~ Fay Brotherhood Fine Art ~
Hertfordshire artist Fay Brotherhood has been creating stunning bespoke commissions of pets and people since 2012, with hundreds of clients overjoyed by her lovingly crafted and uniquely imaginative renderings of those they love the most. In addition to personalized portraits, she has also crafted unique pieces for album covers and posters, showcasing her versatile talent and creativity.
Explore her artistic journey and witness her evolution as an artist in the gallery, where you can discover the magic of her work and find inspiration for your own original portrait commission.
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Click below for prices.
Early Years
At her heart, Fay Brotherhood is a child who never grew out of drawing animals.
Her earliest memories of drawing come from the sizeable stash of British bird and wildlife books her parents bestowed upon her, from pretty much the moment she could turn a page. She loved copying the pictures, trying her hardest to be as accurate as she could. In the process she learned the art of species identification and this paved the way for her evolution into botanist and mycologist.
Of course... we must not forget the role of her parents in that (especially her nature loving dad) who actively exposed her to the natural world and encouraged her growing interest.
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Fay maintained a single minded interest in drawing throughout school, becoming obsessed with horses and often refusing the more boring lessons in favour of squirreling herself away in a corner with the scrap paper roll, where she would draw horse, after horse, after horse.
Thankfully, this was the 90's and they just let her get on with it!
Which was lucky for her future clients, as it was here that she honed her technical expertise in horses, which to this day remains her speciality and strongest subject.
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Developing the Craft
​She continued to develop her craft throughout her GCSE's and A Levels, where she studied art, music, performing arts and drama. During this time, she took part in many local exhibitions and created artwork for her first solo albums, Whispers in the Boughs and Follow the Falcon. She kept her artisitic vision alive during her time at Sparsholt College where she studied Countryside Management and contributed art work to a nature based interpretation board project.
The thread of her love for art continued through her time at Nottingham Trent University from 2009, where she obtained her degree in Wildlife Conservation. Alongside animals, she had always been interested in pagan themes and it was here she began to integrate that interest into her work. At this time, she also created album artwork for her solo albums Clear Fell and Hare on the Heath ​​​and her "Brotherhood & Burns" EP Mother Moon.
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The Portrait Artist Years
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​​In 2012 on her return home to Leicestershire, Fay joined and exhibited with the Art of the Forest collective; a band of artists from Charnwood Forest , which is a rock littered "mini upland" landscape that has captured Fay's imagination since she was a child. ​​​
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Like many hopeful graduates at this time, she found it hard to get started in ecology and conservation. A brief period of soul searching whilst on jobseekers allowance led her to an application for the New Enterprise Loan, as part of which she had to produce a business plan.
She produced hers for a pet portrait business and it was from this time she set up shop as a professional artist. Following a move down to Hertfordshire in 2013, she produced a wide range of artwork for all kinds of people for several years, including all manner of animals, horses and themes.
She also produced the album art work for Old Black Crow by Emma and the Professor in 2015. Check it out. A truly wonderful collection of Pagan folk music!
She continued developing her skills and clientelle until 2017 when she commenced studies for her Masters of Science at University of Hertfordshire.
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The Ecology Years
​​​her MSc was an intense course that required an attitude of zero distraction. From this time, art took second stage until completion of the degree in 2019. She started taking up new commissions for a short period, whilst also working as a cleaner at a school and as a bat survey subcontractor. During this time she produced some of her most complex and interesting pieces, in her distinct moody, dry brushed style. Her output included the artwork for Steve Andrews/Bard of Ely, Climb Through a Rainbow which was an interesting diversion from this style.
Eventually, she was offered full time employment as an ecological consultant in mid 2020 and took it. Over the next five years, Fay would concentrate her efforts into developing her career, and her artistic output was largely limited to creating album artwork for Ghostly Tales Live and Isambard the Mechanical Dragon as well as the single Resurrection by the band for whom she is frontwoman; Spriggan Mist.
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The Comeback....
Through the building of a successful career, the drive to make art remained an ever niggling yearning and in 2024 she made the decision that it was time to re-integrate the practice back into her life.​
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You can explore the entire evolution of Fay's life as an artist and find links to her price list over at the Gallery.
Qualifications
1999-2003
King Edward VII Sports and Science College
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BTEC ND Performing Arts - Triple Distinction
A2 Music - A
A2 Fine Art - A*
AS Drama - B