Edinburgh wildlife artist to donate all proceeds from her work to conservation charities

GROWING up next to Edinburgh Zoo fostered a love of animals and along with a natural talent for drawing it opened the door to a long and successful career for Carol Barrett.

Carol Barrett at the Chobe River, which marks the border between Botswana and Namibia

Now after more than 30 years as a professional wildlife artist, she has announced all proceeds from her paintings from now on will go direct to conservation charities.

Carol, who lives in Corstorphine with her ex-MP husband John, makes regular trips to Africa to paint animals in the wild and has also visited Australia.

She currently has some works for sale in an online exhibition and auction, Sketch for Survival 2020, which features several other leading wildlife artists and closes on Sunday .

Carol has entitled this painting Fading Fast

But she will also sell paintings through her website and undertake commissions.

And she has several charities who will benefit ranging from Born Free to Explorers against Extinction and elephant conservation group Tusk.

She said: "I've always been a conservationist but I've had time to reflect over this period and I'm also getting older myself - the last article that was written about me called me a doyenne of wildlife art - so I'm thinking it's time to give back."

Carol, who works in pastel, watercolour, acrylic, ink, and mixed media, graduated in drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art – but her interest in wildlife art started well before that.

One of Carol's paintings entitled Shady Tree

"I've always had this passion for animals,” she said. “I think if I'd been incredibly clever at school I would have wanted to be a vet but I used what talent I had. I was always in the art room, always sketching and it was animals that inspired me. We lived very close to the zoo and rather than walk the boring way home I'd walk through the zoo."

She later became artist in residence at the zoo in 1994.

But it was four years earlier, in 1990, that she first visited Africa. "I'd always wanted to go to Africa. It was like a pandora’s box that opened. I thought 'I've got to paint these animals' and I've been doing it ever since.

"I feel I've been so inspired and so lucky in my life to actually see these incredible creatures and I really feel I want to give something back to them and to help the local people.”

Carol at work at Flatdogs in South Luangwa , Zambia

When she was in Australia she visited Kangaroo Island, one of the country’s most important wildlife sanctuaries, which has since been hit by wildfires. “It was a fantastic place and it’s heartbreaking to see the complete devastation to the whole island,” she said. “It’s going to take it forever to recover, but nature is incredible and if it is given support and encouragement it's amazing how it can come back right from the very edge. I agree with David Attenborough that it's not too late, if we all pull ourselves together and act now we can make a difference.”

Carol said she had made the decision on donating all proceeds of her work to conservation after her last exhibition was cut short because of Covid. “It also coincided with my mum passing - it makes you realise you're not here forever and I really wanted to give something back. Wildlife has made a huge impression on me and endangered animals really need our help."

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