LOCATION: Denbighshire , Wales UK

TRAINING: I have had no formal training, but have always enjoyed drawing for my children and grandchildren. I started my journey as an artist after retiring from the NHS in 2012, going regularly to local pastel classes, where I learned to draw various subjects including animals using Conte pastels. I also found online classes useful as I live in a remote area of Wales, and continue to learn and practice techniques in other mediums.

SUBJECT OF CHOICE: Animals will always be my first choice. My passion will always be dogs, and I hope to bring out the character of each individual animal in their drawing. Most of my commissions are for pet portraits, but between commissions I draw wildlife including big cats and birds.

MEDIUM OF CHOICE: I do like to put in a lot of detail in my drawings, and find that pastels and coloured pencils lend themselves to detailed work. Both mediums are good for blending colours to obtain tonal values especially when drawing fur and feathers. More recently I have learned to paint animals in traditional oils, and hope to offer oil paintings in the near future.

MY INSPIRATION: Living on a smallholding I am lucky to be able to own dogs, and have also had cats, sheep and chickens, and a couple of Vietnamese Pot Bellied pigs. There are many birds around, including Buzzards and woodpeckers. I currently have a Doberman and a Jack Russell Terrier as companions. I have a collection of antique dog paintings by various artists whom I admire, most of which were painted in the 1910’s to 1930’s. I also find inspiration from the many excellent artists I have found on line, who share their skills and techniques via tutorials and critiques.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND AMBITIONS: I am thrilled that people like my drawings enough to have them displayed on their wall, and many of my commissions are from returning clients or referred by word of mouth. A few of my coloured pencil drawings have been published in various coloured pencil artists’ magazines and I have also been a featured artist in “ Your Dog” magazine in the UK.

LINKS: Please see the links below to contact me for commissions

Website www.juliaheathpetportraits.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/houndpix
Instagram www.instagram.com/heathhound