As a child, I found crayons and pens limited my creativity – I could never get the finish I had in my head. I had better luck with oil-pastels, but being unable to get the pictures in my head down on paper exactly how I wanted them to be left me feeling frustrated. In my teenage years I discovered Photoshop, and found great pleasure in manipulating images (mostly cars) to create beautiful pieces of art – however, I was still frustrated I couldn’t do my own drawings from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my 30s, I put my Photoshop skills to good use and was hired as a professional graphic designer. This allowed me to learn new skills and try things I hadn’t thought of before – but that desire to draw still nagged at me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through training and hard work, I became proficient in Photoshop, with image manipulation becoming my main source of income. With the money I could spare, I sunk more of it into professional training. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first time I opened illustrator, I panicked. ‘What do all these icons even mean?’ It looked a bit like Photoshop, but at the same time, nothing like it. I enrolled on more courses and slowly the tools began to make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the question, ‘Can I draw? Of course I can’t – I have never been able to before – why would this new set of tools be any different?’ How wrong I was. I started simple, using the gold ratio to draw foxes, pandas, even a flamingo – and they looked good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ultimate challenge remained though – could I really do a portrait? There was only one way to find out… try!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Saturday afternoon, I sat down at my desk, opened Illustrator and began. Hours passed before I finished. I rolled back on my ball (a chair would be far too normal for me), and stared into the eyes of my beloved Honey dog. There she was, as a portrait, by my own hand. I had done it, and what’s more, I enjoyed every minute of it. The desire to draw had finally been freed; and now no-one can stop me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love drawing portraits. Whether they’re people, pets, or places – I love it all! I enjoy every stage, from the outlines, to the initial colouring, to tweaking those final little bits to make it all work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Requests for portraits hitting my inbox fill my heart with so much joy because I know I’m going to have a great day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven\u2019t finished my website yet \u2013 so please do bear with me \u2013 but if you would also like a portrait of your own, please contact emily@emilyreading.com in the meantime and I will respond to your message.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a child, I found crayons and pens limited my creativity – I could never get the finish I had in my head. I had better luck with oil-pastels, but being unable to get the pictures in my head down on paper exactly how I wanted them to be left me feeling frustrated. In my … <\/p>\n