Louise Luton

Contemporary wildlife artist – oil on linen

Artist Statement

I am a contemporary wildlife artist based in Salisbury, Wiltshire, known for my expressive use of colour and my vibrant oil paintings on linen. My work captures the beauty, character, and majesty of animals — from the deer of the New Forest to the lions and elephants of the African savannah.

I paint because I love to paint. From the moment I could hold a pencil, art has been my way of connecting with the world. My process blends traditional oil painting techniques with a bold, contemporary approach to colour, creating work that is both joyful and full of life.

Biography

I studied Art and Geography at Roehampton University, specialising in stained glass. My final degree show included a commissioned stained glass window for Napsbury Hospital. After completing my PGCE at the University of Exeter, I spent 20 years as a secondary school teacher, teaching Art and becoming Head of Drama, Head of year inSixth Form, and Head of Staff Development, before finally returning to my first love: painting.

A pivotal moment came shortly after my beloved Father passed away. He had once suggested I paint lions — advice I had set aside until grief brought me back to the easel. I painted my first lion, based on a photograph from Longleat, and it sold immediately. That moment changed my path. A couple of years later, I travelled to Africa for the first time, and the light, colour, and wildlife I encountered there transformed my work forever.

Today, I paint British and African and Asian wildlife, working from my own sketches and photographs (often taken by my husband, a keen photographer). My work is held in private collections across the UK, Ireland, Kenya, USA, Australia, Switzerland, France, Singapore

I work alongside a lovely British publisher , who have created my colourful animal prints now available through galleries and stockists nationwide.

Selected Exhibitions

• Solo Shows – Fisherton Mill Gallery, Salisbury – African Collections (2020, 2023)

• Fresh Art Fair – Cheltenham & Ascot (Demonstrating Artist, 2019, 2022, 2023)

• Contemporary Art fairs Reading Art Fair, Windsor Art Fair, Sandown Art Fair (2014–2019)

• The Barons’ Charter – Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Public Art Trail (2015)

Projects & Collaborations

• Collaborator with Offbeat Mara Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya (2019, 2022)

• Stained Glass “Stained Glass Flower Baron” sculpture for Salisbury Barons’ Charter

• Commissioned stained glass window for Napsbury Hospital

Education

• BA (Hons) Art & Geography – Roehampton University, Digby Stuart College

• PGCE – University of Exeter