Amanda Drage

Amanda is a painter of animals and wildlife, currently living and working in Northamptonshire. Amanda works with a range of media including oils, soft pastel, and charcoal.

Through her work, Amanda aims to evoke an emotive response to the animals she paints, allowing us a close view of fleeting moments, with a strong emphasis on portraiture. She enjoys close-ups and unusual compositions, and her focus is often on the gaze of the animal and what it reveals. She is moved by nature’s contrasts – in light and shadow, texture, and colour – and chooses her medium according to the particular atmosphere and effect required for a piece. Her work ranges from closely observed and finely detailed portraits, to looser and more expressively painted styles, depending on the mood she is working towards capturing. From time to time she also enjoys experimenting with patterning and mark-making within her work, adding a more contemporary dimension to her animal paintings.

Over the last twelve years Amanda has also established herself as a pet portrait artist, with a high demand for her sensitively drawn pastel portraits, and a worldwide client base.

I’m a self-taught artist currently living in the small market town of Rothwell, and I specialise in pastel portraits of pets. I’ve been doing this for a living for over a decade now, and I feel incredibly lucky to spend my days doing what I enjoy most.

I may have only been drawing and painting animals in a professional capacity for a relatively short while, but as far as I can tell, I have always been an artist. I have always drawn. When I was little, I thought horses were the most amazing things ever to walk the earth, and throughout my childhood I would draw them endlessly. I never got tired of it! I drew horses and dogs all through school, both during lunch breaks in the library, and in lesson time (and yes I was caught and told off a few times). Then I’d get home and draw them some more.

My obsession with drawing continued into adult life. During my twenties, I would come home from work, eat my dinner and then sit down to paint or sketch for the rest of the evening. Drawing and painting became something I would throw myself into during stressful times. The worse my day had been, the harder I’d work. At this time, art was my sanctuary – my motive was to learn, improve and to just enjoy the feeling of creating. I tried new mediums and techniques, and new subjects too; it was during this time that I cultivated a passion for painting birds. Although I was really quite dedicated to creating artwork, the thought of doing it for a living didn’t enter my mind once, purely because I didn’t think it would be possible.​

I’d already been sharing my work online – first on the website deviantART, and then on Facebook. It was a wonderful feeling to connect with other artists, and people who enjoyed seeing my work. In time, I began to receive requests from people who wanted me to draw their own animals. And so I found myself tentatively dipping my toe into the waters of pet portrait artistry! After some time (and much deliberation) I made the decision to leave my job and become a full-time artist.

In the time since, pet portraits have remained my primary focus, and I continue to enjoy them immensely. Alongside these, I work on my own paintings of wildlife and other subjects that inspire me. I also enjoy experimenting with different methods and learning new ways of creating. Making art is a constant journey, and for me it’s essential to allow time to develop my own creative practice.

Being able to do something that fulfils me every day doesn’t come without a measure of some surprisingly hard work. Like many artists, I run everything absolutely on my own (with the exception of some assistance with my website, hanging work and creating painting panels, from my amazing other half, without whose support I would probably collapse!)

With that said, I am hugely thankful for those who support me by choosing my work, be it by commissioning a portrait, or buying an original piece or a print. I’m also very grateful to everyone who supports me in other ways – by following my work online and leaving comments, and coming to see my work in person. Even though I am fairly certain I would still be creating artwork even if there was no-one else on earth to see it, knowing there are people who enjoy what I do and hearing their kind and encouraging comments makes me smile every day. I hope you will enjoy it too!