Today we’d like to introduce you to Allie Raines.
Hi Allie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story as an artist… hmm. I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil I think! When I was little I loved coloring, and that evolved into drawing animals, my favorite cartoon & anime characters, and my own little cartoons as I grew up. In high school I took my first actual art class which included an introduction to scratchboard — the medium I work almost exclusively in now — and found out I was actually ‘good’ at it, so I started taking on commissions here and there while I tried out other things. I tried to go to art school on a scholarship but absolutely hated it and dropped out, then chose to pursue dog training instead. A few years into that, I picked up a scratchboard again and my dog training clients who found out I loved drawing pets ended up essentially carving out a hand-in-hand niche for me. I’ve been a ‘professional pet portrait artist’ ever since!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Haha, I don’t think paying your bills with art is ever anyone’s idea of a smooth road 😅 Sometimes it’s awesome and business is flowing, you’re getting a lot of great feedback and feeling purpose in your work, and sometimes there are months long dry spells when you question your entire existence. It’s taken a lot of trial and error, experimenting, persistence, and a lot of faith that as long as this is what the Lord wants me doing, he’ll make a way to keep doing it!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a professional scratchboard artist specializing in pet portraits. My work is hallmarked by the super dramatic black and white contrast characteristic of the medium, bringing sharp details to life with just the right amount of softness that I like to think is the result of all the years I’ve spent doing it.
It’s really cool to be able to offer something unique and intentionally high quality when people are looking for a way to celebrate, or often to memorialize, their pets or give a gift to someone else for that purpose that will outlive all of us. There’s so much quick and tacky stuff on the market to ‘commemorate’ the pets that occupy such deeply meaningful and important roles in our lives, and I take a lot of pride in the pursuit of creating artwork that is truly bespoke and worth my clients’ investment to honor them.
Some of my favorite portraits are those I get hired to do of active, retired, and remembered police and military K9’s, including multi-piece projects I’ve worked on for organizations like K9’s United and Project K9 Hero. For awhile in my dog training-focused years I got to train with various law enforcement K9 teams and experience firsthand the bond that handlers forge with their dogs through work that literally puts both of their lives on the line every day and requires them to function as a team like no other, and it’s an honor every single time someone chooses my work as the way they want to remember that bond.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Man, the human artist industry is at an all time weird thanks to AI. There’s changes all the time and on the surface the trajectory doesn’t look good, but at the end of the day I think there’s something irreplaceable about good work made by hand and that’s not lost on people, no matter what the media wants us to think.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.allieraines.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/allierainesart
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/allierainesart
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@allierainesart
