Capturing personalities, creating memories - portraits, of people, and pets.
People and Pet Portrait Commissions
Pet Portraits - Oil Painting
From $350 nzd
The perfect gift or addition to your home, a portrait of your furry loved one. I use oil and acrylic paints on canvas, ready to hang. I'll send you regular updates of the piece and keep an open dialogue of any changes to ensure you get a beautiful result.
All I need is a few good quality images of your pet. I can help with how to take a good photo if you don't have one suitable.
Please contact me with any question.
People Portraits - Pencil and Charcoal
From $350 nzd
I specialise in portraits in pencil and charcoal...family, friends or your favourite celebrity.
Prices vary depending on size, image etc. Please enquire for pricing.
For portraits I will need a few good quality images to work from and we can decide on exact composition together. I have also done a few pics from older reference photos (1940s) too and please note that my goal is to capture the person from an artistic perspective not replicate the photo, however I can get pretty close!
Egg Paintings
From $90 nzd
Original fried egg painting’s now available! A quirky and unique piece of art for your home. These fried egg paintings have been wildly popular. Please see gallery for eggs ready to go or contact me for a commission.
‘Eggbert’ was the winner of Art200 Wanaka Labour Weekend Exhibition.
I'm Laura Varns, a mixed media artist living in Lake Hawea, New Zealand but originally from Sheffield, UK. I came to NZ 11 years ago for 6 months but its definitely been longer than that now! I studied art at school and dabbled in portraits for many years after that, until lockdown hit in 2020 and I decided to use the time to pick up a pencil again. I began attending local life drawing classes, discovering new techniques and passions. My strongest skills have always been with graphite and charcoal portraits but I love colour so I have continued to try and develop painting colour theory through still life.
In portraits I love hyperrealism, creating tricks with lighting and texture that mess with your mind! Picking up details that even a camera wouldn’t capture and totally encapsulating that person. I love the idea that you can feel someone’s personality through a drawing.
In still life i enjoy painting every day objects that wouldn’t usually be privy to a still life painting, like a fried egg, a favourite bar of chocolate, something that means something more to you than a bowl of fruit!
About Me
Contact me.
Interested in a custom portrait? I’d love to bring your vision to life! For commission inquiries and availability, please reach out. Let’s create something special together!
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