Hi! I'm Melanie! Welcome!

My name is Melanie and welcome to my about me page. Thank you for visiting! As you know I am one half of Melanie and Nicholas Pet Portraits. This page isn't about my drawings though. You are here to get to know the person behind the pencil!

I met Nicholas at art college. I still remember the first moment I saw him sat in the art room on our first day. He was wearing an luminous backpack he had borrowed from his sister! We haven't really been apart from each other since that day... which has to be over 30 years ago now. That was the start....

How it all started...

After art college, we lived in the south of the UK for a while, however we longed to be back in the countryside. Nicholas is from Cornwall and I am from Wales and it was difficult to decide where to lay our roots.

The choice was made when we found a 300 year old little welsh cottage to renovate. It was surrounded by a big overgrown garden with mature trees and plenty of wildlife. We were home. With beautiful walks on our doorstep and the coast half an hour away, it has been the perfect place to lay routes for our life together.

We have been renovating our cottage gradually over the years and built a dedicated art studio in our woodland garden. It's now complete and is our dream place to live and work. Read about the renovations on our Cottage and Garden page.

Melanie in the Cottage

Lily got in the Basket!

Chickens

Melanie at St Davids Cathedral

Melanie and Nicholas in Pembs

At the top of Carningli, Pembs

Melanie in the Kitchen

Melanie on the Beach

Wildlife Bog Walk Tregaron

Melanie in the Studio

Lily put herself in the Slippers!

My journey to this moment..

From a young age I always wanted to be an artist. I love to sit at my desk drawing, I'm in my element. We are thankful for today's technology to allow us to live where we do, run a successful art business and send our paintings and drawings to all corners of the world.

Aside from artwork, I equally love heading out and about on adventures exploring the never ending countryside taking photos as I go. Scroll dwon for my photo journal. I grew up on a smallholding here in West Wales which was very idyllic. It was perfect for a child who loved animals, playing outdoors, climbing trees, damming up streams and running in the fields.

We had lots of animals and I befriended them all. All of the animals had names. My favourtie chicken would wait for me to come home from school each day. Sheep would follow me in the fields and I bottle fed the baby lambs and piglets. I had a love for animals from a very early age and that’s all I wanted to draw.

Our Little Cottage in West Wales

Walking in West Wales

Winter in Pembrokeshire

Paddle boarding in Pembrokshire

Melanie at her Desk

Tarr Steps in Devon

Selfies in the Mirror

A Friends Wedding in Mwnt

Pembrokeshire Walks

Winter on the Beach in Looe

Fun with Friends

Photographing Horses

New Quay

These Days....

Since finishing renovating our cottage, plus getting slightly older, I have a bit more time on my hands. I have since taken up running, long distance walking and going to the gym. I have met lots of like minded people along my travels, around about the same age as me, who have done the same.

I think you spend your early career working as many hours as you possibly can, however you get to a stage where you slow a little and need time to breathe. So exercise and traveling more will hopefully be on the cards in the coming years.

My Photo Journal

I love to explore and take photos along the way. Beauty is right on my doorstep. I walk Lily along the little lanes near our cottage and walking her early in the morning or in the afternoon sun, enables me to capture the scenery in all its glory. I am far from a professional photographer and although I use a Fujifilm XT2 in the studio for all of our artwork, my iPhone 13 Pro Max is what accompanies me everywhere. All of these photos were taken using it. I hope you enjoy viewing them.

Heather and Gorse in Pembs

Carningli Mountain

Beautiful light in West Wales

Blackberries

Beach in West Wales

Puff Balls

Frog!

Stones in the shape of a heart!

Japanese Anemone

Holly Berries

Hydrangea

Rudbekia

A walk in West Wales

Beautiful sunshine in West Wales

View in West Wales

Acorns

Walk in West Wales

Thank You for Visiting!

I hope that you have enjoyed the photos on my page and feel you have got to know me a little better. If you would like to ask me any questions you are more than welcome to email me or use my Whatsapp button at the bottom of the page at anytime. Why not head over to see my page dedicated to our Tibetan Terrier Lily and the Chickens!

Read About Lily