A Macclesfield artist is celebrating achieving 10,000 followers across social media, ahead of the fifth anniversary of her business.

Pet and Wildlife Artist Karen Torr has earned a living sketching furry friends for the past five years.

The Rainow-resident has found her work in the homes of many Maxonians, and across the world.

The Macclesfield artist has had commissions as far as Dubai, Russia, and North America.

Karen has just passed a combined 10,000 followers across social media, is about to hit the 3,000 milestone on Instagram.

"Instagram is a fantastic platform for my work because it is a very visual thing and you can also have a bit of a laugh on there as well", said Karen.

"I couldn't have grown my business without social media pages. Ten years ago I wouldn't have been able to do this.

"Drawing pet portraits is such a humbling experience, every day I feel lucky to have this as my career.

"And I never fail to feel eternally grateful for being able to bring these pets to life, particularly for those that have lost their pets.

"That is the most rewarding thing. It gives them comfort, and makes my job really worthwhile."

The mum-of-two has even found an audience on TikTok, showing the process of her work.

Despite studying art and graphic design at college, Karen spent three decades away from art.

In that time, she was a landlady at The Spinners Arms and The Red Lion in Bollington, in addition to The Robin Hood in Rainow.

Karen then left the pub industry, but it was only when working in a local carehome when she was doodling pets for her colleagues, that she went back to her artistic roots and founded her business.

Her employer let her ease into self-employment from part-time to a full-time artist, with the fifth year anniversary of her successful business being September 2021.

"From what I hear through reviews I am able to pick up the eye detail really well," she added.

"The eyes are the trickiest part and I spend hours on them.

"When it is a tribute commission, and the customer sees their portrait, they will say 'oh you've captured my dog's soul', and they are thrilled to bits."

Karen has meticulously drawn over 300 pets in her career, with the majority being from Macclesfield.

The coloured pencil artist takes inspiration from the beautiful Macclesfield countryside, and our town's thriving art scene.

Karen has a home studio with her two French bulldogs Holly and Mabel, who she is yet to sketch, but aims to someday.

"I've never drawn my own dogs which is unbelievable," she added.

"Sadly I lost one of my dogs at the end of April, and I've promised myself one day that I will draw a picture of my Daisy."

For those interested in a pet portrait, the pricing for her Macclesfield company stars from £250 for an A5. She has larger sizes and prices available.

Karen will frame her work for the customer if the buyer is from the Macclesfield area.

You can DM commissions and see her work on Facebook and Instagram.

Her email is [email protected].

Please note: her commission queue is long and individual art sometimes can take up to three weeks to complete depending on the size.

Macclesfield Nub News congratulates Karen on the success of her business, why not say hello on her Instagram.

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