I gained my Degree in Fine Art at Exeter College of Art and Design, where I added a love of printmaking to my passion for painting. My work is inspired by my enduring love of nature and personal interactions with wildlife.

Shaped by my rural upbringing in the Cotswolds, my subjects are the animals and birds of the British countryside. My studio nestles between my vegetable patch and a former gravel pit, which is now a lake and a haven for wildlife, so inspiration is on my doorstep. My work often carries a personal narrative, usually inspired by an unexpected encounter with a wild creature. I like that sense of experiencing life in an alternative world and try to convey that moment of walking into the unexpected in my work.

Gestural marks, texture and surface pattern are important components of my paintings and prints. I like the spontaneity of painting; working out compositions on the canvas as I paint. My approach to lino and screen printing is more considered. For the more intricate or technical pieces, I’ll often work from a full colour sketch. I build up the images one colour at a time, using multiple layers of opaque and transparent inks. It’s not unusual for my prints to contain up to 20 individual colours. I enjoy combining lino and screen printing techniques, to create colourful and characterful images in small editions.

Anita Saunders is a painter printmaker working from her studio in rural Wilshire. She gained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Exeter College of Art and Design, where a love of printmaking joined her long-term passion for painting. 

Saunders illustrated several books for children, in the UK and USA, while developing a career in Financial Services Marketing. She gained an MBA at The University of Gloucestershire whilst working but left the corporate world behind to concentrate on her creative life in 2016. 

Shaped by her rural upbringing in the Cotswolds, her subjects are the animals and birds of the British countryside. With a story behind each of her pieces, Saunders’ work carries a personal narrative.

Saunders works in oils and mixed media in her paintings. She employs several traditional printmaking techniques, including dry point, mezzotint, lino and screen printing, often combining lino and screen printing to produce many layered characterful prints in small editions.

She has exhibited widely in larger group and solo shows and has gallery representation in the Cotswolds area. Saunders work has been selected for inclusion in The Society of Women Artists Open at Mall Galleries, 2022, 2023 & 2024 and Ironbridge Printmakers 2023 & 2024.