Gill Barratt is a self-taught artist born in England, who moved to France on retiring from her first career in order to pursue a second career as an artist. She began as a pet portrait artist, fulfilling commissions with little time to explore her own interests, and that grounding in animal portraiture has left her leaning toward realism, though she would rather capture the essence of a subject than slavishly follow detail. Moving on from pet portraiture has allowed her to explore a fascination with light and the natural world, and with how light touches, alters and enriches everything around us. She is passionate about nature and the conservation of the planet, and her work reflects that commitment directly. Whether capturing the complex reflection in a hare's eye or the hydrodynamic power of a shark, she aims to strip away preconceptions and reveal the intrinsic beauty of her subjects. By illuminating the strength, vulnerability and beauty of nature, her art advocates for conservation, asking viewers to stop, to truly see the planet, and to protect what remains.