Pastel pencil painting of Bam Bam and a very brief outline of my art journey

This is a pastel pencil painting of my friend's cat, Bam Bam. I painted it as a surprise for her, which fortunately she was delighted with.  Although I started painting about 20 years ago,  my art journey has not been a very long one. By that I mean I haven't consistently been painting all that time. I consider it more dabbling in art. I preferred cardmaking,  enjoying die cutting,  stamping,  embossing,  iris folding, etc. etc.  However having started watching Lindsey Weirich 'The Frugal Crafter' on youtube,  my interest in painting began to emerge. So I dusted off my watercolour paints, pastels and acylics,  purchased some new supplies (of course) and got stuck in. 

I watched several art videos on YouTube after that, looking at different techniques and this is how I truly learned to paint. People say I am talented but this is a talent I never really knew I had. This pastel painting has proven to me that I can actually paint.  So my advice to anyone is, you can do it, just have a go, watch other people and copy how they do it. After all, from a baby we have learned by copying, so why stop? 

 For inspiration why not visit Patrick Ley Greaves' website at http://www.purewatercolour.com,  There are some excellent tutorials, members' galleries and forums offering advice and tons of inspiration.

This is the photograph of Bam Bam  which I used for my painting.