Drawing upon her love of Disney and memories of her childhood travels to Africa, Roxy Winterburn creates adorable stylised sculptures inspired by the animal kingdom.
As a child, Roxy accompanied her father – the sculptor Steve Winterburn – on his trips to Kenya. Here, she saw a baby hippo in the wild and visited elephants at an orphanage. This, combined with her love of Disney, sparked a passion for capturing the unique characters of animals. She is also inspired by Leonardo da Vinci and strong female figures like the Suffragettes.
After graduating with a first-class degree in chemistry with forensic science and toxicology, she set herself a one-year challenge to make it as an artist – ultimately attracting the attention of our publisher, Washington Green. Her debut collection, Circle of Life, is named after The Lion King and features circular forms to evoke happy emotions and symbolise how everything in life is connected.
An advanced open water diver, she has dived in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Egypt. She is also an award-winning powerlifter and is currently working towards getting her private pilot’s licence. She owns a 1968 VW Beetle named Pumpkin, whom she is lovingly restoring back to his former glory. Roxy says: “It’s all about nature’s way of taking and giving back to the Earth. Animals are there for you no matter what. There is always a love there from both sides.”
Yorkshire-based sculptor Roxy Winterburn’s previous collections for Castle Fine Art have often featured animals from around the globe, but her latest work comes much closer to home, and very close to her heart.
‘Shelter’ is a new limited edition bronze, featuring a horse sheltering a small child, showing the intimate relationship between horse and rider, which Roxy says “is like no other”. She has ridden horses since she was three and wanted to portray the relationships she has forged with them in her work.
Her debut collection, Circle of Life, combines her childhood memories of Kenya and passion for Disney with a little scientific wizardry.
Taking its title from The Lion King, the suite of three sculptures – available in resin or bronze – is a stylised representation of animals that inspired her as a young girl. From a gloriously rotund hippo to two huddling penguins, the circular forms evoke happy emotions and symbolise how everything in life is connected.
"I like stylised art. A piece doesn't necessarily have to be a realistic representation of a subject; it is what it is, and I want that to come through in my work. For example, I have created my pieces so you can recognise the animals, but they don't have to be an exact replica of the real thing."
Roxy creates all of her original sculptures at the family’s foundry. Although she occasionally creates a quick sketch of her idea, she often heads straight to the workshop to start bringing the sculpture to life. She adds: “Each day in the workshop is different to the last. Some days I might be sculpting, and others I can be making lost-wax casts, welding or chasing the bronze works. I am able to do every part of the process, from the very start of sculpting to the final patinated bronze.”
Behind Roxy’s art is a fascination with the way the world works. Amazed by how changing just one molecular bond can alter a state, she uses her scientific knowledge to formulate her own patinas. Different heats and chemicals create a unique reaction that cannot be replicated. As a result, each of the studio editions has a unique finish. The colours are muted to reflect Roxy’s belief that art should be ever-lasting and live within the home.
This International Women's Day, channel your inner empowerment and join us in celebrating the amazing artistic talents Scarlett Raven, Pascale Taurua and more female artists at Castle Fine Art.
Roxy Winterburn is a woman of many talents. A sculptor, first-class chemistry graduate, open water diver, record-breaking powerlifter and VW Beetle restorer, she is above all else a lover of...
It is a pleasure to a welcome a new artist to the Castle Fine Art family! But Roxy Winterburn isn't alone: she has brought along a tribe of adorable creations inspired by Disney and her childhood travels to Africa.
Prowl our collection of animal art, featuring work by artists including Robert Oxley, Alfie Bowen and Steve Winterburn.
Our dedicated team of art consultants is on hand to offer you tailored advice.
Join our mailing list for exclusive discounts, the latest art news, artist updates and more.
Enter a location to find your closest Castle Fine Art gallery.
Our dedicated team of art consultants is on hand to offer you tailored advice.
Speak to a consultantEnter a location to find your closest Castle Fine Art gallery.
Essential cookies enable core functionality such as page navigation. The website cannot function properly without these cookies; they can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Performance cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage (for example, which of our pages are most frequently visited).
We use third party cookies on our site to serve you with advertisements that we believe are relevant to you and your interests. You may see these advertisements on our site and on other sites that you visit.