I make representational drawings and paintings, mostly using pencil, pen and gouache. Whether I am drawing people, plants or animals, I try to express a sympathetic appreciation for my subject. Through my line-work and mark-making, I try to convey my own connection with and response to the subject at the same time as portraying them. I use a very detailed approach because, by taking time and care, and portraying even the smallest aspects of the subject, I feel I am taking them seriously and that every mark is a controlled and thoughtful response. I am interested in the themes of memory and humans’ relationship with nature.

E Shaw has been drawing since the age of three and studied advanced higher art at school, but since then has been self-taught. She is exploring connections between art and her other interests, such as psychology and literature. For example, she is interested in how art could express and encourage empathy, and how metaphors can be portrayed visually by juxtaposing categorically different subjects that still share certain features in common.