My name is Halla Kirsch and I am a 20 year old colored pencil artist based in Canterbury, New Hampshire, U.S. My art journey started as soon as I was old enough to hold a pencil. From a young age, I have always had a love for creating art as well as a deep compassion for animals. Throughout my high school career, I took a number of art courses, including drawing, painting, and AP art. These courses really helped me to fine tune my drawing abilities, and AP art was where I learned to combine my love for animals and my passion for drawing. My concentration was centered around animal portraits, and during that time I drew my first pet portrait of my dog in colored pencil. I learned to love colored pencils for their ease of application and for the level of detail I was able to achieve. In 2022, I graduated high school, began waitressing to make money, and started drawing pet portraits for my friends and family on the side. I moved to Virginia for a year, as a way to get out into the world, where I further developed my drawing skills and had a chance to learn and grow a lot as a person. I met some wonderful people there and had a great serving job, but I decided to move back to New Hampshire, my home state, towards the beginning of 2024 so I could save money and be closer to my friends and family. Since moving back home, I have been working hard daily to complete commissions and navigate the world of becoming a small business owner. I am so grateful to be able to live out my dream of being a full-time artist! I still have a long way to go until I can fully support myself, but I am so thankful for everyone I've had the pleasure of working with. Thank you so much for reading and I can't wait to hear from you soon!