A former model has been attracting worldwide attention after she created some pretty amazing photo-realistic portraits of The Beatles using only a pencil.
Emma Harrison (no relation to George Harrison, as far as we know) dropped the catwalk to take up art, and her work has caught the attention of many – including Paul McCartney himself.
George Harrison’s official Facebook page even shared Emma’s sketches – and they’ve attracted more than 58,000 shares.
Emma, whose drawings are stunning thousands, is endearingly modest about her work. She said after Paul McCartney shared her portrait: “I was hysterical for the whole day because I’ve always been really awkward about my work. I thought maybe my school friends would like it but that’s it.”
She added that she used to rip out the pages of her sketchbook because she didn’t like people seeing her work unless it was ‘up to scratch.’
As a former model, Emma says her past work in the industry has helped influence her work.
After taking a dislike to an industry that Photoshops people’s imperfections, she said:
I try to pick out every little blemish and freckle on the face. I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
I used to do commercial modelling for catalogues and magazines and I think I’ve gained something of a dislike for Photoshopping.
It’s those freckles and imperfections that make somebody more intriguing.
Emma studied fine art at university but after dropping out, she said she did not draw again until she travelled for 18 months around Australia and South East Asia.
And after starting out drawing pictures of little things she observed, she ended up drawing the picture of George Harrison that’s gained world-wide attention.
She said: “It’s weird because I’ve always painted, but because I was backpacking I could only carry a few pencils and it appears to have worked out.”
And worked out it did – Emma’s now been commissioned by pretty much everyone to draw more pictures since her work gained the attention of social media.
And who blames them? Her portraits are stunning.
