About the artist

Thank you very much for visiting my site.

Me and Zach

I'm Louise, a professional animal artist living in Plymouth, South West England. Art has always been a great hobby of mine. I have always especially enjoyed working with graphite pencil as it allows me to achieve very fine detail. I love the flawless, authentic final result that is produced. After gaining my Art GCSE and A Level I spent a few years away from the drawing board while gaining my degree in Sociology and Psychology. However, since graduating in 2007 I have found that my love of drawing has returned. I began drawing pets as a hobby - I've always loved animals - and after having so many requests for portraits I decided to make a career of it.

I have a young Labrador cross called Zach who certainly keeps me on my toes. I like nothing more than going for a long walk with him on Dartmoor and then returning to a relaxing afternoon completing a portrait. He is a wonderful companion and is loved by the whole family so I can definitely appreciate the bond that some of you may have with your pets.

About the portraits

Portraits are drawn on the finest Daler~Rowney heavy weight cartridge paper, using a collection of Derwent graphite pencils, ranging from 2H - 9B. I also have an assortment of erasers to help bring out the highlights in the animal's fur. As far as drawing goes, I tend to use different techniques for each piece - after all, every pet is unique! Feel free to explore the Gallery to see examples of recent pet portraits and other animal artwork.

Each standard A4 portrait takes around 10 hours to complete, and I take a number of photographs along the way to note each stage, which can be seen on the Work in Progress section. I like to take my time with each drawing, usually spreading these hours across a couple of weeks, so I can easily spot and rectify any errors along the way.

Portraits can easily be completed by a deadline, for example if you'd like the work completed by someone's birthday, as long as I am given adequate notice.

Every portrait is signed and sprayed with artists' fixative before posting; however it is your responsibility to frame behind glass as soon as possible to keep the portrait in good condition.