Behind the Pencil: Meet the Artist at Drawn By Jenna

Hello and welcome to my blog! If you're new here, I'm Jenna, the artist behind Drawn By Jenna. I specialise in coloured pencil pet portraits and wildlife art.

I thought it would be fun to start this blog as a way for you to get to know more about me and get a behind-the-scenes look at my life as a full-time artist. I’ll do my best to share as much as I can!

Why coloured pencil? I’ll dive deeper into this in a future post, but for now, I’ll say that I love the detail and precision that this medium allows me to create. Coloured pencils give me the ability to capture intricate textures and lifelike features, which is perfect for my style of art.

A little about me...I’m from Lancashire in the UK. When I’m not drawing, you’ll likely find me with a book, gaming controller, or a coffee in hand. I’m also lucky to share my home with my fluffy Ragdoll cat, Nutmeg, and my adorable Dachshund, Margot—they’re my world!

Link to Drawing Realistic Pets from Photographs by Lee Hammond Disclaimer: I may earn a commission if you purchase through my link

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would collect animal magazines and spend hours sketching my favourite animals from them. Around the age of 12, my dad gifted me a book titled Drawing Realistic Pets from Photographs by Lee Hammond. This book sparked my love for realistic art, and that passion has stayed with me into adulthood as I’ve continued to develop my skills over the years.

During my teenage years, my main focus was drawing horses. I dreamed of owning a horse of my own and would pretty much spend every minute drawing them.

Like many aspiring artists, I didn’t realise until later in life that art could be a viable career. So, I decided to pursue a creative path in graphic design at college, where I could channel all my ideas. While I loved my course, it wasn’t until my first year at university that I began to question whether graphic design was the right path for me. I felt lost and lacked direction with my career goals, but this is where the idea of Drawn By Jenna was born.

After only really working in graphite over the years, I bought my first set of Faber Castell Polychromos coloured pencils in 2017. It was a little pack of 12 which was the perfect size to get a taste for the medium and experiment with them. I did my first ever coloured pencil drawing of my family dog, Milly and I haven't looked back since. I fell in love with the medium and it really set alight my passion for drawing in colour.

It has taken years of practice and commitment to truly hone my craft, but the beauty of art lies in the fact that there's always something new to learn and endless opportunities to enhance my work.

If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading along and following my journey. I’m excited to share more with you in future blog posts!

With love,

Jenna x

Disclaimer: I may earn a commission if you purchase through my links