These 5 Artists Paint the Wildlife as If It’s Right Beside You
Art has always been a way to connect us with the world to see, feel, and remember what surrounds us. While some artists turn inward to explore imagination or emotion, others look outward, to the living world we share with countless creatures. For wildlife artists, the canvas becomes a meeting ground between human perception and the untamed beauty of nature.
Through paint, pencil, or digital brush, they capture the grace of a bird in flight, the intensity in a lion’s gaze, or the quiet dignity of a deer in the forest. Every feather, every whisker, every ripple of water is rendered with care, reminding us of the fragile wonder that exists beyond our walls.
At the Arts to Hearts Project, we celebrate creators who give voice to the wild artists who honor the animals we live alongside, the landscapes they inhabit, and the urgent need to see them not as distant, but as part of our shared story. Wildlife art is more than depiction; it’s devotion. Wildlife art invites us to see with fresh eyes, to pause and notice not just the majesty of lions or eagles, but also the quiet poetry of sparrows, foxes, and fish.
This week, we will introduce you to some brilliant artists who bring wildlife into our homes and hearts. Through their hands, a canvas becomes a savannah, a sketch transforms into a woodland, and a sculpture carries the spirit of the sea. Their creations remind us that art is not only about what we make but also about what we preserve the beauty, wonder, and fragile magic of the living world around us.
Julie Brunn @juliebrunnartist
Julie Brunn, a wildlife artist from Britain, has a way of capturing animals that feels both delicate and powerful. Working mainly in oils, she paints with a softness that draws you in, as though you’ve stumbled quietly into a private moment. Whether it’s the stillness of a hare, the faithful gaze of a dog, or the quiet poise of a fox, Julie doesn’t just paint how they look she paints how they feel to be nearby. Julie’s journey is as interesting as her art. She studied fine art at Birmingham and for a time worked in graphic design. But animals have always held her heart, so she spent years working as an animal keeper at Longleat Safari Park and then at Monkey World. Those years gave her a unique closeness to creatures, allowing her to observe how they move, rest, gaze, and breathe.
When she returned to painting, she brought that deep connection with her. In her artworks, you feel the soft weight of fur, the fragility of wings, the quiet strength behind an eye. Her paintings are layered with care, each brushstroke holding both softness and strength. What makes Julie’s work quiet but powerful is the way she doesn’t force drama; she lets stillness speak. A fox, an otter, a bird in flight in her hands carry softness, a sense of being seen. She often paints animals that might be overlooked, those whose beauty is subtle, whose stories are fragile. Through her art, she invites us to pause with them, to feel both their fragility and their presence. Through her paintings, Julie brings us closer to nature, to wonder, and to the creatures whose quiet lives we share this world with.
Deeksha Chauhan @deekshachauhan.art
Deeksha Chauhan is a self-taught wildlife artist from India whose paintings carry a power that pulls you in. From the wild tiger to the quiet bird, her work feels like more than a portrait; it’s a moment held still, a presence you can sense. What she paints isn’t just what you see, but what you feel: the instinct, the vulnerability, the beauty of a creature alive in its world. Her path to art wasn’t straightforward. Even though she studied engineering, her heart was always sketching in notebooks, watching light fall on fur, imagining wildlife before ever making it real. She didn’t wait for classes to teach her; she taught herself realism and hyper-realism, following her intuition, experimenting, and letting nature be her teacher.
Looking at Deeksha’s paintings, you notice how much love and care go into every detail: the glint in a wild animal’s eye, the way shadows play over fur, the breath of life in each pose. Some pieces take months; others are commissioned by people who want more than a picture; they want something that speaks of wild places they may never visit. Her art isn’t just for admiration, though. Deeksha uses it to build empathy. With every painting sold, with every child she teaches, she carries forward a message: these animals’ matter, their lives matter, and we have a role in holding that presence gently. Through her work, Deeksha doesn’t only paint wildlife she invites us to make space for it in our heart
Rosie Lowe @rosielowe.art
Rosie Lowe is a UK-based artist whose pastel work feels tender, soulful, and deeply connected to the animals she paints. She began her journey creating pet portraits, giving families a way to hold on to the memory and presence of their beloved companions. Over time, her love for animals drew her further into the wild and now her art also celebrates creatures beyond the home, from foxes and hares to birds and deer. What stands out in Rosie’s work is her ability to capture not just detail, but essence. A soft gaze, the curl of fur, the light in an animal’s eyes become the heart of her portraits.
When you look at her paintings, you don’t just see an animal, you sense a personality, a quiet story. It feels as though Rosie has paused time just long enough for us to meet the creature in front of us. Her process is thoughtful and intimate. She carefully studies reference photos, offers her clients choices in layout and framing, and works closely with them to create something personal. This care is part of what makes her work so moving: every piece feels like a collaboration between memory, love, and art. For Rosie, animals are not just subjects, but beings to be honored. Whether it’s the loyal warmth of a family pet or the untamed spirit of a wild fox, her portraits remind us of the connection we share with all creatures. Through her pastels, she gives us more than likeness; she gives us presence. A reminder that animals, whether close to home or roaming free, carry stories worth holding on to.
Karen Laurence-Rowe @karen_laurence_rowe_art
Born in Uganda and raised among the vast landscapes of East Africa, Karen Laurence-Rowe grew up where wilderness was not a distant wonder it was home. The daughter of a civil engineer, her family lived a semi-nomadic life, moving from one construction site to another across the region. Their houses were often simple prefab wooden structures set against endless horizons, where lions’ roars and hyenas’ laughter echoed through the night. With no cities nearby and nature as her constant companion, Those early memories became the roots of her creative life. Now based in Nairobi, Kenya, Karen is a self-taught artist whose work carries the rhythm and pulse of the continent that raised her. Her canvases feel like living memories: elephants moving with quiet majesty, lions resting under the acacia’s shadow, herds dissolving into light and dust. Each painting is both a love letter and a plea: a tribute to Africa’s beauty and a call to protect what remains.
Her studio overflows with sketchbooks, notes, and reference photographs of fragments of field life that later bloom into oil paintings, charcoal drawings, and watercolor scenes. This process gives her work a rare duality: it’s both accurate and alive. You can feel the authenticity in every brushstroke, yet also the emotion of someone who has lived the story she’s painting. Over the years, her devotion has earned her international recognition. What makes Karen’s work so deeply human is not only her mastery of form but her understanding of loss and resilience. After facing personal health challenges, she returned to painting with renewed purpose, channeling her own healing into her art. Her celebrated piece The Journey became a reflection of both the animal world’s struggle and her own a conversation between survival and grace. Her paintings remind us that wildlife is not just part of nature’s backdrop; it is part of who we are. Every gaze, every texture, every vast horizon she paints becomes a reminder that the wild is precious, fragile, and profoundly human in its capacity for connection.
Carole Rodrigue @carole_rodrigue
In a quiet studio in Sudbury, Ontario, filled with soft light, scattered brushes, and the gentle hush of concentration, Carole Rodrigue brings animals to life in a way that feels intimate almost like memory unfolding on canvas. Her paintings are more than images; they are moments of encounter. Each creature she paints a fox, a bird, a cat, or a bear seems to meet your gaze, present, aware, and alive. Carole’s path as an artist began in quiet curiosity rather than spectacle. She drew and painted to understand the world around her, noticing how light played across fur, how colors shifted with shadow, and how life moved in subtle rhythms. Over time, this quiet fascination became her language, a way to express what words could never capture. Now a professional artist with collectors around the globe, Carole has created a body of work that celebrates both wild and domestic life. Using oils and pastels, she moves seamlessly between portraits of wildlife and tender depictions of beloved pets.
Her realism is never cold; it carries warmth, attention, and care. Every detail, the softness in an eye, the glint of light on fur, the gentle stillness of a moment is a reflection of life lived closely. For Carole, painting is a form of meditation to slow down, observe, and be fully present. “If my art moves someone,” she says, “if it helps them remember the beauty that surrounds them, then I’ve succeeded.” That understanding flows through every piece an acknowledgment that beauty isn’t decoration, it’s truth. Her process is meticulous, yet it never feels mechanical. She studies her subjects carefully, collecting sketches, photographs, and notes. She knows their anatomy, but she also seeks their essence, their movements, their energy, the impression they leave behind. It is this harmony of precision and empathy that gives her work its intimacy. The animals she paints don’t feel posed; they feel alive, breathing quietly within their world. Standing before her paintings, there is a calmness, a pause, as if the world itself holds its breath. Her art doesn’t shout; it whispers. It reminds us that power in art, as in nature, is quiet; it is present, felt, and shared.
Wildlife art holds a special kind of power. It doesn’t just decorate our walls, it changes how we see the living world. Each of these artists approaches nature differently with pastels, with oils, with prints, or with sketches but what unites them is a tenderness for the creatures they portray. Some capture the shimmer in an eye, some the stillness of a landscape, and some the fleeting energy of movement. Together, they create more than art: they create moments of connection between us and the wild. At a time when it’s easy to lose touch with nature in the rush of our lives, their work gently asks us to pause. To notice the curve of a feather, the depth of a gaze, or the soft line of fur in the wind. These are not just details of art, they’re details of life itself, offered back to us as a reminder of what deserves our care and wonder.
And perhaps that’s the greatest gift of all: art that doesn’t just show us animals but lets us feel them reminding us that the wild isn’t out there somewhere, it’s here, living alongside us, asking only to be seen.
