Above: Wildlife artist Prue Sanchez has a passion for plants, animals and art, which comes across in her detailed, watercolour paintings. Below: Dunnarts.
By Carol Hopkins
F
rom her earliest years, Yea wildlife artist Prue Sanchez has had a passion for plants, animals and art. This passion is strikingly evident in her detailed, watercolour paintings of some of Australia’s iconic flora and fauna. As a child, Prue enjoyed being outdoors with her friends, but once indoors, she happily turned her attention to drawing and painting, producing startlingly good portraits, still lifes and landscapes. Her combined passions for art and science were fostered by her father who regularly took her to the National Gallery of Victoria,
the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Her maternal grandfather’s extensive collection of art books also provided inspiration and encouragement. Prue spent many hours poring over these books and, even today, has some of them in her own library. Throughout her primary school years, Prue earned praise for her art. However, as secondary school approached, she had to decide whether to focus on science or art, and science won. Although Prue was focussed on science subjects, such as biology, she found her artistic skills still came in handy when she needed to sketch one of the specimens she was studying – be it
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