Geoff Jennings, of Pontshill, has won the Keith Shackleton Award, a prestigious award for his pastel piece exhibited at the Wildlife Art Society International Exhibition at Nature in Art 2019. The Keith Shackleton Award was given to the artist for his pastel and pencil drawing ‘Focussed’ which features the profile of a lioness.

Geoff, who mostly paints in acrylic, also drew pieces that focused on a similar style depicting other wild cats, including snow leopards and tigers, some of which have now been sold.

Geoff studied in Birmingham and graduated with an honours in Graphic Design and Illustration in the 1950s and first began working with Cadbury’s, designing seasonal chocolate wraps and box packaging. After working for Ford, Geoff joined a studio in central London working for companies across the world.

Turning freelance in 1984, Geoff worked on iconic films, most notably Lord of the Rings and James Bond, designing, crafting and painting polystyrene structures for the sets.

After a lifetime working in the arts, one of Geoff’s favourite things to paint is wildlife, and he also works on commissioned pieces. He joined the Wildlife Art Society International three years ago and has since done well each year, competing against many talented artists.

Geoff told the Ross Gazette: “It’s great to win a National Award deemed the best picture in the Keith Shackleton Award category. It’s also nice to think that I can still compete at my mature age.”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.