This page gives a brief insight into my life and to what got me started in the pet portraiture business.

I live, with my husband (Mark) and our dog (Sprockett), in a small town called Pegeia in Cyprus, close to Paphos. We moved here in January 2009.

Since a very young age I have been interested in nature, animals and art. The colours, shapes and textures in nature are one of the reasons as to why I am so fascinated and intrigued with drawing and painting and I love being able to capture this in my pictures.

We used to live near to the Lake District in Cumbria, so quite often on a weekend (and not always in weather like in the above photo!!) we could be seen walking up the hills and mountains. It is such a beautiful place - definitely worth a visit!! This picture on the left, was taken on one of our walks around Lake Ullswater. 

My pet portrait commissions began a few years ago, when I was asked to draw a portrait for a friend at work. Due to their satisfaction and word-of-mouth, my commissions grew and grew. I have painted and drawn portraits for leaving gifts, birthday presents and other commissions for my friends and colleagues. It is down to their satisfaction and praise that I have decided to take the plunge and set-up a professional business for my portraits. After many hours of deliberation and contemplation I put the "wheels in motion"...... my website is just the start. So Pets-in-Pencil was officially "born" in September 2006.

In order to progress my skills and learn more about mediums that I hadn't used, I enrolled with the London Art College to study on a Pet Portraiture Diploma course, in March 2008 I passed the course and was awarded a distinction for my work.

Please enjoy your visit. In my Galleries page  you can see some of my previous commissions, unfortunately I do not have pictures of all of them, but I have also included a Customer Comments page which you can review and read customer feedback. 

I take much pleasure in accepting a commission of an animal and producing a final portrait which captures the very personality and essence of its subject. I can't explain the feeling that it gives me when I can see the look on an owner's face, or to receive their feedback, when they see their final painting for the first time and know that I have succeeded in my "quest", this is fantastic!

My ambition is to become a well-known and successful portrait artist and in order to achieve this, I have several objectives that I feel are very important, these are:-

“to produce portraits of the highest possible standard, using quality materials. To capture the smallest of fine detail to portray a true likeness of your pet, their individual character and personality"

"to ensure that my customers are completely satisfied with their finished portraits and to ensure that their needs and requirements are met”

"to provide a customer service that is second-to-none - each customer is a unique individual and so are their pets, and therefore each client is treated on a very personal, unique basis"

So thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoy looking at my work.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or comments about my work, or perhaps would like information regarding a future commission, I will always be happy to help.

Marie Huntrods