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 or my Etsy store 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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