camilla le may

Camilla Le May had a passion for clay modelling from her early teens but it was only after encouragement from the late Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, on a Masterclass at Edinburgh College of Art, that she decided to pursue sculpting seriously.

Her work has been exhibited by established galleries since 2000 and bought by private collectors worldwide, having been acquired for a Royal collection. Elected as an Associate member of the Society of Equestrian Artists, she has won awards from the British Sporting Art Trust, the Society of Wildlife Artists and been shortlisted for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year.

Her work ranges from silver jewellery to her monumental, life size bronze of Sefton, commissioned for the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and unveilled by HRH The Princess Royal. Camilla was the inaugural Artist in Residence for the RVC where she gave workshops, attended dissections, had expert critique on anatomy by vets and had access to the RVC structure and motion lab:

“…this has given me a more thorough understanding of anatomy and gait in different species and encouraged a deeper level of observation, which has been invaluable to the development of my sculpture practice.”
Camilla Le May`s work is modelled in clay or wax and then cast into bronze. Having worked at a bronze foundry she is very particular about the finish, doing all the waxwork, final chasing and many of the patinas herself.

Her love of animals / wildlife and wilderness areas was initially fostered by growing up on her parents’ small farm and by spending her youth competing on home produced horses. She has spent much time based in Africa and presently splits her time between the UK and Kenya, wherever possible sculpting directly from life, ideally in the animal`s natural surroundings:

“…this way I am able to better capture my subjects anatomy and behaviour and I am increasingly moving towards sculpting individuals rather than a generic species type.”

To this end she has converted her land rover into a mobile studio so that she can sculpt from life in Kenya.

Camilla is dedicated to raise as much funds as possible, mainly for wildlife conservation, through charity auctions of her work as well as donating back a % from private sales. Over $71,000 has been raised to date, supporting various charities with two thirds being for wildlife and rhinos in particular. Charities supported include: Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Tusk Trust., Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Wild Aid, Big Life Foundation, Tsavo Trust, Save the Rhino, The Perfect World Foundation, The Household Cavalry Foundation, and Retraining of Racehorses

COMMISSIONS INCLUDE:
Sefton, life size for the Royal Veterinary College
Portrait bust of an ANC activist, the late Gert Sibande for Secunda Municipal Chamber.
Polo pony bust: Trophy for the best thoroughbred polo pony of the year presented at the Cartier International Polo Tournament and for Michaelhouse v Hilton old boys tournament, S.Africa.

Numerous dog and horse portraits including Golden Horn best turf racehorse of 2015.