Pets play a vital part in many of our lives… owning a portrait is a great way to honour or to remember a favourite animal. Rachael Hunter-Lara tells Elestr Lee how she is developing her special skill
“ALTHOUGH I DID a lot of art while I was growing up, I fell out of love with the subject at secondary school,” Rachael said. “I hated being told what to do! However, the older I’ve got, the more I realised I missed it. Having spent time concentrating on socialising, now I have found my way back to art.”
Lockdown gave Rachael the impetus to rekindle her interest in art. “I bought some water colours and decided to do a watercolour painting of my brother’s dog for his birthday, and it came out quite well. I began doing pet portraits as gifts for friends and family. However, being a bit of a perfectionist, I soon realised that I couldn’t achieve the intricate details and textures I wanted using watercolours. I decided to switch to coloured pencils, and once I made the change, I discovered I had much greater control over the level of detail I could capture.
“As I progressed, I learnt a great deal about colour theory, and was amazed by the variety of colours needed, even in what appears to be black and white fur. Each of my portraits takes hours to complete, as I work to accurately represent my subjects and their individual characteristics.
“I have taught myself, learning from other artists’ work – nowadays there are heaps of online courses and also advice on what kind of artist supplies I need.”
Rachael mainly uses professional quality coloured pencils as well as pastels, which are useful if she is doing a larger portrait. “Pencils are very time-consuming, whereas pastels cover the page quicker.”
Rachael made the step from making portraits just for friends to selling her work quite quickly. “I offered to do a portrait of a spaniel to help the charity, Second Chance for Spaniel Rescue, which they raffled. I donated my portrait and raised money for the charity from my work – I still use the picture of the spaniel on my business card!”
Having posted a few of her portraits on Caversham Gossip Girls, a couple of people contacted Rachael to request pet portraits, confirming her confidence that she could sell her work. While Rachael still has a full-time job as a data analyst for a High Street store, she is nowadays busy in her spare time, producing portraits.
“I primarily work on commissioned portraits of people’s pets, but I also create original wildlife artwork. One of my
wildlife portraits of a young tiger was recently exhibited in Edinburgh and London as part of a conservation project to raise funds for the charity Explorers Against Extinction.
“Since September 2024 I have been showing my work at the Artist & Makers Fairs, which I find great to meet and chat to other artists as well as customer. When I take a commission, the client sends me several photos of the pet. One of the photos is selected but I use the others for reference. The more photos the better – it gives me a better idea of the pet’s personality! I like to get to know about the pet, and it’s especially important to me to know their name. I take a lot of time over each portrait, and I can get quite attached to my drawings!”
Immersing herself in art as well as being involved in animals in this way has brought balance to Rachael’s life. “Doing this keeps me sane, it helps my mental health, and this kind of creativity keeps me centred,” she said.
Working as an artist was not something Rachael ever imagined when growing up. “At Chiltern Edge the advice was that art was not something the average person could do commercially – but things are very different now, with the internet and social media. Although I didn’t really enjoy art at school, I think my art teacher wouldn’t be too surprised at what I am now doing!”
She listens to audio books and podcasts as she draws. “The audio books really help me, I find I can really focus on my drawing while I am listening,” she explained. A dog owner herself, Rachael has a working cocker spaniel and loves walking in Bugs Bottom and Clayfield Copse. “I grew up with dogs and we also had cats, birds, fish – all sorts of pets! I mainly get asked to draw dogs, but I also love to draw cats – I especially love their vibrant eyes.
“I really enjoy creating each portrait and seeing the owner’s reaction to the finished piece. I love capturing each pet’s unique character and it’s always such a special experience to watch the animal slowly come to life on the page.”
Find out more: www.rhunterlara-art.co
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