A POOLE mum of two whose art career landed her in British Vogue is Daily Echo’s Trader of the Week.

Bark and Bristle is a business that paints picturesque pet portraits, created by Clare Vincent who lives with her husband Will and children Felix, 16, and Ellie, 13.

(Image: Clare Vincent.)

Clare has always been fond of creating art.

She said: “I have been painting ever since I could hold a paintbrush. My mum spotted that I was observational when I drew the usual stick people but put lines all over my dad’s trousers, they were the creases of course.

“I moved to Poole in 2006 to enjoy the beaches and have a family. I painted a dog as a gift for my husband as we couldn't have a dog at the time. Friends saw it and the commissions started to come in.”

Clare wasn’t always a painter of pooches.

She added: “I started my journey as a fashion print designer working in New York and London designing womenswear clothing prints for New Look, Marks, and Spencer right through to Calvin Klein and Versace.

(Image: Clare Vincent)

“Returning from travelling in Australia and New Zealand (where I met my husband), I  set up my own printed T-shirt label, Margo, that stocked in high-end boutiques in the UK and Europe and featured in British Vogue.”

Speaking on the love for her job, Clare added: “I adore painting animals and focus on capturing their personality in their eyes.

“I recently featured as a pop-up in John Lewis Poole and decided to paint Harry and Sandra Redknapp's dog.

(Image: Clare Vincent)

“They both came into the store to see it and said how well I had captured their Barney. It now hangs in their home in Sandbanks.

“I also paint local art scenes and driftwood (found on our beaches) but dogs are my true passion.

“I would love to have an art exhibition where I can work on a larger scale and show a more dramatic side to dog painting, maybe featuring celebrities' pets.”

Enquiries into Clare’s paintings can be made via her website, Bark and Bristle.