Art For Critters - Ann Ranlett

Artist and illustrator Ann Ranlett lives on "Swamp Dog Ranch", her property in the oak woodlands of northern California, which she shares with her husband, a border collie, a quarter horse and a variety of native bird and animal life. She graduated from CSU, Sacramento in 1985 with a degree in Biology and has been drawing animals since she could hold a crayon.

Ann accepts commissions for pet and animal portraits and enjoys working with devoted owners and their beloved animals. She is also a photographer - looking for unique perspectives of the natural world. Her love of science and nature fuels her talent for realistically rendered works in ink on scratchboard, pencil or mixed media. When she needs a break from this detailed and time-consuming work, she paints with watercolor on Yupo in a looser, whimsical style which she calls her "Paintings with Petzazz".

Although the bulk of Ann's time is spent on pet portraits, she also creates illustrations for a number of local organizations and works on some web design and logo/graphic design projects. Some of her illustrations of local flora and fauna can be seen on signs at a few parks and nature preserves in the Sacramento, CA area. Ann also finds time to create ACEOs (2.5" x 3.5" miniature artworks) that she sells on Bonanzle along with prints, earrings, magnets and cards featuring her animal art.

Prior to making the leap to full-time artist in 2003, Ann worked for environmental consulting firms where she used CAD, GIS and assorted graphics programs to create a variety of maps and graphics.