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This talented artist sketches picture-perfect pencil portraits – and says you can master them too.
Emma Towers-Evans from West Midlands in England was inspired to pick up her pencil and draw Orcas after watching the 1993 hit movie, Free Willy, about a killer whale who was separated from his parents.
Now the 29-year-old makes a lucrative living sketching portraits of people or animals.
The portraits take her up to 100 hours to create because each detailed art work has more than 500 000 individual strokes. “My style is hyper-realistic – I try to create something that looks as real as possible,” Emma says.
“I like to draw things from the natural world like people and animals. It’s really exciting to see something come alive on the paper.”
Emma posts her photo-like drawings to Instagram and on TikTok, where she has close to 400 000 followers. Her sketches of musicians Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Bob Marley in particular have become quite a hit on social media.
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In her videos, the self-taught artist documents her drawing process. “I started the page during the lockdown as a bit of fun,” she says.
“The first one I posted was a time lapse video of a portrait and I can’t believe how popular it’s become. The comments and support I get are amazing.
“My boyfriend edits them and does an amazing job – I try to release a couple a week,” she says.
Though she loved drawing throughout her teenage years, she didn’t intend to pursue it as a career. Emma studied music and sound recording at the University of Surrey but started selling drawings of people’s pets on the side to make an extra buck.
Realising she could earn a living from her art, she quit her job to work full time as a professional artist and set up a website to showcase her work.
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She also puts pen to paper for good causes. In a recent series, she drew several big cat drawings and donated 25 percent of the proceedings to conservation charities.
She’s modest about her success, though.
“I don’t believe people are ‘naturally talented’ when it comes to drawing,” Emma says.
“It’s taken me years of practice, patience and dedication to get to where I am today.
“I think anyone can get to that level – you just need to have that same determination and self-belief,” she says.
Practice, she adds, makes perfect.
“I think anyone can become an artist if they’ve got the time and patience.”
Sources: Rolling Out, Good News Network, Stourbridge News
