Text Box: Great Expectations Release date: October 2002 IMAGE SOLD OUT Image size: 500mm x 375mm It was on the 5th October 1977 when, having abandoned a Degree in Education, I decided that painting was the only profession that I truly wished to pursue. At the tender age of twenty, I had no idea whether I was doing the right thing, I simply knew that it was what I wanted.. Twenty-five years on, I must have done something right as here I am, still painting. I have been most fortunate in coming to realise that talent will only take one so far and that luck plays a significant part in any success which one might enjoy. I feel that I have had more than my fair share. Although both British wildlife painting and animal portraiture have played a significant part in my development as an artist, it has been with my images of working Gun Dogs that I have gained most recognition. It seemed appropriate, therefore, that the painting that I decided to produce to commemorate my twenty-five years in the profession, reflected those elements for which I have become best known. I feel that Great Expectations does just that. Black Labs and Springer Spaniels - the two breeds I am most associated with - and an old Land Rover in a traditional English landscape is an image which, in many ways, encapsulates what Nigel Hemming - the artist - is about.