The Artisan Hound

20/02/2024

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bradford-west-yorkshire-68337825

Some of the world's earliest pet portraits caught on camera are put online by a Bradford museum.

12/02/2024

Hi everyone!👋 Long time no speak!

You may have noticed that I've not been active much - life's kept me busy and a lot has changed over the past year!

The main update is that in October I landed my dream job as an Artist in the video games industry. After a challenging start to 2023 I was starting to think it might never happen, but I finally made it!

I've spent the past few months settling into my new role, which sadly has left me precious little time for other artistic endeavours. But to be honest, now that I spend 5 days a week creating art in a world that's inspired me since childhood, I don't feel the same drive to pick up my camera or etching tools. And that's okay. I'm lucky enough to wake up every morning and join a wonderful team, creating amazing artwork for games that will bring joy to players around the world!

That being said, I do still get the occasional urge to go roll around in the bushes at golden hour with a dog and a camera, or sit in my sunny kitchen studio plastering gold leaf all over the place - so I don't think I'm ready to put The Artisan Hound to bed just yet. But for now I'm no longer taking commissions and will be focussing purely on personal projects as and when the mood takes me 😊 As ever, you're welcome to follow along and keep in touch! I owe so much to you all, and it's been a pleasure sharing my journey with you 💚

PS. Meet Hugo & Rolf, my latest furry friends and willing models from a personal shoot last autumn 🍂

08/08/2023

Happy International Cat Day! 🐱

Pallas Cats are one of my (many) favourite wild cats, I'm a sucker for their grumpy little faces 😅 Why so grumpy? Maybe because their Latin name, Otocolobus manul, means 'ugly-eared'! I disagree though, I think they're adorable 🥰

28/06/2023

How about a complete change of pace? 😅

Earlier today I was rummaging in my old camera bag, and realised that I never edited any photos from my zoo trip back in January! A few minutes later and I'd fallen back into the black hole that is editing... But totally worth it when the result is this gorgeous little Clouded Leopard! 🥰

07/06/2023

**IMPORTANT**

My Instagram account is now completely lost to me, so first things first (for your own safety) please unfollow/block/report on Instagram if you were kind enough to follow me over there.

Before I get any sympathy, this was entirely my own fault - I was having a bad day and got caught off guard by a hacker. There's nothing I can do to recover the account. I'm heartbroken. Not because of the followers, the likes, or the status. It's never been about that. Anybody who knows me will know that authenticity is an intrinsic part of who I am, and I pour little pieces of myself into everything I do, and everything I post. Foolish or not, it's just who I am. So while I can start a new IG account from fresh, it still destroys me to know that someone out there has stolen a piece of me, hiding it in plain sight and using it for whatever nefarious purposes they see fit. I hate that other people might now suffer because of my own stupidity.

So now that I've done what little I can to keep everyone else safe, I'm going to take a little social media hiatus (not that I've been active anyway) and spend some time focussing on other things. Just know that you all mean the world to me and I'll never stop appreciating your support

07/06/2023

**ATTENTION**
Just an FYI to my followers that my Instagram account has been hacked. I'm really hoping that it doesn't spread over to Facebook but in the meantime just be extra vigilant if you recieve any messages from me (on FB or IG) - IGNORE THEM!
I'll update if/when I manage to sort things out. For now I'm going to go lie down and cry in a dark room 😭😭

14/12/2022

2022! I wasn't really sure about posting this, since I haven't been very active, but I'm a sucker for a bandwagon so here we are!

When I re-branded my pet photography business in 2018 I took great care to ensure that I created a brand that would allow me creative fluidity and the space to explore in the future, whilst still always embracing my brand identity and values.

This year saw The Artisan Hound venture away from photography and into the more traditional world of pet portraiture. It was a daunting change, but one that has given me so much freedom in return. And, if anything, my brand identity has become stronger than ever ❤️

31/10/2022

🌿 How big will my portrait be? 🌿

I get asked this question a lot, and I thought the easiest way to answer is to include myself for scale! 😅

If you still fancy some figures, the artwork area is 7"x5" and mounted to fit in a 12"x10" frame - the perfect size for a wall or shelf.

Need something different? Get in touch and we can talk about bespoke sizing 😊

21/09/2022

🌿 Fen & Zepp 🌿

Can't believe I almost forgot to share this! These two gorgeous little devils belong to the super talented Mutley's Snaps Pet Photography and it was such a pleasure to create this double portrait of them (actually created from two separate photos!) 🐱🐱

20/09/2022

🌿 Can you add my pet's ashes to my portrait? 🌿

Absolutely. If your pet has passed away and you would like to create a special memorial portrait, I can incorporate a small amount of their ashes into the etching.

It's a huge honour to be able to craft these portraits, and I take every measure to ensure that your pet's ashes are handled with utmost care and dignity throughout the entire process, returning any unused ashes safely to you when your portrait is complete ❤️

13/09/2022

Something a little different... 👀🎨