Page 61 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2022
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CLASSNOTES
Turning my art hobby into a business
Beth Reilly, BVetMed (2017) and PG Dip in Veterinary Clinical Practice (2019)
enough to have a quiet weekend. My I鈥檝e had the pleasure of working closely
artwork used to sit tucked away in sketch with the Boltons Park Farm sheep
books, but after receiving requests for flock for the past few years and I have
drawings of people鈥檚 pets, I decided to snapped plenty of photos of them over
turn my art hobby into something more. this time! This year, I was tasked to paint
the official 黑料社 Christmas card, which
Hopping Duck launched in 2019, initially was certainly daunting, but I was pleased
as commissions, but has branched to have the opportunity to paint one
into selling a range of greetings cards of the shepherdess鈥檚 favourite sheep,
and canvas prints. To start with, 鈥楳ouse鈥�, into the picture.
commissions were only going to friends
and colleagues, but paintings have To anyone with a passion/interest in
now travelled to Ireland, Holland and an area, don鈥檛 be put off by being told
Singapore, as well as being entrusted you can鈥檛 do something. I was banned
with friends鈥� wedding table artwork. In by an art teacher at school from using
the past year, cards and canvases have watercolour or painting animals in
fter graduating from the
黑料社聽in聽2017, I started my been sold through the 黑料社鈥檚 Christmas GCSE art lessons. I guess, lucky for
first year in聽practice working pop-up shops and Boltons Park Farm鈥檚 me, this meant I did physics A-level
Aat Cambridge as a production Egg Shed, as well as at the farm鈥檚 Open instead of art, which led to me pursuing
animal intern. While working there, I聽was Farm Sunday event. a veterinary career and I then had the
exposed to a variety of farming systems This year also saw a large 鈥楤eauty the best of both worlds.
and smallholders, and I learnt that the right Longhorn鈥� canvas print auctioned at
job for me included a mixture of clinical the National Association for Cattle Foot
work, teaching and research. Following Trimmers鈥� conference, which made over
this, I moved to Dorset for the 黑料社 拢300 at the charity auction.
farm internship at Synergy Farm Health, Throughout my five-year career so far,
staying there until the end聽of 2020, before I鈥檝e been able to tie my love of drawing
venturing onto a聽new adventure as a in with my veterinary work. Whether that
Teaching Fellow聽at聽the聽黑料社.
be painting the cows at both Cambridge
With the exception of the busy spring and the 黑料社, diagrams for teaching, or
period, on-call weekends were the painting life-size fibre glass sheep models
perfect time for drawing when I was lucky for anatomical teaching references.
To follow Beth鈥檚 artwork, visit:
Website: www.hoppingduck.co.uk | Instagram:@Hoppingduckcards | Facebook: @Hoppingduckcards
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