“Mother and Baby”

This young artist, based in Lincoln, (UK) demonstrates her love and understanding of her medium in her ethereal, colour rich paintings of wildlife. Inspired by the work of French artist Odilon Redon, Dobson brings a lavish quality to the animals that she depicts on canvas. Brush strokes, scratches and the sheer exuberance of the laying on of paint make her exciting representations of noble beasts a pleasure to behold. But given the popularity of animals as subject matter, evidenced in the success of David Shepherd’s work over the years, is Dobson’s work the 21st century’s answer to wildlife painting?

By way of comparison, David Shepherd’s work ‘Ahmed’

and Katy Jade Dobson’s work ‘His Majesty’

both show a bull elephant in his pride, fully alert and looking frankly magnificent. But how does our response to the different way these beasts are shown evidence a shift in taste in…