Camilla Le May graduated in History of Art before returning to her first passion, sculpture. She models in clay or wax before being cast into bronze. She specialises in portraying animals, working across a range of scales from jewellery and miniatures to the monumental. Her sculptures often have a distinctive, tactile charm, with a strong sense of character and finely finished patina.
Le May has exhibited widely since 2000, and is collected internationally, including within the UK Royal family. Le May has won awards from the British Sporting Art Trust and the Society of Wildlife Artists, and has been shortlisted for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year.
Le May was the inaugural Artist in Residence for the Royal Veterinary College. Her commission for the college, a life-size bronze of the Household Cavalry horse Sefton, was unveiled by HRH Princess Royal. During the residency, Le May gave workshops, attended dissections and received expert veterinary critique on anatomy. The college's structure and motion lab was particularly useful:
'this has given me a more thorough understanding of anatomy and gait in different species and encouraged a deeper level of observation, which has been invaluable to the development of my sculpture practice'.
In addition to commissions and horse portraiture, Le May spends much of her time working on the road en plein air, particularly in Kenya, where she lives in a tent and sculpts from an adapted Land Rover:
'this way I can study my subject's anatomy and behavior more intimately. Getting to know my subjects in their natural environment is a privilege and a never ending inspiration'.