About Victoria
Welcome to my website! I'm Victoria, a Self taught coloured pencil artist from Hampshire, UK. I specialize in creating life like pet portraits from your chosen photo. With my passion for art and dedication to excellence,
My chosen medium is colour pencil. I have also used oils in the past but over time I have settled on the materials that i enjoy working with which give the effect that I, and my customers like. Many of my commissioned drawings are Dogs, cats and horses but they are not the only animals I have drawn over the years. I have drawn a selection of birds, rabbits, elephants, leopards and giraffes.
I am dedicated to producing the best possible work to my abilities. As a proud pet owner of seven cats and one lively Romanian rescue pup, I understand the profound impact our furry friends have on our lives.
Where I First Started
Where I first started.. Art has always been my passion. I may not have been very good at it in the earlier stages, but nonetheless I never gave up. I would sit in the evenings scrolling through social media in absolute awe at the amazing art work and realistic drawings I came across. I never thought for one minute I could be anywhere near as good. Just like a lot of artists, I dabbled in so many different mediums, changing my mind constantly.
One evening I was sorting through my old drawings and found my very old 'drawing desk', I must have had it for at least 15 years!! It still had my old pencils and paper inside. So thought I would give this 'realism' a go.
We hadn't had our rescue pup for long and thought she would be the perfect subject to try. I wasn't planning on showing anyone and just wanted to prove to myself that I could maybe make her look slightly realistic on paper! I had no idea about line art, or how to even start!!
I remember sitting there thinking to myself 'honestly Vicki, you've had zero training, zero experience and no art qualifications... you're fooling yourself if you think you can do this'!! But I did it anyway, freehand from a small photo I had taken on my phone. I started with the eye, added some fur... (I was quite impressed with myself so far, haha!)
The more pencil strokes I layered, the more her picture was coming to life, At that stage I did not want to ruin what I thought was pretty impressive for my standard, so decided to search YouTube for any hints or tips on how I could improve. From there on, the more I found, the more I started to practice. Then came back to my 'wonky, free hand drawing' to finish it.
I had zero confidence in myself and was still adamant about not showing anyone (this was just for me) or so I thought! I showed my partner and he immediately told me to find somewhere on social media and post my drawing! I honestly thought he was completely bonkers!!
But I did it, I found an art page on Facebook. Sat there for quite some time trying to convince myself it was good enough to post (I had zero confidence, my anxiety level was through the roof) I wrote a little paragraph about it being my first attempt and asked people to be kind when commenting!! Then to my complete surprise, the comments and likes' went crazy! I honestly could not believe people liked what I had done, I had so much self doubt!
I will forever be thankful to my partner for believing in me and giving me that push I needed. The biggest lesson I have learned, is to never give up and never ever compare yourself to others (it will drive you insane) Find your passion and find your own style. The rest will follow
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
Since January 2024, I have had the privilege of being a member of an esteemed art academy, which is run by the globally renowned artist, Bonny Snowdon. Her exceptional work and tutoring has been a source of inspiration and admiration for me. With the academy's guidance, I am committed to producing the finest art possible. Bonny's invaluable advice and tips have been instrumental in my artistic journey, and being a part of her academy and the art community it has instilled in me the confidence to see my work at a premium level.
