Wild About Art
with artist Anne Barron
Welcome to my website - hope you enjoy my diverse range of artwork. I'm an artist working from my garden studio in Shetland, where I can walk out and see the Atlantic Ocean, and I don't have to travel far to see the North Sea. Having been passionate about drawing and painting animals all my life, the sea, the light and the seabirds, ponies and wildlife in Shetland now feature regularly in my work.
You can find your way to my artwork by using the buttons above, and you can order prints, originals and even merchandise like mugs and coasters with most of the images you can see here by going to my Shop page (see button above) or via the Contact page, or telephone on 07713985081. Other merchandise featuring my artwork is also available from my Redbubble page (click on the link above). If you would like to follow me, click on the links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & my Wordpress blog.
The Studio in the garden
Minn Beach is just a short walk from my studio
The artist!
Very happy to have been accepted as a Full Member of Shetland Arts & Crafts Association and now able to have my work shown in any of their exhibitions / outlets and have twice exhibited at the Bonhoga Gallery as part of the Association as well as having a commissioned Christmas card accepted by Shetland Arts last Christmas for sale at the Bonhoga Gallery and the Mareel and airport shops.
For some years I have been a Professional Associate of the Society for All Artists. have a Portfolio Membership online with Artists & Illustrators Magazine and last, but not least, was accepted as a
Signature member of Artists For Conservation website.
Artists for Conservation (AFC) – the world’s leading artist group supporting the environment, representing 500 of the world’s leading nature/wildlife artists from 30 countries.
AFC's mission is to support wildlife and habitat conservation and environmental education through art that celebrates nature. I was recognised and accepted as a member by the Jury due to being a long-term fundraiser for wildlife and conservation charities over the past 40 years.
Shetland
Busta House in Sunlight, acrylic on canvas , prints available as A3 rolled in a tube £35 or 10 x 8" mounted £30
Shetland has been a great influence on my work since I came to live here in 2007 with my partner, Mike. For the first time ever I have a studio which has been sculpted out of the old stone garage building in the garden. We look out over the Atlantic on one side and across the Voe to Houss (the east side of Burra) on the other, so my colour palette is very much affected by the sea and all its varied colours. The light in Shetland is extraordinary and with the amazing scenery, light and wildlife, it is of course a real draw to artists and other creative people.
Tourism has changed Shetland quite drastically in recent years until the past few quiet years, mostly due to amazing festivals including fantastic music events, a celebration of Shetland's food suppliers, a superb film and literary festival and not forgetting the most hit of all, the Wool Week which brings people from all over the world to enjoy a week of intense crafting workshops, cameraderie and laughter. I love to take part in any of the festivals I can get to, particularly the Wool Week as I have also become an enthusiastic and not very good knitter, which is a useful skill on a dark winter night in front of the wood burner. In recent years the most interest in tourism has been created by the Shetland crime drama, and Jimmy Perez's house in Lerwick has become one of the most photographed places in the town.
Animals
Some past commissions
Commission for a friend of their sister's handsome Scottish Sheepdog
Otter swimming. Acrylic.
Some past commissions
Animals, and wildlife conservation, have been an important inspiration for my art - my earliest drawings were of animals, and I have spent 30 years taking commissions for portraits of dogs, cats, horses and people, with hundreds of happy clients. Most of my images are available as prints & cards.
I was co-founder of the Wild about Art Wildlife Exhibitions in Sheffield with my colleague and fellow artist Irene Nixon, when we attracted some of the top wildlife artists in the UK including two of the best who are sadly no longer with us, the iconic David Shepherd and wonderful Pollyanna Pickering. The exhibitions raised over £20,000 for various wildlife charities, of which I'm very proud, but I continue to support wildlife charities including a small but vital local charity in Shetland who rehabilitate injured sea mammals and birds - the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, and donations from my sales go regularly to them.
Portraits
Before moving to Shetland, I was invited with some other portrait artists, to get involved with an exhibition to coincide with the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible in Shetland. Our two years hosting this exhibition were great fun, meeting lots of the players and all the dedicated fans. Hence the many snooker stars in my art portfolio! There is a story behind this drawing of Alex Higgins, who'd just lost a final and was inconsolable, left alone in the auditorium, thinking.
Acrylic painting on board showing one of my favourite TV Detectives - with a nod to a boardgame remembered from childhood - Cluedo.
One of a series of images I painted of some gorgeous young women who worked at the same hair salon where I had my hair done. I started with Louisa who gave me her "theme" but for the others I tried to match their personality with a style of painting (as I saw them). This Kimberley who I felt was perfect for a classical and romantic Pre-Raphaelite style, as per Dante Gabrielle Rosetti.
Before moving to Shetland, I was invited with some other portrait artists, to get involved with an exhibition to coincide with the World Snooker Championships at the Crucible in Shetland. Our two years hosting this exhibition were great fun, meeting lots of the players and all the dedicated fans. Hence the many snooker stars in my art portfolio! There is a story behind this drawing of Alex Higgins, who'd just lost a final and was inconsolable, left alone in the auditorium, thinking.
I have painted and drawn portraits all my life and some below are examples of past commissions, or, in some cases such as the snooker players, were made specially for a particular exhibition or event. The World Championship Snooker competition at the Crucible in Sheffield saw myself and various colleagues invited to have an exhibition two years running as part of the event. These are now available only as prints and cards, which can be ordered by following my Redbubble link at the bottom of each page. Alternatively you can order artwork via the Contact page
Cartoons
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Cartoons have always been a fascination of mine and I have done a number of children's book illustrations for an agency in the past and in recent times the illustrations for a friend's delightful children's book called The Blackbird Who Could Not Sing. Some copies of this are available direct from me in my shop page, or from my studio, but are also available from Amazon
BUTTONS THE BEACH CAT = Anyone who has visited Minn Beach over the years may have met up with Buttons the Beach Cat owned by my neighbour's family - the daughter, Joanne, had wanted to write about Buttons' adventures and we got together last year to write the story and I added the illustrations. The A5 size paperback is now on sale from the Wild About Art Studio or by contacting me direct and it has had a lot of lovely feedback from parent and adults alike.
£12 per copy plus p&p and we are happy to sign and dedicate the book for you.
My new tiny art studio in the garden at our house in Papil, Burra, is open to visitors most afternoons year round if one of us is home. As we are a 25 minute drive from Lerwick, 15 minutes from Scalloway, it is a good idea to phone ahead (see contact details below). I'm happy to provide tea and coffee for visitors. Contact me via the form at the bottom of the page. I am also happy to open up in the evenings if you let us know you are coming.
Studio Visits & Workshops
One to one workshops are now available, £60 for a two hour session with a tea/coffee break. The session is tailored perfectly to your requirements, eg you can bring your own reference photograph to work from, you can choose what medium you'd like to learn and if you prefer to break this down into two separate one hour sessions, that is fine. You will be given advice on art materials, demonstrations and guidance on your painting and free feedback, suggestions and advice by email (or face to face) on any work you do following on from the workshop. Dual workshops are available for couples or friends who don't mind working closely together in my small studio. These are priced at £40 per person on the premise that both parties are working on the same subject and in the same medium. Mediums available are graphite, charcoal, coloured pencils, pastels, watercolours and acrylics. Open workshops may be arranged at different times of year, in venues around Shetland with visiting art & craft instructors, or by myself or other local artists - watch the News and Events space. Book a studio slot here
Commissions
Sheepdog painted from a photograph in acrylics on canvas
My order book for commissions is now open from April 2026, but please allow at least two months for any deadlines, especially for Christmas commissions to avoid an end of year stampede. Commissions are available in a range of mediums, styles (realistic, cartoon or fantasy) and sizes to suit. See my price list for commissions and either fill in the enquiry form (click on button below) or you can contact me via the Contact form below.
News & Events
I'm a founder member of the Fine Art Shetland Group who have had a very successful few years with an exhibition at the Old Haa, Yell, a very well received Pop Up Gallery in the middle of town on Commercial Street which lasted six weeks in the summer of 2022, a shared stand at the Shetland Arts & Crafts Annual Craft Fair, one of the busiest weekends in the Shetland calendar - in 2026 the Craft Fair will be at Clickimin Leisure Centre from 6th - 8th November but the individual artists will host their own stands as we found we each have too much stock to share one large stand.
The current members are Heather Wilson, Diane Garrick, Anne Barron & Sarah Kay. Sarah and I have recently collaborated on a series of paintings with me painting above sea level and Sarah adding some amazing undersea scenes, inspired by her cold water swimming and snorkelling.
Three of the artists also exhibited their work at the islesburgh Community Centre on King Harald St, Lerwick during the months of August 2024. The exhibition contained a variety of work with some of the collaborations from Anne and Sarah on show, and elicited a very warm response from visitors and a good review in the Shetland Times.
Plans are afoot for various exhibition opportunities in 2026 - watch this space.
So
HILLSWICK WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.
The planned exhibition for the Grand Opening of the new Hillswick Wildlife Dactuary buildings and Visitor Centre unfortunately never took place due to the Covid lockdown and a few years on from that the sad passing of the Sanctuary's founder, Jan Bevington. Her husband Peter, along with some very loyal and hardworking volunteers, is carrying on Jan's good work and the Sanctuary is going from strength to strength. The artworks very generously donated for the planned exhibition were added to some more art donations and were auctioned in 2025, raising £300 which was donated directly to the Sanctuary. New equipment, food for the rescued animals fuel and other utility bills, petrol costs, vet bills and various other day to day expenses make it an expensive operation but you can donate at any time online on their website with a one-off donation, or you can sign up for a monthly donation. Alternatively offers of high quality handcrafted items such as hand knitted items, artwork, cards, are welcomed for salle at the Visitor Centre
Please note that all images on this site are the copyright of Anne Barron and may not be downloaded or printed without prior permission
CONTACT ME
For all enquiries, or to be added to my mailing list for quarterly newsletters, please complete this short contact form and I'll be back in touch just as quickly as I can. Thanks!
Anne Barron
Wild About Art Studio
(Bailey & Barron) Duncansclate
Bridge End, Shetland, ZE2 9UY
Tel: 07713985081
email: wildaboutart@yahoo.co.uk
