Meet the Artist

My name is Peyton, I am an artist based in Knoxville, Tennessee. I grew up here as the eldest of five daughters so I’ve always been surrounded by big personalities, big emotions, and meaningful moments- the same things that inspire my art today.

I loved drawing with colored pencils growing up, but art took a back seat once I reached high school. I decided to study Engineering Technology in college, which led me to a career in computer-aided drafting for several years- until 2019, when COVID impacted the workforce and I suddenly found myself without a job. Like many people at the time, I was stuck at home, job hunting, and had a lot of extra time on my hands. During that time, I rediscovered my old art supplies and thought, Well… I might as well see if I can still draw- and to my surprise, I could!

That curiosity quickly turned into paint brushes. I wasn’t great at first, but I taught myself quickly and fell back in love with creating. Not long after, I decided to paint a tiny pet portrait- what I now call my “pet magnets”. I posted it on my Instagram story and casually offered to paint people’s pets for $10. That simple post unexpectedly took off, and from that moment on, I’ve been painting full-time ever since. I never imagined that a tiny (not-so-great) pet magnet would completely change my life and career path.

In 2023, a friend of mine asked me to paint live at her wedding. I had never done this before and was so nervous, but decided to give it a shot. By the end of the night, I knew without a doubt that this is what I wanted to do- I absolutely loved it.

Over the years, I have painted hundreds of pets and countless people, and I’d love to keep that number growing. I will forever be thankful to the friend who pushed me to try live wedding painting, and for that not-so-great pet magnet that somehow started it all.

Thanks for reading and supporting my art journey,

Peyton