I Create Hyperrealistic Pencil Drawings Of Animals, Here Are 19 Of Them

Around the time I was 8 years old, I started drawing animals and paying more attention to the little details. When I was 13, I finished my first intricate portrait of the famous rodeo bull "Bodacious" and continued to work on my techniques. My style has always been more intricate, focusing on the little details. In the beginning, I drew everything in graphite ​and everyone kept telling me that I should do some pieces in color. I wanted to, but wasn't sure how. At the time I didn't have any knowledge of professional colored pencils, so I just continued to draw in black and white.

I applied to and was accepted to Iowa State University, where I was planning to go to school to be a veterinarian. For as long as I can remember, I had told everyone that I was going to be a vet. But during my senior year of high school, I kept getting this nagging feeling in my gut that I needed to do something with my art. I graduated in 2001 and chose not to go to ISU and instead attended a community college near home, tried to attend their art classes and I hated it. I just couldn't focus on what I had envisioned for myself and my artwork.

After our first daughter was born in 2010, I quit my job to become a stay-at-home mom. When she was about 6 months old, I felt like I wanted to start something at home while still using my creative side. It was then that I bit the bullet, purchased Adobe Illustrator, started my own sole proprietorship and began doing some graphic design work creating prints, invitations and stationery. 

In 2017, I finally decided that I needed to focus on my original art form. I had already purchased a professional Epson printer for my graphic design work several years prior. But I finally bought professional colored pencils and set out to do what ​I've always wanted to do: draw animals as my job.

My husband and I now have 3 little girls, 9 dogs, 11 goats, countless chickens and a small farm with quite a few other animals; free time is not something I have a lot of these days. That means early mornings, late nights and free time spent during nap time to get in some good drawing time. Sometimes I wish I had spent more time perfecting my art and making it a priority before we had kids. But, I believe everything happens for a reason and I think my journey to get where I'm at with my artwork happened the way it was supposed to. Sure it's taken me a few years....quite a few years....to get to a point where I can seriously focus on my artwork. ​And I'm excited about the future.