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North Highlands Art

Pet Portraits and Illustrations by Laura Williams

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Everyone is an Artist

Hello, my name is Laura and I believe that anyone can be an artist.

There seems to be this widely held belief that being able to draw and paint is a talent only bestowed on a lucky few. However, I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s a skill that anyone can learn with time, patience and a little bit of help.

I say this because I’ve been drawing professionally for over 15 years, taking commissions for Pet Portraits in graphite & coloured pencils. Yet, when I decided I wanted to learn how to use watercolour & gouache my attempts looked like something my 6-year olds might create!

I had to learn the correct techniques, understand the mediums and put in the practice to get better.

Just like everyone else.

Just like you.

(Please note, this page contains affiliate links. This means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase after clicking on one of my links. This enables me to make an income while still providing free resources & content. Read more in my affiliate disclosure.)

How I Can Help You

I often get asked ‘how do I do it?’ and get told how ‘clever’ I am. So, I’m going to show you how you can do it too. There’s really nothing clever about it at all!

Here on the Blog, and over on my YouTube channel, you’ll find me sharing:

  • Tips and techniques for realistic pencil drawings.
  • Reviews of art materials, tools and classes.
  • My thoughts and opinions on art-related subjects.
  • My experiences as I move out of my comfort zone to try new mediums & subjects.

Where to Start

My Art Story

Pets + Pencils = Pet Portraits

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember!

As long as I had a pencil in my hand I was happy. I loved animals, so that was mainly what I drew. Especially dogs, horses and big cats. It was before the days of the internet, so I would collect photos from newspapers and magazines to use as references!

I never enjoyed art at school, and never planned to be a professional artist. But after leaving school and discovering the internet I found there was such a thing as Pet Portrait artists.

Realising I actually could draw pets for a living I built myself a website, learned about SEO and marketing, and started taking Pet Portrait commissions. You can see some examples in the Pencil Portraits gallery.

I stopped taking commissions when my children were born and didn’t really touch a pencil for several years! In all honesty, I was feeling quite burnt out from over 10 years of Pet Portrait commissions and it was nice to have a reason to take a break.

Picking up my Pencils again

However, slowly, the desire to create art came back and I started seeing inspiration everywhere. I joined Instagram and was soon following hundreds of artists and illustrators. I love checking my feed full of paintings and drawings in a wonderful mix of different mediums, subjects and styles.

It wasn’t long before I got my pencils back out and I was drawing animals again but I knew that this time around I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try new things too.

I spent hours watching YouTube videos and signed up for a subscription to Skillshare. I was soon having fun, and making a mess, with watercolours, gouache and alcohol markers. And discovering the fascinating world of character design.

Trying new mediums and subjects was hard at first. It felt strange to be a beginner again and create paintings and drawings that just didn’t live up to my expectations. But it’s been eye-opening too. I’ve discovered a lot about myself as an artist, about the things that interest me and the art I’d like to create more of in the future.

Self – Taught Artist?

I always considered myself a self-taught artist because I never went to Art School. And back when I learnt to draw with graphite there was no internet! I really did learn from trial and error and hours of practice.

However, now we have the internet we have so many resources to help us, I don’t feel that I’m really self-taught anymore. I’ve learnt from YouTube videos, step-by-steps on Pinterest & Instagram and many many Skillshare classes.

I’ve discovered so much from the wonderful artists that provided so many resources, which is why I decided to share my own skills here on my Blog.

Useful Links

North Highlands Art - Illustrations by Laura Williams

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