Pencil Pet Portraits | Hand Drawn Portraits

Welcome to my pencil pet portraits hand drawn portraits gallery. All of the pencil pet portraits below have been hand drawn by myself. I am very lucky to be able to sit at my drawing desk every day and draw clients dogs, cats and horses. I have collated a few of my personal favourite pencil portrait commissions here from over the last few years.

I have been a commissioning pet portrait artist for 25 years, more recently specialising in graphite pencil. I love to capture animals on paper in a classic, timeless way. I create my artwork from my purpose built art studio in my garden, along with my husband Nicholas Beall who is also a portrait artist who paints dogs in oils on canvas for commission too.

Tyson

Kim, from the USA, commissioned me to draw her gorgeous cat Tyson, who had sadly passed away. She wanted a 12" x 10" pencil drawing of him along with the pencil portrait framed. You can see a few photos below, the final scan, the portrait with my pencils on, the portrait framed and one of Kim with the drawing displayed in situ. Kim telephoned me personally to thank me for the portrait and you can read one of Kim's emails below too.

Beano

Ellen sent me a WhatsApp message before Christmas 2020 to ask if I would be able to squeeze one more portrait into my schedule prior to Christmas. Happily I was! I loved drawing Beano, he has been one of my favoruite pet portraits to draw in 20202. You can see the amazing photo Ellen took of her husband Adam when he received the portrait, along with a testimonial below too.

Storm

The portrait of Stormy was my favourite of 2018. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing her! Mick's photos were very clear and sharp so it was lovely to be able to see Stormy in detail. Photos are absolutely key when drawing and then they are not only clear and sharp but compositionally good too, it really allows me to create a lovely drawing. The pencil drawing of Stormy was a 12 x 10 portrait.

Crumble

Sarah commissoned me to draw a pet portrait of her spaniel Crumble and since drwing her, I have drawn many other of her dogs too. This portrait was drawn at 12 x 10 size.

Deano, Ole and Neo

Nicola and her family emailed in 2017 asking if we would be able to create a portrait of their three Great Dane Dogs Deano, Ole and Neo. Sadly Deano and Ole had passed away, however Nicola wanted to remember all three of her Great Danes together. She had a few photos of Deano and Ole which I could put together in the composition at the design stage, however Nicola took a number of photos of Neo at the correct angle and eye level so he would fit in with my composition. We decided it would be lovely for all three dogs to be sitting in grass in Nicola's garden which brings them all together. I have added a few photos in my drawings gallery below of my pencil portrait, along with my pencils to show scale. It was a 24 x 18 pencil drawing on Italian Fabriano paper. Nicola emailed her reactions on my pencil drawings...

Mike

Barry, from Victorian, Australia, sent an email via my website asking if I would be able to draw his dog Mike, his very special Border Collie who had recently passed away. Barry sent over a few photos of Mike, a stunning one of him as a puppy plus one of him when he was older. My idea was to show both stages of Mike's life in one drawing so that Barry could remember Mike when younger too. Barry was thrilled with this idea. He told me a little about Mike aloong with how he passed at only 8 years old, very suddenly over night, without any warning of being unwell. Such a huge shock for Barry and his family. Barry very kindly emailed me a photo of him with his portrait which he also posted on his Facebook page. I am so pleased that my drawing will bring comfort to Barry and remind him of beautiful memories he had with his very special dog Mike.

Milo

Catherine Cave commissioned a pencil drawing of her dog Milo for her husband in 2014. They sadly had to have Milo put to sleep at age six due to an aggressive inoperable tumour. Catherine wanted to get a pencil drawing of her dog as a surprise for her husbands Christmas gift. I am always so sad to hear when dogs I draw have passed away, but at the same time, happy that I am able to bring dogs memory alive for familes along with giving them something to cherish. Catherine was delighted with her drawing and emailed this testimonial below...

Monty

Allie found our website and loved my pencil drawings. She emailed over some photos of her dearly departed Cocker Spaniel Monty and placed a deposit immediately to save a space for a pencil pet portrait. Allie supplied me with wonderful photos of Monty which were perfect for a pencil drawing. I created the drawing at 12 x 10 size and once complete Allie took it to her own local framer and had it framed. You can see photos below of the completed framed drawing along with a candid photo of the drawing with my pencils. Allie emailed during the prices and I have added snippets below for our visitors to read.

Frannie

Returning client Ben commission me to draw their Beagle Frannie in 2018 as a birthday gift for his wife Marisa. The portrait was a 12 x 10 pencil drawing and headed over to the USA in time for the big reveal. Marisa, Ben’s wife, was thrilled and Ben emailed me a photo of the portrait framed which you can see below. If you scroll down further too you can also see Ben’s Beagle Blue's portrait commissioned a month after Frannie's!

Memphis

The portrait of Memphis was a 14 x 11 pencil drawing commissioned a Christmas surprise by Amber for her friends. They were delighted. If you would like to read more about the commission, pop over to my dedicated pencil pet portraits website to read the story.

Kiwi

The portrait of Kiwi is a 7 x 5 inches pencil drawing and I really love drawing the smaller portraits. Keeping my pencils sharp is a necessity! Sadly Kiwi was knocked down in a road traffic accident and the family were distraught. A very good friend of their family and a returning client Catherine, commissioned a portrait of Kiwi for their family to treasure.

Brodie

Brodie was commissioned by Sandra who wanted a pet portrait of their spaniel as a birthday present for her husband Dave. The pencil drawing was an 18" x 14" portrait drawn in 2018 and I loved every minute. I adore drawing spaniels, especially all of those curls! I hope you like Brodie and the photo Sandra took of Dave with Brodie and the portrait too!

Biscuit

The pencil drawing of Biscuit was commissioned as a surprise gift from one friend to another. Sadly Biscuit passed away and was a very special friend so deserved to have a very special pet portrait. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing Biscuit and the client was delighted with the results.

Watson

Watson's pet portrait was drawn at 12 x 10 size in graphite pencil for Alistair and Tana Williams (UK). I loved drawing him and as he was a fairly light colour I shaded the background slightly to alow him to stand off the paper.

Penny

Jeanette contacted me to ask if I would be able to draw her beautiful cat called Penny. She wanted a cat portrait to celebrate her 50th birthday and emailed some fabulous photos of Penny for me to see. Jeanette had taken some amazing photos of Penny outside in her garden with natural light which is perfect for a portrait. I have added a final stage of the pet portrait below, along with photos of Penny next to my pencils. Jeanette very kindly emailed some photo of Penny when she was framed too.

Jenny and Fern

Tara and her company purchased one of our gift vouchers as a retirement present for their employee Gail. Gail had two beautiful cocker spaniels called Jenny and Fern. Tara felt that a pet portrait of them would be a really lovely leaving present. Tara wanted Gail to have complete control over the gift and have exactly what she wanted so the Gift Voucher idea was perfect. Gail took lots of photos of her dogs and emailed me plenty of photos to draw from. As you can see the portraits came out beautifully. I drew Jenny and Fern on a 16 x 12 size which is perfect for two head studies. You can read one of Gail emails below and see photos and details of the portrait too.

Kilo

James Witt, USA, commissioned me to draw their family dog Kilo, who has sadly passed away. I drew Kilo's dog portrait at 12" x 10" size with a delicately shaded background to allow Kilo to stand off of my white paper. Kilo's portrait was framed by our framer Amanda using Windsor Wash frame with double mount / matt in hayseed plus slate grey. I have also added some photos of me working on my pencil portrait along with a photo of Kilo's drawing when it was complete, along with my pencils on to show scale. I hope you like it!

Jasper

The portrait of Jasper was a wonderful commissions, I very much enjoyed drawing Jasper for Josie and her family. The portrait was commissioned as a surprise gift for her mother and you can see a photo and read a lovely testimonial from them below!

Aspen

James emailed photos of their stunning Boston Terrier called Aspen. James asked if I would be able to draw a dog portrait in pencil of him at size 20 x 20 inches in pencil. I was delighted! James and Meagan are from Texas and once my portrait was completed I packed up safely it headed over to Texas to be with James and his family.

Daisy

Mary (USA), commissioned me to draw their families lovely dog called Daisy just before Christmas in 2015. The dog pencil portrait was to be a surprise gift for her daughter, she wanted it 20 x 16 size plus had many amazing photos of Daisy. Daisy's chosen photo was actually one that was featured in a calendar several years previous, sold at Barnes and Noble bookstore! You can see a final scan of my dog pencil portrait along with my portrait framed, plus a heart warming email from Mary below, its perfect to add here in my drawings gallery and I hope you like it too.

Blue

The portrait of Blue was commissioned by returning client Ben as a surprise gift for his wife. Ben very kindly took a photo of blue with his portrait and you can read about it in Ben’s email below. I have created a few pet portraits for Ben and his family which is wonderful.

Teasel

In 2016 Paula commissioned me to draw Teasel, who had sadly passed away. She was just so beautiful and I really enjoyed drawing her, Teasels eyes were wonderful to portray. Paula was thrilled with her portrait and said it felt it was like having Teasel back with her, which is just amazing. You can read a snippet from one of Paula's emails below and see a photo of Paula with the framed portrait.

Gilli

This is one of my favourite cat portrait to date and it is of a gorgeous cat called Gilli. My client commissioned a montage drawing as a birthday gift and if you scroll down you can see a video of it.

Casanova

Jane and Mark wanted to commission a montage drawing of their daughters horse Casanova for her 16th birthday. Casanova is a huge part of Olivia's life. Jane often takes Olivia around the UK for show jumping competitions and events. They had already chosen the 5 photos they wanted me to work from for the pencil montage. They were great quality and they sent them to me via Dropbox, which is a super way of sending us photos. Jane and myself chatted on the telephone about the photos for the pet portrait. One of the photos that holds the best memory for them all was the top right photo of Olivia with Casanova when she met him for the very first time. She also very kindly posed for a photo with the portrait which you can see below.

Poppy

Back in December 2015, Simon called me to make arrangements to send a voucher pack to his brother Adam as a birthday present. He thought it might be a lovely idea to have a pet portrait of his current dog Willow. Adam contacted me with a slightly different request. He wanted to have a drawing of his previous dog Poppy as they missed her and wanted an ever lasting memory of her. Adam had taken some amazing photos of Poppy and all was arranged. Then a UK Learn to Draw magazine emailed me to ask if it would be OK to feature my artwork in their upcoming edition. I was thrilled and immediately thought of the commission of Poppy as i knew it would work really well to help budding artists understand how to create a portrait in pencil of a dog using lots of different techniques. Adam was thrilled and was excited to see not only Poppy’s portrait, but poppy in print too! You can see a number of stages from the magazine, the final stage of Poppy and the portrait framed too.

Hollie

One of my favourite pet portraits of 2016 was of a gorgeous Tibetan Terrier called Hollie. I absolutely loved every minute of drawing Hollie as I also have a Tibetan Terrier. Caroline commissioned me to draw Hollie as a surprise gift for her mum. The portrait was very well received as you can see from the fabulous photo of Caroline and her mum below. I love it! I hope that it will be an ever lasting memory of their very best friend.

Moo

Tracy, a returning client, commissioned me to draw her beautiful cocker spaniel called Moo. They are one of my favourite breeds to portray and I thoroughly enjoyed drawing her. We framed the portrait with our local framer and Tracey took time out of her busy schedule to collect the portrait from our studio. We took the opportunity to take some photos of myself, Tracey and Moo with the portrait which you can see below.

Ollie

The pencil drawing of Ollie was commissioned by Steve as a Christmas surprise for his wife. The portrait was a 16 " x 12" pencil drawing and you can see a photo of my hand and pencil on the photo below.

Pixie and Boots

Howard purchased a gift voucher as a Christmas gift for his wife as he wanted her to have a pencil portrait of their two cats Pixie and Boots. Julie was thrilled and took some lovely photos of their cats..although they are very difficult to photography. She took some of the photos out side in the garden which helped for lighting. I have added a photo below, which Julie sent when the cat portrait was framed with her local framer, displayed in their home. I have also added a final stage and photo of my hand working on the pet portrait.

Violet, Gill, Charlie and Rooney

Marcella emailed to ask if I would be able to draw three dog portraits for her family in time for Christmas. The dogs were two English Setters called Violet and Gill, a white Setter called Rooney and a gorgeous Springer Spaniel called Charlie. Charlie was Marcella's dog, Rooney belonged to her sister and Violet and Gill belonged to Marcella's parents. It was a lot for Marcella to organized and she framed them herself when the drawings arrived, she wrapped and placed them under the tree in time for Christmas day. I have added lots of photos of the final stage, close up photos and a lovely photo of Marcella's sister and mum holding their dog portraits.

 

Cat Portrait of Lucy, Lily and Leo

Returning client Kevin, USA, commissioned a second portrait of his cats as they had a new addition to their family called Lily. Kevin took some time to get a perfect photo of all three cats together which worked amazingly well for a drawing. Their tails are perfect too! It couldn't have gone better and he gave the portrait as an anniversary surprise to his wife Erika. She was thrilled. Erika kindly took a photo of herself with both portraits, the other drawing of Lucy and Leo is below in my cat portraits gallery too.

Stanley and Jarvis

Sarah purchased a gift voucher for a 24 x 18 framed dog portrait in pencil for her friend Paula and their family. Their dogs are called Stanley and Jarvis. Paula took a lovely photo of them which was perfect for a portrait, and it included a lovely background too, which I added in the drawing. It allows the dogs to be in a scene. You can see two testimonials below from both Sarah and Paula along with a lovely photo of the portrait of Stanley and Jarvis in Paula's kitchen diner.

Dexter, Tui and Purdey

Heather contacted me to ask if I would be able to draw their three dogs, Dexter, Tui and Purdey as a surprise 60th Birthday present for her mother. The photo of all three dogs was taken using an iPhone a few years ago, so it didn’t hold a lot of detail, however it was enough for me to portray them in a pencil drawing. Heather opted to have the dog pet portrait framed with our framer which is a lovely aged gold frame with a double mount in Hayseed. I have added the final stage below along with some candid photos of the portrait with my pencils to show scale and some words from Heather too.

Django

Andy, a returning client, commissioned me to draw his friends dog Django in pencil. I have added a final stage of Django along with some candid photos of the portrait with my pencils to show scale.

Rusty

Verity emailed in 2019 to ask if I would be able to draw her beautiful dog called Rusty at 16 x 12 size. She had taken lots of excellent photos outside in their garden and chosen a three quater pose for the main reference image to be used for the drawing. I loved every minute of drawing Rusty and you can read a lovely testimonial from Verity below, along with seeing a photo of Rusty laying underneath the drawing.

Tai and Chi

The cat portrait of Tai and Chi was commissioned by Nancy Miller in 2014 to give as a Christmas gift for her daughter in 2014. The photo of Tai and Chi was excellent to work from, they were lazing in the summer sunshine as you can see and the whole scene was fantastic to draw. I really enjoyed drawing them and you can see photo of both Tai and Chi below along with a photo of the cats with my pencils on to see the scale of the drawing.

Jasper

Richard enquired about having a horse pencil drawing of his wife horse Jasper who sadly had to be put to sleep. Richard said..."He was very much a character, I am thinking of a main head portrait then four smaller pictures around the edge, in time for our anniversary in June." Richard emailed some lovely photos of Jasper which worked perfectly for one of my pet portraits pencil montage drawings. Laura emailed me when she received the portrait and also sent me a photo of the pet portrait displayed in their home which you can see below.

Archie

Returning client Kirstie commissioned me to draw her beautiful cat called Archie along with a smaller study of Archie and Roly together. The portrait was drawn at 18 x 14 size and it looks beautiful framed and in situ in Kirstie's home.

Leo and Lucy

Kevin, USA, contacted us to see if I would be able to draw from a photo he had taken of their cats Leo and Lucy as a surprise birthday gift for his wife in December 2018. The photo of the cats were lovely and very suited to a pencil drawing. You can see a photo of the portrait framed below too. The drawing was an 18 x 14 pencil drawing traditionally hand drawn by myself.

Simba

Welcome to the pet portrait of Simba. Marie commissioned me to create a drawing of Simba so that she could give it as a Christmas gift to her family. He is a Bijou Shitsu mix and according to Marie he looks like a little lion! He is the cutest! The pencil drawing was a 12 x 10 and you can read what Marie said when she saw the portrait below.

Locksie

William Archer commissioned a 24 x 18 pencil portrait as a surprise present for his wife on their wedding day. I was thrilled to be part of the celebrations by creating a portrait for them both to treasure and remember for the rest of their lives. Annabel's horse Locksie was to be the main focus of the portrait however William was keep to have Annabel's dogs and cat in the portrait too. So a montage pencil drawing was the perfect option. William was delighted and I wish them a long and happy life together!

Vera

Returning client Ben commissioned a montage pencil portrait of his beautiful dog Vera as a surprise Christmas gift for his wife Marisa. I have created a number of portraits for Ben and his family and this one of Vera was wonderful to draw, I loved every minute! Especially all of those curls! I hope you like Brodie and the photo Sandra took of Dave with Brodie and the portrait too!

Banjo

Rob Donaldson dropped me a line via email to ask if I would draw his Border Collie Cross dog called Banjo in pencil as a surprise present for his girlfriend. Rob is based in Central Queensland, Australia and sent me some beautiful photos of Banjo on their farm in stunning Australian surroundings. I was delighted and very happy to draw Banjo for them. Once Banjo's dog portrait was received by Rob, he framed it himself using old fence posts from their farm! I have added photos below - isn’t it amazing!! It's the most unusual and stunning frame we have ever seen! We love it! I'm sure it was a superb surprise for Robs girlfriend and we cant thank him enough for sending us photos of Banjo's completed dog portrait. I hope you enjoy viewing it in my drawings gallery below.

Apache and Lynx

The pencil drawing of Apache and Lynx was commissioned by Chris for his girlfriends birthday. Chris called me on the phone a few times to make all of the arrangements, however when emailing I conversed with Chris' mum Mary so that no surprises were ruined! The pencil drawing of Apache and Lynx was created at 16 x 12 size and framed in the Madison frame. When the portrait was ready it was shipped direct to Mary who happily passed it on to Chris to hide for the big birthday reveal. Mary emailed when the portrait arrived...

Floss

Lee contacted me in 2015 as he had taken a stunning photo of his dog Floss. It was one of those snapshots in time that only happen every so often. Lee's photo was not only dynamic in composition, but Floss' photo and its lighting was beautiful. Lee opted to have a 16 x 12 size portrait, you can see a final scan below left, a close up detail, a photo of my drawing with my pencils to show scale and a reference photo..

Betty

This is a dog portrait of Betty, commissioned by returning client Lady Carole Bamford. I have created a number of dog portraits for Lady Bamford and my portrait of Betty below was for her secretary Emma on her birthday. As this was to be a surprise Lady Bamfords PA, Michele arranged to send photos of Betty without Emma knowing to keep everything under wraps! Michele emailed a testimonial which you can read below.

Cat Portrait Illustrations

McAdams pet food company contacted me in 2017 to ask if I would be able to draw two cats for their new range of packaging for cat food. I was delighted and thrilled that my artwork would be part of their range. They asked for two cats to be drawn in a slightly looser style to match in with their other drawings. As you can see the drawings were used in 4 package designs in the range. I have added them below for you to view from their website. The managing director Neil McAdams saw the drawings at the early stage and emailed below. A wonderful opportunity and something I would definitely do again.

Rufus and Floyd

This portrait was completed for Sebastian Durant based in the UK, just prior to Christmas in 2015. Sebastian emailed me many photos of his cats Rufus and Floyd and I created a number of designs for them to work out a perfect composition for both cats. The family were thrilled that the portrait could be complete before Christmas, as a lasting memory of two most wonderful cats. .

Flash

The horse portrait in pencil of Flash was commission by a returning customer from Australia and it was wonderful to work with her again. Jo and her daughter contacted me with a request for a large pencil drawing at 30 x 20 inches of their beloved horse called Flash. Sadly Flash passed away very suddenly and it was such a shock to all of the family. So Jo commissioned me to portray him in pencil and I thoroughly enjoyed drawing him. Jo emailed when she received the drawing below. It really melts my heart to read wonderful emails like Jo's and I am so thrilled I was able to create the drawing for her and her family to remember Flash by.

Duker

The horse portrait of Duker was commissioned by Lizzie and her brother for their mum on her 70th Birthday. Lizzie knew that she had left it very late in organising the portrait and so ordered one of my Gift Vouchers to give to her mum on her birthday. Lizzie knew that her mum Jane would be able to send or take photos of Duker especially for the pencil drawing so left her to make all of the arrangements as to what she wanted. Which Jane did! The portrait came out beautifully and Jane and her family were thrilled as you can read in Jane's email below. The portrait was a 20 x 16 size drawing traditionally hand drawn on fine Italian paper.

Cherokee

The portrait of Cherokee is a recent portrait of a horse in pencil completed as a surprise present from two aunts Maureen and Pauline to their niece Caroline. The portrait was drawn at 12 x 10 inches. Caroline was thrilled with her gift and very kindly posed for photos with her aunts and the portrait along with photos of her and Cherokee too!

Siyouni

Siyouni is a highly successful young stallion owned by the Aga Khan. The portrait was commissioned by Lady Bamford as a gift to the Aga Khan for his birthday in December 2016. The portrait was a 9 x 11 pencil drawing and we hope that the Aga Khan was thrilled!

Jenkins

This portrait was a very emotional one for the owner as our clients father owned Jenkins both were retired form the police force. Jo's father rode Jenkins of the last time at the age of 82 before his sudden death a few months later. This portrait will bring back wonderful memories of her father and a lovely portrait of Jenkins too. If you would like to find out what a portrait similar to this might cost, I have a prices page on my website.

Rose

The portrait of Rose was commissioned for a Christmas present by Callum Mould, UK. He arranged the entire portrait and we workd together on the design and composition as a complete surprise for his girlfriend. She was absolutely thrilled to unveil the portrait on Christmas day in 2015. Callum asked if I could draw a rose on the drawing instead of writing the name 'Rose' which works fabulously.