathers. The cameras also followed her to her studio, and filmed as she worked on larger paintings, based on her previous sketches. Pollyanna commented ‘There is always extra pressure sketching and painting on camera – usually I am able to work quietly on my own, and focus solely on my work – it is always more difficult if I have to talk about the process at the same time – and of course if I make a mistake it is recorded for posterity!’

Her private gallery made the ideal location for interviews with Pollyanna –surrounded by her artwork she discussed her expeditions to some of the remotest and most inhospitable parts of the globe to study endangered species in their natural habitats, as well as describing some of her biggest challenges to date. She talked about finding inspiration closer to home, in her beloved British wildlife and Peak District landscapes, and the passion for conservation which has resulted from working so closely with the animals she paints. Pollyanna’s daughter and business partner Anna-Louise even made a brief appearance in front of the cameras!

The channel has already started using clips from their day’s filming in the ‘Pollyanna Pickering’ series of shows on their channel – especially as part of the programmes when she is not available to appear live in the studio.