I love painting animals and telling stories through my art. I grew up in Michigan losing to drawing contests with my older brother. The day I won is the day we stopped having them. I watched Mark Kistler’s Imagination Station and Wild Kratts every day after school, and Dragon Ball Z on early Saturday mornings. On visits to my grandpa’s house, he would tell me the stories he painted on mirrors about the animals he fed in his yard. I drew exclusively in black and white for a long time, always trying to make my drawings as realistic as possible. When I went to Indiana Wesleyan University to study illustration and writing I finally picked up a paint brush and translated my drawing skills into painting.

Animals are my favorite thing to paint because they are so beautiful and I love how they are all so different from one another. Every species has notable quirks that are fun to learn about and share with others. Sometimes when I'm painting, I think of the animal's personality and I make up a story to go with it. Other times I simply bask in the awesomeness of what God has made. Pet portraits are some of my favorite commissions, because I get to reflect the love the owner feels towards their pets back to them.

Painting is how I appreciate what I am blessed to interact with. Whether its a scene from a book, a memory, an encounter with nature, or something else, it is an honor to paint every one.

Hi, I'm Brooke!

@brookesnyderart

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