Anne Cotterill was born in the Borders of Scotland, educated in Edinburgh and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1956 at the time when Sir William Gillies was head of painting. She was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to continue her work in Edinburgh followed by a travelling scholarship to Europe that enabled her to study the work and technique of the great traditional painters.

Married life brought her to West Somerset in the early 1960s where the seasonal changes of the wildflowers in the surrounding countryside were a constant source of inspiration.

Anne considered herself to be a painter first and foremost, but one who painted mostly flowers. Her studies have a fresh vitality and strong sense of colour imbuing each one with a gem-like quality. The flowers are arranged informally in one of a large collection of vases, pots, jugs and simple jam jars and she painted with the natural light falling from one direction to give tonal values so important in any painting. Her detailed understanding of botany was combined with a focus on light and texture that gives her work great presence and feeling of movement. She worked entirely in oils and painted mainly on board, with background colours kept deliberately plain to accentuate the flower colour.

Anne Cotterill had many successful exhibitions of her work, including solo exhibitions at Thompson's Gallery, (London) in November 1998 and October 2001, and regular collections at the Wykeham Gallery (Stockbridge, Hampshire), the Napier Gallery (Jersey), Thompson's Gallery (Aldeburgh), the City Gallery (London) and the Bellflower Gallery (Devon). Exhibitions of Anne's paintings always attract queues of enthusiastic collectors and demand for her originals far outstrips supply.

Anne's last solo exhibition took place at Forde Abbey, Somerset in September 2009. Forde Abbey is a beautiful 12th Century Cistercian Monastery and stately home with spectacular gardens - well worth a day out.

Together with her daughter Catherine, Anne established Mill House Fine Art Publishing Ltd which specialises in faithful reproductions of her work, both as limited edition prints and greetings cards.

Anne Cotterill died in August 2010.

Anne Cotterill's work is featured in "A History and Dictionary of British Flower Painters 1650 - 1950 by Josephine Walpole, published by The Antique Collectors' Club, June 2006. The "Artist" Magazine features a Masterclass on Anne Cotterill's work in their May 2006 issue.