By Richard Davies

ARTIST Stuart Short had his “road to Damascus moment” on the A66 as he drove across the Pennines on a filthy winter morning to begin another week’s work many miles from his County Durham home.

Sitting in his sunlit summerhouse studio in his garden near Barnard Castle, he described how he finally decided to abandon his office job and earn his living painting the animals and the countryside he loves.

“I was born in Darlington and lived there until I went to art college in Kent, then came back up north,” he said. “I could never see myself working in London.

“I moved around all over the place and worked at several design agencies, before ending up at BAE Systems, near Preston, in Lancashire.

“I used to do the promotional literature for military aircraft, but it was a long way from home in Greta Bridge – a straight 100 miles to work.

“I had digs across there during the week and would come home at weekends, but I’d had enough of commuting. I was wishing my life away, looking forward to the weekends.

“In my spare time over there, while I was in my digs, I used to paint animals for people – it was a sort-of paid hobby.

“In 2005, on one horrible February Monday morning, I was travelling along the A66 to work and I thought ‘I’ve had enough’.

“My order book for paintings was quite full and I’d thought about leaving work for a while and going it alone. That day, I decided ‘don’t think about it anymore, just get in there and tell the boss’, and that’s exactly what I did.”

A couple of months later, Stuart began his new life painting commissioned portraits of gundogs, horses and livestock. He said: “I paint in gouache which is water-based but thicker than normal water-colour paint. It allows me to build up a good representation of the sheen on an animal’s coat.

“Animal portraits start at £495 for a ‘head and shoulders’ which includes the photography and the framing. I go out and take 50 to 60 photos and then sit down with the client and we’ll pick the one that best represents the animal.

“Painting the portrait then takes three or four days. A full-body portrait with an intricate background, such as heather, takes much longer and can cost £1,300. But the price can be anywhere between the two.

“It’s hard to make a living just out of the paintings, so when I’ve finished one, I scan it and make greeting cards and other merchandise, such as magnetic shopping list pads, to give me a second bite at the cherry.

“That’s how the mugs came about. At the moment, I’m on a bit of a mission to get all my paintings onto mugs. I’ve got a long way to go yet – I’ve done well over 100 paintings now – and I’ve designed the mugs so people can pick a set of sheep or gundogs or whatever they fancy. And it’s an ever-expanding set.

“Once I’ve scanned in the painting, I design the mug on my computer and that gets printed out on a piece of paper with a special coating. I’ve got a mug press that heats up to a terrific temperature. The ink gets fired into the mug glaze not on top of it. So what you’ve got is a completely dishwasher-proof mug that won’t fade.

“I’m trying to get the mugs into farm and gift shops and I also exhibit at a few shows every year.”

Stuart uses a similar press to transfer his pictures onto tiles that can be assembled and framed and hung on the wall or used as a backdrop for an Aga in a kitchen. “I plan it all out on computer and the hard part is getting just the right bit of image on each tile,” he said. “You can have whatever you want on the tiles – it doesn’t have to be a painting, it can be a photograph.”

What are his favourite animals to paint? “Labradors and spaniels are hard to beat, but I like Swaledale sheep as well – they’re very photogenic. Next year, I’m sponsoring the supreme champion at the Langdon Beck Show so the winner will get a painting as a prize."

Away from his work, Stuart, 48, loves to be out in the hills near his home. He said: “I do a bit of shooting, which ties in with the painting, but I prefer working my dogs – I’ve got a Labrador and a spaniel – to the actual shooting. And that gives some good opportunities for photographs which can be used as references for the paintings.”

Nearly ten years after he took the plunge and gave up a secure office job, Stuart has no regrets. And one thing is certain – the only commuting to work he will be doing in future is strolling down the garden to his studio.

Stuart Short, The Cottage, Greta Bridge, Barnard Castle DL12 9SE. Telephone: 01833 627869 or 07787 427015. Email: stuartshort5@googlemail.com. Web: www.snsportraits.co.uk.