Welcome to Fox on Stilts Creations!
Wildlife illustrations by Kate Whittington
I specialise in wildlife illustrations in a range of mediums including pencil, watercolour and digital creations. My projects range from art you’d hang on your walls to illustrations for interpretive signs, science magazines and museum activities.
My GCSE art teacher once told me to stop using animals so much in my work, which I did for perhaps one project before I returned to my passion and never looked back! I’ve since taken short courses in Natural History Illustration at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey and in Enhanced Illustration at Central Saint Martins.
Scientific accuracy is always a high priority in my work. I have a BSc in Environmental Science with a Year in North America from the University of East Anglia and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London. Helping to promote biodiversity conservation has always been an underlying driver in all that I do and I love the opportunity to work on rare, unusual or less typically charismatic species.
Why Fox on Stilts?
As indicated by the logo, the name ‘Fox on Stilts Creations’ was inspired by my favourite animal – the maned wolf. Not truly a wolf or a fox, but being the only species in its canine family (Chrysocyon), the maned wolf is nicknamed ‘fox on stilts’ due to its fox-like appearance and long stilt-like legs, useful for wading through the long grass of the South American Cerrado they call home.
Although I’d heard of them before, I first encountered one of these animals at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. Her name was Eva and, as one of the keepers explained to me, she had recently lost her mate. Every night from my room I would hear her strange ‘roar-bark’ as she called for the missing male. We were let into the park early each day to sketch and always I headed straight to Eva’s enclosure to catch a glimpse of her elusive loping gait emerging from the morning mist. I’m not sure why but I was utterly captivated by this fascinating and quirky creature and I’ve loved them ever since. So when it came to finding a unique, wildlife-related name for my creative endeavours, it was the first thing to come to mind.