Hi, I'm Kelly, an artist specialising in fine art drawings and portraits.
I am very privileged to live and work in the beautiful Dales area of North Yorkshire and take much inspiration from the beauty of the land around me.
I really enjoy drawing a diverse range of subjects – people, children, pets, wildlife, botanicals, the natural world.
My preferred medium is graphite pencil. I've always loved working in pencil as I feel I'm able to capture the finer detail and character of my subjects, as well as the subtlety of expression and features.
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About me
My Story
I've always been creative, but it was in 2010, alongside building a rewarding career as a specialist palliative care nurse, that I began developing my skill in pencil drawing. I started accepting drawing commissions in 2014 and, encouraged by the wonderful feedback from those early commissions, I have been developing my business ever since. I now receive portrait and drawing commissions from around the world.
When drawing people or pets, my mission is not just to create an exact likeness, but also to sensitively capture the essence of the unique character - reflecting something of the individual person or pet that will touch the hearts of those who know the subject best.
In 2018, I started working on a series of botanical and wildlife pencil drawings. Then, working with a fine art printer I had these reproduced as a series of greeting cards and prints which sold really well.
So, in 2019 I created and launched my online shop and haven’t looked back since! I also sell my greeting cards and prints in a number of craft shops, at art exhibitions and craft fairs across the country.
Update July 2024
Just wanted to give a shout out to my amazing husband who has fully launched his business Lawrence & Barnes this year. His vision is to see a renaissance in British Wool, to drive demand for this incredible material and ultimately to see British farmers get a better price for the wool that their flocks produce. His stunning new range of British Wool throws, cushions and bedding are now available to purchase on his website. AND he gives a portion of all sales to agricultural charities supporting farmers in the UK.
Giving To Charity - Supporting Projects In Burma
I donate a portion of the proceeds from all my product sales and commissions to support ethnic minorities in Burma (Myanmar).
Why Burma? In 2005/06, sponsored by the British Medical Association, I had the privilege of co-leading a health and nutrition programme amongst the Karen people in an area of South Eastern Burma. In Karen State, like many of the ethnic states; men, women and children are forced to flee their homes when the Burma Army attacks their villages. Years of oppression have left the people with very little food and only limited access to health care. Weakened and malnourished, many babies are dying from starvation, or from common and easily preventable childhood illnesses. The situation for the ethnic groups is critical.
So in 2005, with the support and guidance of the Karen Health Department, we set up Babies at Risk, a small programme to seek to improve the health of mothers and babies and reduce the infant mortality rate in an area of Karen State. We provided essential supplies and worked with traditional birth attendants and local health workers, supporting and equipping them to teach their own people in key areas ranging from breastfeeding and infant nutrition to maternal health.
It was hugely impactful to spend time with families who had fled into the jungle to escape the attacks of the Burma Army and to witness firsthand the courage and determination of the people in working together for good and for freedom.
Through contacts made on those trips, I have been able to stay connected with various projects on the ground in Eastern Burma and I now donate a percentage of my profits to support some of these projects.
Over the last few years, I have been supporting a programme to develop a network of water pipes in villages in Mon State, meaning that the villagers no longer have to walk to the river to get water.
Currently I am donating a portion of the proceeds from all sales and commissions to a project in Karen State that is supplying food, medicine and relief to internally displaced people who have had to flee their homes due the recent increase in attacks from the Burma Army. Through partnering with All4Burma, a UK-based charity, and through ongoing relationships with people on the ground, I am able to stay closely connected to these projects.
For more information about the situation in Burma, please click on the following links - Free Burma Rangers; Burma Campaign UK; All4Burma; Human Rights Watch.