The Falcon’s Nest gallery in Painswick is home to some of the most stunningly detailed artwork in Gloucestershire.

Kerry Jane has been producing artwork at the gallery since leaving her job as a dental nurse and becoming a full-time artist three years ago. It was a decision that she’d been thinking about for many years and one she’s glad to have made.

“Leaving a job with a regular income was a risk but it’s one I’m glad I took,” Kerry said. “Being able to do what I love for a job is a total dream, there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t take a minute to think how lucky I am. Drawing has been my main passion for as long as I can remember so to have made a career out of it is extremely rewarding,” she added.

Kerry produces sublime pictures of wildlife using a hi-tech graphite pencil that she says allows her to capture every single detail of her chosen subject. Kerry continued: “Drawing animals is what I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. I loved studying art at school but once I started full-time employment it very much took a back seat. It was a few years years ago that I gradually got the hunger back and I’ve been busy ever since. I decided to take the plunge and leave my job as a dental nurse and pursue a full-time career an an artist.

“My black and white drawings are done with an incredibly fine graphite pencil. I do some colour work as well but it doesn’t come as easily to me as working with the pencil, I’ve been working a lot more in colour recently though and will be making a real effort to develop my skills in this style in the future.

“I spent a lot of time in the outdoors when I was young, I suppose that’s where my love of animals comes from. I adore the countryside, birds of prey are my favourite animals to draw.”

Having forged a successful career in the competitive world of art, Kerry has a few words of wisdom for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps. She continued: “I really believe that you should do what you love. One of the reasons that I fell out of love with drawing for a while was that I was constantly being told that I had to do things a certain way. I stopped loving what I was doing because I felt I was trying to please other people rather than doing drawings that I wanted to do.

“I’ve found that my work is so much better when I’m producing art that I want to do. Growing up I’d draw on every single scrap of paper in the house, I think it’s so important that anyone wanting to become an artist spends as much time as they can perfecting their craft. I’m one of those people that believes that no one is born with a talent, success is purely down to hard work and dedication.”

Kerry spends most of her time in her Painswick studio, where she’s more than happy to discuss her artwork with her customers. “I enjoy getting to chat to people who like my work. Even though I’ve been doing it for a few years now I still get a real buzz every time I sell a piece. It’s got nothing to do with the money, it’s purely that feeling of knowing that someone else appreciates what I’m producing. It’s a complete dream to be able to sell my drawings. I feel very lucky that I’m able to do this for a living.

“In the coming few weeks I’m hoping to launch a range of stationary and tea towels with my art work on which is really exciting.”