Amanda Blank has been drawn to animals and art for as long as she can remember. She grew up sketching beside her mom and learning from her dad’s endless creativity, eventually teaching herself the techniques she uses today. After years of experimenting, practicing, and filling sketchbooks, she found her niche in realistic colored pencil and graphite animal portraits—a perfect blend of the two things she loves most.

Her home studio is her favorite place to be. Most evenings you’ll find Amanda settled in with Beesly the dog curled up nearby, a pencil in hand, and her husband’s enthusiastic sports commentary drifting in from the next room. It’s an everyday sort of harmony that makes her creative time feel warm and familiar.

Every portrait is a personal challenge to capture the softness of a muzzle, the sparkle in a pair of eyes, and the personality that makes a pet truly one-of-a-kind. Amanda’s hope is that her work becomes more than a drawing — that it becomes a keepsake that brings comfort, joy, and a little bit of magic to the person who receives it.