Karen Ruffles Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

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I am a charcoal pencil artist specialising in landscapes, wildlife and gothic illustration. Much of my work is commission based and has included book covers, album art and tattoos. I am currently exploring ways of making my work more accessible including turning my drawings into 3d prints and interactive, multi sensory pieces. I love storytelling through my work and world building.

I've always drawn, as far back as I remember. Given enough pencils and scrap paper, I would vanish off into a world of my own for hours at a time - looking back, that must have been an absolute godsend for my parents. Over 30 years of working as a freelance artist later, not a lot has changed - it's still where I feel at home and everything else I do is in pursuit of more time with my pencils.

I never intended to become a charcoal artist though. I've always been very detail orientated so I'd gravitated towards graphite, but something was still missing. Then one day I happened to pick up a pack of charcoal pencils and Boom. I still had the fine lines and precise control but now I could also get the intense shadows and high definition I needed to really show people what I saw.

I have favourite subjects that I return to again and again, like my beloved crows, but I study everything - always seeking to learn more about the world so I can develop new techniques. My wildlife work informs my monster drawings, two series of reflections in droplets taught me how water distorts and inverts. It's partly why I love commission work so much, because I never know what I will be asked for next and it turns up subjects I may never have got to by myself.

That constant curiosity has led me to explore ways of translating my work into other formats to make it more accessible, which in turn expands the possibilities for story telling and interaction. With 3d tactile pieces my audience is invited to be curious too and engage directly with the art.