Loving My Life

With drive, tenacity and plenty of talent, this vibrant young artist has combined her love of drawing in graphite with her love of animals, babies and children, creating portraits that thrill and delight their owners.

Iwas born in Penrith, NSW, and moved to Queensland in 1991 when I was about four years old with my parents and two siblings. From a young age, I can remember being creative – making toys out of cardboard, writing and illustrating short stories to be read by my dad at bedtime, making my own drawing books, sewing and knitting with my mum, drawing pictures, painting and other activities. I always enjoyed art in primary school and was regularly complimented by my teachers and peers for various projects. It wasn’t until late primary school that I realised I enjoyed and had a talent for drawing.

When I went to high school I continued to study and thoroughly enjoy art,

until the end of year 12, achieving high grades each year. I completed various assignments and projects in different mediums, from painting, sculpting, print making and many others, but I always preferred and was best at realistic graphite drawings. I was able to complete a few drawings and paintings in my own time around school hours. These included various animals, a portrait of my dog and selfportraits from when I was a baby. Some of my drawings were entered in my first exhibit at our local annual show and received high recommendations.

The constraints of the high school art curriculum made it difficult to complete my assignments with graphite pencil and realism. It wasn’t until I left school that I was able to focus more on graphite pencil drawings, choosing my own subject matters.

When I was young, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to study art when I finished high school! As I reached senior art I realised I didn’t enjoy art theory as much as the practical side. I preferred to have free range with chosen mediums and subject matters, so I decided not to pursue art as a university degree and just keep it as a hobby. I went on to study a Bachelor of Applied Science, with a major in Veterinary Technology. From a young age I have always had a love for animals, particularly birds,

and have successfully hand raised and rehabilitated many birds as a member of a bird wildlife program. With the demands of University and working casually on weekends, I didn’t have a lot of time for drawing during the four years of my degree. It wasn’t until I graduated and started working as a Veterinary Technologist at a specialist clinic in Brisbane that I found motivation, driving passion and time to get back into drawing once again.

I spent a lot of time researching various graphite artists on the internet, and reading about their techniques and the resources they used, watching YouTube videos and admiring their work. I also read many books to educate myself and to improve my drawings. I was always in awe of the realism other artists could achieve in their works, which inspired me and motivated me to keep drawing and to reach my highest potential possible in my own artworks. I had lessons over the internet with another pencil artist for a few weeks, but it wasn’t something I wanted to continue at that time.

There has been a significant improvement in my work over the years. One of the first drawings I completed after I began drawing again was of my dog, Rusty. I was 10 years old when we brought Rusty home as a puppy to be a part of our family, and was devastated at his recent loss at the age of 16. This portrait is, and always will be, very special to me. It’s one of the very few originals I have kept for myself. I entered Rusty’s portrait in the Brisbane Exhibition in 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience

of having my work displayed. After I completed Rusty and various other realistic drawings of pets and babies for friends and family word got around, and soon I had a list of people interested in commissions.

My knowledge and experience as a veterinary technologist and love for animals and children has been a big influence on the subject matter of my drawings and the artist I have become today. I especially enjoy drawing animals, babies and children, capturing their fun loving natures, purity and innocence. Currently I work exclusively with graphite pencil, as I love the closeness to reality that I am able to achieve. In the future I would like to try other mediums, but for now I am very content with exploring graphite art. Over the years I have learnt to be patient with my drawings, as rushing doesn’t get the desired finished result. I have always been open to trying new techniques and tools, always trying to achieve the best results. Every artist is different with the techniques and tools they use and will give different advice, but I have learnt that not everything suits everybody. It is important to work with what you are comfortable and happy with.

I have been privileged so far to have finished my university degree and work in a job that I thoroughly enjoy, and to be given the talent of drawing. It’s very rewarding to nurse a sick animal back to health, to watch their tail start to wag again, to see their eyes light up and to see the joy on their owner’s face. Similarly, it is wonderful to see friends and family light up and be overjoyed when they see the graphite drawing that I have completed for them. Hearing many described as priceless, beautiful and a unique gift always encourages me to continue my endeavours. The tremendous joy I feel from such responses makes all the long hours, hard work, struggles and achievements in drawing and nursing worth every second!

Email: d3idre@gmail.com