Animal Art
Written by CAROLINE NICHOLSON | Portraits courtesy of ULLA STRICKLAND
During her childhood in Germany, Ulla Strickland’s life revolved around two main tenets, which manifested early in her life: art and animals.
When she first put pencil to paper, giving outlet to her creative desires, it was a horse that Strickland drew. While her family didn’t own horses when she was growing up, her grandfather had a passion for the creatures, which he passed to his granddaughter at a young age. The family often leased a pony for a day, taking it to their property where they would ride it and let it graze.
These close encounters filled the young girl with a deep adoration for the equines, and they quickly became her sole artistic muse.
When she was 16, her family finally got their own horse, according to Strickland: It was a pitch-black Trakehner named L’Amour. Understandably, he became the focus of her drawings.
Ulla Strickland not only draws animals. She studies them in an effort to draw out their individual personalities in order to transfer their personality traits onto paper.
Around this same time, Strickland was part of a riding club with others who also owned their own horses. As her peers began to notice her significant artistic talent, it wasn’t long before a line formed, with people wanting portraits of their own horses. These were the first of hundreds of commissioned portraits Strickland would go on to create.
In 1993, the native German left her home country and moved to Atlanta. The bustling city was quite a culture shock to her, but she slowly became accustomed to her new country. She moved to Coweta County in 1998, seeking more space and falling in love with the rural feel of the area. Nearly three decades later, she still loves Coweta, even though, as she says, “it is getting a little full.”
Strickland brought her artistic fervor with her to her new home and continues doing commissions from her home in Sharspburg. Over time, her work has evolved as more and more people want portraits of their beloved animals who have passed. The artist’s ability to imbue the portraits with personality and life that transcends two-dimensional art garners her plenty of customers. After receiving the work they’ve commissioned, many show emotional responses.
“They’ve told me it feels as if I’ve brought their furry friend back to life,” says Strickland.
For this animal artist, art has exceeded its role as a creative outlet in her life. Not only does it bring her immense joy, but she also appreciates and is always pleasantly surprised by the happiness her drawings bring to others.
“It makes me feel like I’m doing something really profound for people, and that is what is important to me,” she says.
Not only recognized by her clients, Strickland’s talent has won first prize in the drawing category of the Newnan-Coweta Art Association Art Exhibit four times in the past
five years.
Strickland spends the majority of her creative time working on commissions. She is open to drawing any animal a client wants, recalling that the most unique animal she has drawn to date was a turtle.
The magic of her artwork partially stems from her vast knowledge of animals and their behaviors, which she incorporates into every piece. With each drawing, Strickland says she considers not only the reference picture she has been given, but also the way that specific type of animal acts and reacts in the world, which she uses to inform her art.
“If I can feel them and experience their behavior, then I can draw them because I can bring out what they have inside of them,” she says of the animals she captures in drawings.
With her commissions, Strickland has found her niche in the art world, combining her love for animals with her passion for art.
When she isn’t working or drawing, the artist spends her time with her horse Rouben, dividing her time between the activities she loves most. NCM
