As well as pet portraits, I also draw portraits of people from life.
During the summer I have a pitch in the South lanes in Brighton ( East Street) where I'll draw somebody's portrait as they sit there, in 15 minutes.
Animals are generally not good at keeping still which is why I paint and draw them from photos. However, the process i use when painting or drawing from a photo is very similar to how I would paint or draw from life. I render everything in freehand, no grids or measuring or tracing, which is what gives my pet portraits a certain vibrant, urgent quality.
Over the years, I've also learnt to draw from my imagination which has helped greatly in drawing from life and from photos. Knowing how an animal or person's face or body is constructed can help interpret images rather than directly copying them.
As if doing portraits isn't enough, I also like making novelty postcards, all based around locations in Brighton! I like to introduce animals that you wouldn't necessarily have as pets, such as bears, monkeys and seagulls.