About the Artist
A little about me, the person with the pencil!
About Me
I am a self taught artist specialising in pastels and charcoal after starting out with graphite and coloured pencils. Pastels are a wonderful medium, vibrant and soft and in pencil form, actually very clean. I am also currently learning to paint in acrylics and oils so I may be adding them to my portfolio in the near future.
The Studio
After making a mess on a lovely cream carpet in the living room, I was gently moved into the garage (it was turned into a studio) but after beginning to offer private tuition, I now use a purpose built log cabin and dedicated art space which I open several times a year to the public as part of art trails in the local area.
Events
I exhibit and demonstrate regularly with the Herefordshire Guild of Craftsmen and we attend some wonderful shows every year. Sadly Covid-19 has kept us all home for quite some time but we hope to be out and about soon!
Materials
Information about the supplies I use.
Pencils
I use many types of pencils - pastel, colour, wax based, oil based, watercolour, charcoal and graphite from Derwent, Stabilo, Pitts, Caran D'ache, Conte a Paris. I don't find one brand better than any other and love having a large array of colours to choose from.
Additional Materials
Pencils are a slow medium to use but there are other materials you can use to speed things up. Solvents, panpastels, pastel sticks and neopastels are a few extras which help by enabling creation of base layers and then using the pencils on top for details.
Papers
I use this pastelmat paper a lot of the time. It comes in many shades and allows multiple layers of pencil to be added without the nap being filled up too quickly. I also use watercolour paper, cartridge paper and toned paper too.
Want to create stunning pastel portraits without overspending?
Get my FREE Pastel Artist's Toolkit Ebook
Hi, I’m Karie-Ann — a UK-based wildlife and pet portrait artist. I’ve created this toolkit to help fellow artists save money, avoid overwhelm, and feel confident with their pastel materials. Whether you’re just starting or refining your technique, this guide is for you.
