Hi, I'm Carol Spencer.

I am from Yorkshire, I was born in Bradford,  lived in Crete for a short while, and now live in Queensbury (a far out district of Bradford, teetering on the edge of Halifax!), West Yorkshire.
I am a self taught coloured and graphite pencil artist. I have always drawn, and generally been a bit creative throughout my life as I come from a quite a creative family of artists, decorators, bakers, knitters and sewers!

After leaving school, I applied for university, but didn't get accepted (the piece I drew in my interview took too long, as I was concentrating on light values and not big and bold!).
So for 17 years, I worked in the studio of a local greeting card company, starting as a studio junior there.
In between making tea and refusing to type letters, I started working on embellishment artworks (for foil, embossing and glitter!)
Soon I was hooked on hand drawn lettering and calligraphy, which were used on verses, captions and card design.
Later came the introduction of digital art and Photoshop, where again, I was hooked!
This took me up to the dizzying heights of becoming a design manager for the company's partyware products (banners, balloons, badges, gift wrap and bags) hehe.
After a move to Crete in 2008 (a long story for another day!) I became a freelance digital artist, again working within the greeting card and gift wrap industry.

In 2107 we returned to sunny Yorkshire, and in the lockdown of 2020 I picked up a pencil again (after 20 years or more of being
away from them!). Like many animal artists, I drew a few portraits for for friends/family first and it grew from there!
I consider myself still relatively new to the animal artwork scene, (I have constant imposter syndrome!!) but so far, I am loving every minute of this creative journey!
I am self taught in pencil work, but I take guidance from art friends and watching youtube videos
of the many coloured pencil artists that I admire. I love pencils and how they allow you to draw in so much detail!
I'm lucky to be Living in Queensbury,  It allows me to see our beautiful countryside,
nature and farm animals on a daily basis and is where I get most of my inspiration to keep on picking up pencils!

I am an active member of the Bingley Graphite Art Group where we meet once a fortnight (We don't do much drawing, just have a drink and a natter!) and I joined the Association of Animal Artists in 2024.

I sell bespoke pet portraits and attend local country shows/exhibitions as Carol Spencer Art. I also exhibit my graphite artwork alongside other artists from the Bingley Graphite Art Group.

Links:
www.carolspencerart.co.uk
facebook: Carol Spencer Art
instagram: CarolSpencerArt