Highly detailed pet portraits in charcoal pencil

My name is Emma and I am a self-taught artist specialising in drawing highly detailed pet portraits in charcoal pencil.

For a lot of owners a pet is so much more than just a pet – they are another member of the family. An animal portrait can be a lovely gift or way of commemorating a beloved pet.

I have always been drawn to animals and I have always had a pet around the house. With my love of drawing it has always been natural for me to use my pets as subjects and I have been drawing pet portraits now for 15 years.

Drawing is definitely a labour of love for me and my style focuses heavily on detail so my drawings can take up to 20 hours to complete.

I love working in charcoal pencil because it allows me to achieve great depth and detail in my portraits. I find that monochrome images can have an impact on the viewer that coloured images just can't achieve in the same way.
Taking the colour out of an image strips it of any distractions allowing the subject to speak for itself and for its unique character to really shine through.

All I need to get started on a pet portrait is a high resolution photo of the subject.

Why I set up “Bella & Bryn"

Having decided that I wasn't happy working in my 9-5 job and that I wanted to be able to spend more time with my family (and pets!) doing the things I love, I set up “Bella & Bryn" as a way of bringing together my various passions:
Drawing portraits
Animals
Designing and hand-making beautiful products
The Cotswolds
I hope you enjoy browsing my site and please feel free to get in touch.