As an artist who is regularly asked to do pet portraits, I have to admit to always being a bit stressed about them. Painting for someone else is always more of a challenge than painting for yourself. I know it means that, by asking, they must like my style of painting but there is always the worry they will not love it or that I've not captured the essence of their beloved pet. I still find the biggest difficulty is overcoming the confidence in showing a customer their finished portrait.

I always start with the eyes of any animal and there is a magical moment when the eyes comes to life on the paper in front of me and I feel I've captured the soul of the animal but until the customer has seen the finished portrait I'm never completely confident I have captured the essence of 'their' pet.

I've never had anyone say they don't love it and I have received some beautiful messages from happy customers which truly warms my heart .... it still doesn't stop me worrying every time though!