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Artist –Tanya Achilleos Lock
Location – Wiltshire, UK

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Tanya was born in New Zealand where her interest in natural beauty, particularly in birds started. She grew up in an artist's house where she was able to consistently observe original art work of well known artist Raymond Harris Ching and was thrilled when Ray offered to teach her how to paint with oils.

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Tanya started painting realism art, focusing on wildlife, where she went on to win a number of awards and has had her art shown in a number of international exhibitions.

 

A few years ago she went on to study Contemporary Art Techniques at Accademia D’Arte, Florence, and now she paints both realist and impressionistic art.

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Her most prestigious commission was with the Royal Mail, where she was asked to paint a series of stamps about reintroduced species to the UK.  And greatest honour to be asked Judge the Russian Golden Turtle Wildlife Artist of the Year.

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Tanya enjoys doing commission of portraits of people  and also pets, dogs and horses being her favourite.

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‘Over the pandemic I have been studying the love between a dog and owner and started to paint a series of portraits’

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Tanya's house is a great backdrop for all commissions and she welcomes all clients to meet at her Wilshire house, a few miles from Bath. (pick up can be arranged)

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Tanya in her studio painting the golden coffee pot in the Orient Express painting. 

Royal West Academy show 2011,
Tanya and her paintings

Tanya at the Mall Gallery London, June 2013. The Homemaker painting sold in first half an hour of the exhibition opening..

Royal West Academy show 2011
 

Customer feedback: 'The majestic eagle has found his way to us! It's very very beautiful and I'm absolutely thrilled.'

Awards:

  • Winner - BBC Wildlife Artist 2012, category ‘Frozen Plant’

  • Winner x 2 - BBC Wildlife Artist 2013, categories ‘World Birds’, ‘Animals in their Environment’

  • Second - BBC Wildlife Artist 2013, ‘Endangered Animals’

  • Second - Russia’s International Competition, Golden Turtle, 2015, on tour in Russia.

  • Commended - BBC Wildlife Artist 2012, Animals in their Environment

  • Commended x 2 - BBC Wildlife Artist 2013  ‘British Birds’, once in ‘Animals in their Environment’.

  • Runner up 2014, Finalist 2015, 2016 Golden Turtle, paintings on tour in Russia – for last three years.

  • Finalist - ‘The Birds in Art 2014’,  Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, selected for the USA tour.

  • Finalist - International Artist Wildlife competition 2014,

  • Finalist - David Sheppard Wildlife Artist of the Year, for many years.

  • Finalist - Russian Golden Turtle 2019 & 2020

  • Finalist - Royal Portrait Artist 2021

  • Second Place - 2021 International Artist People and Figures, No. 122

  • Finalist - 2021 International Artist, Wildlife Art No. 123

  • Finalist - 2021 Viking Artist and Illustrator 

 
Exhibition list

  • 2011 Bath Artists' exhibition, Victoria Gallery

  • 2011 Autumn Exhibition, The Royal West of England Academy

  • 2012 Bath Artists' exhibition, Victoria Gallery

  • 2012 Marwell International Wildlife Art Society – Winners if BBC 2012

  • 2012 to 2013 Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge

  • 2013 Wildlife and Sporting Art exhibition, The Jerram Gallery, Sherborne, UK

  • 2013 David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year, Mall Galleries London

  • 2013 The National Exhibition of Wildlife Art

  • 2013 Marwell International Wildlife Art Society – winners of BBC 2013

  • 2013 November, Solo Exhibition, at David Shepherd Gallery, Shalford Gallery, 7 Kings Road, Shalford, Guildford, Surrey GU4 8JU – Surry Times quoted ‘Exhibition of the month’

  • As well as The Barn Owl Gallery, Bradford-on-Avon

  • 2014 May/June 2014 - Exhibition ‘Wild Places, Wild things’ E.D.S. Gallery, 13 A Great King, Edinburgh

  • 2014 September – ‘The Birds in Art’ Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s 2014 exhibition, USA

  • 2014 December 5,  February, 15, 2015 Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas

  • 2015 April 4 – May 24, 2015 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson

  • 2015 June 13 – August 10, 2015 The Wildling Museum in Solvang, California

  • 2015 September 1 – October 23, 2015Newington-Cropsey Foundation in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

  • 2015 - November 22 – February 7, 2016 Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • 2015 – March to Dec. Russia tour with Golden Turtle. February - Moscow March – St Petersburg, then tour Russia and other counties

  • 2015 to 2016 - November 22 – February 7, 2016 Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • 2015 to 2016 – March to Dec. Russia tour with Golden Turtle. February - Moscow March – St Petersburg, then tour Russia and other counties

  • 2015 to 2016 – Nov to Jan. Winter Exhibition, Edinburgh Drawing School, Scotland

  • 2016 – Jan to July. Edinburgh Drawing School, Scotland

  • 2016 to 2017 – June to July. Russia tour with Golden Turtle. February - Moscow March – St Petersburg, then tour Russia and other counties

  • 2016 – January to September. Edinburgh Drawing School, Scotland

  • 2016 to 2017 – March to Dec. Russia tour with Golden Turtle. February - Moscow March – St Petersburg, then tour Russia and other counties

  • 2017 - July - Grounded Café Opening, Bradford-on-Avon

  • 2019 - until now - The Torrance Gallery, 36 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6JN. mail@torrancegallery.co.uk 

 
Publications:
Radio Interviews

  • BBC Wiltshire 2012, Sue Davis

  • Radio New Zealand - 2013

  • BBC Wiltshire, 2018 – pre Stamp launch

  • BBC Wilshire, 17 April 2018, Arts Program, main news, morning 8.30

  • BBC Local 39 stations – national 2018 – Georgey Spanswick

  • BBC Wiltshire 2020, Sue Davis

 
Television:

  • BBC Points West – morning news, 17 April 2018

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Awarded Judge:

2018 - Golden Turtle, Russia's international Wildlife Art and photography competition

Tanya Lock is a double winner in the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013, and second place in another section. Tanya entered 7 paintings into the competition which had over 1400 global entries. All of her paintings made it to the finals, in only 120 paintings that were picked in total.

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Results for Tanya in the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013…

  • Win – ‘Animal in their environment’. Painting: The Homemaker

  • Win – ‘World Birds’. Painting: Turaco Tree tops

  • Second – ‘Endangered Species.’ Painting: Here today, gone tomorrow.

  • Commended – ‘British Birds’. Painting: Last Tear on Hungry Hill

  • Commended – ‘British Birds’. Painting: Day before the flood

 

Results for Tanya in the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2012
( with 5 paintings accepted to the finals)

  • Win - 'Frozen Planet' section. Painting: Icy Swim.

  • Commended -'Animals in their Environment' section. Painting: Gone Fishing.

 

Finalist in 2013, 2014 and three painting in 2015 David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year

 

'Birds in Art' 2014 September – Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s 2014 exhibition, USA, and then for the USA tour.

 

Finalist in 2014 'International Artist' magazine Art Prize Challenge No. 83, Wildlife

 

2015 AWARDED: Specially Commended picture, for ‘Mermaids’, in Russia’s international Competition, Golden Turtle. Five paintings to go on tour of Russia and other countries for 2015

Finalist in 2016 Russia’s international Competition, Golden Turtle. Three paintings to go on tour of Russia and other countries for 2016/7

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In her spare time Tanya has supported organisations such as Traffic, the arm of the WWF monitoring the trade in endangered species, and in 1998 she went to a conference in Taiwan as an assistant to a team of artists who were exhibiting work to raise funds for Traffic. Here she met Simon Combes and Matthew Hillier and became even more drawn to the art of painting wild animals.

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Tanya also loves to travel and now has a purpose to do so. She recently travelled to arguably the best zoo in the world – San Diego – but when she returned she discovered some of the birds she wanted to paint sitting on her local river, in Bradford-on-Avon.

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In 2012, Tanya travelled to Africa to view animals she would love to paint. 'I really love to see the animals in the wild and study them before I start to plan a painting. We spent a couple of weeks getting up before dawn to get out and see them in their natural environment, and I was lucky enough to get so close that it was scary – wonderful experience.'

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The next plans are to visit the colder areas to research the winter environments, as well as viewing the locals in the UK.

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Reference trips - South Africa

Tanya is back from Africa now after an trip with the chance to meet many animals directly. The heat, dust, light, and space were inspiring, and she is now keen to buckle down and start painting some African animals… but she is also keen to keep painting the lovely British animals on her door step.

When we meet this wild hippo, Jessica (well known for living in the house, and then going home to live with her wild friends), we started to get to know her by feeding her tea out of a large baby bottle.  She loved this and opened a mouth so big that I actually thought I could hide in there, teeth so long. Then things went too far, as it was suggested I kiss her... well... I did... she had hairy lips a bit like kissing a washing up brush, but what a lovely hippo!!

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After having tea with a wild hippo, its always good to have a spot of lunch with the lions.

At sunrise we took three cheetahs for a walk - the big cats started to behave like my cat at home, purring when you stroked them. They started sharpening their claws on a tree (I imagined the damage that would do to my carpet). 

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At the water hole… amazing experience, to pat the cheetahs after their morning drink. While sitting in the edge of the water hole, I was a bit scared of the crocodiles swimming around, as they can jump 15 feet and when you’re a few feet from the edge this is a worry.

Prague zoo

October 2012 - Tanya recently visited Prague Zoo to see the Przewalski's horses. The Prague breeding of the Przewalski's horses can be proud of the longest unbroken tradition of breeding this species in the world. Prague gradually became one of the biggest breeders of wild horses all over the world and after 1945 it was one of the two zoological gardens where the breeding herds remained alive.

 

 

A wonderful zoo and well worth a visit www.zoopraha.cz/en

NORWAY - 2013

September 2013 – Off to Norway in search of Sea Eagles…. Tanya has spent a week in the Fjords and along the coast of Norway looking for reference for a new painting of flying White Tailed Sea Eagle. Trekking to the base of glaciers and taking a helicopter trip were the highlights of the adventure.

At the base of the Melkevoll Glacier in the Brenndal Valley.

At last we made it to the top – Tanya and her faithful assistant Lily Achilleos. Poor Lily is often dragged to on many adventures and helps to carry cameras, look after equipment when Tanya is concentrating on taking photos or drawing. It’s a boring job, but as a reward Lily was asked on stage for the ‘BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2013’, to pick up the ‘World Birds’ award on behalf of Tanya in respect of all her hard work in the background

Base of the Briksdal Glacier – amazing hike past waterfalls and beautiful views that have inspired a few draft paintings. This also gave me the chance to stop on route and draw the waterfalls, and study the water flow.

Tanya said ‘I’m actually very scared of heights, so the helicopter was a bit of a challenge – but once I was in the air I could experience the feel of flying and see the view that a eagle would have when it flew over the mountains in the summer. This was very important for the next set of paintings, as I really want this dynamic view.’

Transylvania – the land the time forgot…

More travel photos and animal encounters below, including the recent trip to see bears in the wild forest of Transylvania.

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Wild Bears, flocks of storks, amazing scenery, haystacks, wildflowers, and horse drawn carts, beautiful fortified churches, spooky bell towers, haunted castles, villages, amazingly hot days and cooler nights, cheap cold beer, fantastic food, who could ask for more… in Dracula’s old haunt?

August 2015: Photos from bear watch.

It was early evening with low light levels so it was not easy to take photos but great to sit in the hide and watch the wild brown bears come into the clearing. At one point a pesky fox snuck in behind the bears, suddenly it was like a ‘pantomime’, I wanted to shout out ‘look out behind you!’ As we sat in the complete silence we watched the mother and baby bear eat the mixture of honey and nuts, while the fox scouted around. After about 15 minutes and the bears left the clearing the fox went over and peed on the food they had left

Always on the move - Tanya has continued to travel to research animals and scenery as inspiration for her paintings.

2016: After training in contemporairy art in Florence Tanya started to create a series of paintings inspired by Tuscany and Ravello.

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Some of Tanya's paintings can also be seen in the Ravello Italian Restaurant, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.

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