Sue Kerrigan-Harris

“Art makes my heart sing

and my soul smile”

Hello, it’s wonderful to ‘meet’ you and I’m so glad you’ve found me!  I’m Professional Soft Pastel Artist and Art Teacher based in the New Forest, Hampshire UK.

For as long as she can remember I have had a passion for portraits.  “It is what I was born to do. I’m honoured by the people who choose me to paint their loved ones allowing me to create timeless treasured memories.”

In March 2020 I was chosen to became an Associate Artist with Unison Colour, my preferred soft pastel brand and I started teaching soft pastel classes online to people all over the world.  Previously I was teaching in my Village Hall until the Pandemic struck.  I’m pleased to say (June 2021) that I am now back teaching in Marchwood Village Hall and still teaching online.

 

A Little About Me

I love to paint pastel portraits from your photographs with buttery smooth soft pastels. Pure pigments of colour that create ever-lasting memories to light up your life. Portraiture is my passion – people, pets and wildlife.

The most important factors in achieving a perfect portrait for you is receiving a good quality photo and then our communication throughout the process. I take pride in having detailed discussions about the exact colouring required and getting a true likeness of the person I am painting.

The skill of a good pastel portrait artist is about being able to see beyond the photo. 30 years of study has enabled me to capture a true likeness of the subjects I paint. The twinkle in the eyes, the slight, almost unnoticeable angle of the mouth and the contours and shades of skin or fur that make a person or pet unique.

I am a privately trained artist because I found formal schooling in art disappointing. I seek out experienced professionals to teach and guide me in the direction I wish to go. Feel free to take a look at my pastel portrait galleries: animal portraits and people portraits.

I thought that after 30 years of practice it was time to become a professional pastel portrait artist. With the birth of my son in 2013 this became an easy transition from my former career which I could no longer continue due to all the commitments of being a new mum and being quite poorly after he was born. But before I could fully commit there was one thing I had to do – paint my son, Oliver.
I’ve had a varied career to say the least starting at 13 as a Jewellery Designer. Then a Glass Blower to Broadcasting Engineer to Teacher and Business Owner. I built a successful and sought after career as a Private English and Maths tutor which led me on a path to discover that I am Dyslexic. This would account for the reason that I like to paint with both hands or swap from time to time – It may also account for the varied career! But through it all I always continued to draw.

From becoming a teacher I developed maths games with the children I taught and developed an award winning business helping children learn maths skills with games. I won the Theo Paphitis #SBS Award, the British Dyslexia Association’s Entrepreneur Award and the Networking Mummies Award for Best Product.

Find out how to commission a portrait with me and you are welcome to phone me. Tel: 07740 282399

Get IN Touch

+44 07740 282399

sue@skhportraits.co.uk

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Soft Pastel Tutorials
Commissions
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Location

New Forest, England

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