Elizabeth de Broise
I am an animal portrait artist based in Leeds. The main focus of my practice is custom pet portraits, inspired by the special bond we share with our pets and a desire to celebrate this relationship through art. A pet portrait is the perfect way to honour a beloved companion, give a very personal gift, or to remember an old friend. I drew my own dog Lucas (my muse, mascot, and 85% good boy) for the first time back in 2015 and this has since led to over 150 pet portrait commissions from the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and the USA. I work in a realistic style, usually in colour pencil, as I have always found the challenge of recreating subjects true to life on paper incredibly satisfying, and I aim to capture the unique personality and characteristics of each pet I draw. I sell portraits through my portrait shop and have a limited number of slots available each month.
After graduating from Wimbledon College of Art in 2010 with a BA (Hons) in Design for Performance, I spent a few years exploring scenic art, filmmaking and stop motion animation before returning to what I have always enjoyed the most, drawing, and combined this with my love of animals. With a background in visual storytelling, I am keen to use my portraiture to tell the tales of inspirational pets, with a particular interest in the varied roles that dogs play in today’s society. My current work is focussed mainly on the role of the pet, however, to many people a companion animal is so much more than this. I am about to embark on a sketchbook project that explores this theme and will tell stories of incredible dogs alongside their portraits; also giving me the opportunity to explore different materials and techniques. If you own a working dog, or a dog who has done something amazing and you would like to include their story in my sketchbook, just get in touch via [email protected]
I also run a charity offer - for anyone ordering a portrait of an assistance dog I will donate 10% of the sale price to Dogs for Good, who provide assistance dogs for adults and children with a range of disabilities to help them live independent lives, just let me know if your dog is an assistance dog when ordering.
In addition to my pet portrait work, I also have a small range of wildlife art prints and cards inspired by animal characters from classic children’s literature; the originals were drawn for my daughter’s nursery. These are drawn in a realistic style that will appeal to both adults and children and can be mixed and matched to create character sets, habitat sets, or sets of your favourite animals. All prints and cards can be purchased from my Etsy shop, or one of my upcoming events.
