Someone had asked if a portion of the sales from my pet portraits would go to any charity. And since quite a number of you had just started following me, I thought I could take this opportunity to share my story with you. :)
I’m an animal lover if it isn’t obvious by now. I’ve always felt a connection with animals (especially dogs!) so naturally you can see them in all my works. My precious dachshund boy had been my greatest inspiration. I had Nono for 12 years and he crossed over the rainbow bridge in 2015. :'( After his passing, I made sure his spirit continues to live on, in my art.
I never had any formal education in fine art or illustration beside some weekend art classes I attended as a kid. Although I could see the gradual improvement in my works over the years, to be honest, I still struggle with confidence. (See the progression in my drawing style below - starting off as simple line drawings to more colours and details).
While I dedicate my life to create art that make people smile, the one mission dearest to my heart is to raise awareness for animal welfare and to promote love and compassion towards animals. Every month, I set aside 10% of my earnings into what I named the Angel Fund. There are a number of animal welfare groups/ causes I support. To date, I’d donated money and merchandise for fundraising to Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD), Causes For Animals (Singapore), Gentle Paws(Singapore), Hope For Paws (United States), Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter (OSCAS), SPCA (Singapore) and various smaller non-profit groups (some I donated and then forgot their names. Lol). Once in a while, Angel Fund also helps individuals with their pet's medical bill appeals. Beside animals, I help humans whenever I can too! :D I’m happy to have contributed my cards to Punggol View Primary School for their fundraising event and Cause Corps (UK) for a very meaningful project - postcards writing to children with serious medical condition around the world.
So now you know, when you commission an illustration or buy something on my Redbubble store, you’ll be helping the animals (and humans) too! Sidetrack: How does Redbubble works, you may wonder. Redbubble is a print-on-demand store, meaning anyone can upload their art/ photos to sell. If someone orders a product with our design on it, we sellers earn a little profit. How much you set your profit margin will determine how much you earn. For me it’s around 20%-25% since it’s highly competitive on Redbubble. And because Redbubble is constantly running promotions, our profit is affected as well. Regardlessly, 10% goes into my Angel Fund.
Yes, I’m doing this full time. This includes fulfilling every roles in every aspects you can think of - from creating new art to marketing, managing sales, website, Redbubble, social medias and all administrative, logistic and bookkeeping - all . by . myself. Admittedly, this path I’d chosen for myself can get very lonely and exhausting sometimes. What keeps me going is knowing how many animals/ people I'd helped and will be helping along the way. I'm blessed with this privilege. I only wish I could do so much more. Therefore, your support is very important to me. Every like, comment, share means alot to me. Even better when you commission an artwork or purchase something on my Redbubble store! If you feel inspired by my story and would like to make a donation to support what I do, you can do so via the donation button at the bottom of my website. Your love and support will allow me to continue on this journey.
Thank you for reading my entire essay! Haha! :*
❤ Blessings, Charllotte