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Riseley artist, 11, 'overwhelmed' with house drawing requests

Family handout Alice drawing a pictureFamily handout
Alice wrote "I saw you house, I drew your house, I hope you enjoy it" on a note to the first two homes she drew

An 11-year-old artist said she was left "overwhelmed" when commissions to draw people's homes came rushing in.

Alice, from Riseley, Bedfordshire, captured her own home and after being encouraged by her parents offered to paint others in her village for £1.

She said getting 60 orders had been "joyful to do".

Suzette Lightning, who purchased one of her watercolours, said it was "lovely" and "caught the beauty of our very old cottage".

Alice A drawing by AliceAlice
Alice mostly uses watercolours and pencils in her work

Alice said she had always loved drawing and mostly uses watercolours and pencils.

"One day I drew our house and then mum said it was really good, so I drew two more houses in the village and gave them to them with a note on the back."

She said they said "thank you" and suggested she offer her services on the village Facebook page and getting 60 requests had left her "happy, shocked and surprised".

"I never thought I would get this many requests, it's been joyful to do, and it's overwhelming."

Alice A drawing by AliceAlice
Alice said "it's something you can do if you're bored"
Family handout Simon, Alice, Caroline and MaddieFamily handout
Alice (left) lives at home with her dad, Simon, mum Caroline and older sister Maddie who are impressed with her hard work

Caroline, her mother, said: "I'm really pleased and proud of what she'd done and her style.

"She captures the character and the beauty of the house in her own way.

"I think they're really great and we're very impressed with her entrepreneurial skills and how much interested her paintings have created."

Family handout Alice outside a house with Suzette Lightning and Mark Steadman, in Riseley, BedfordshireFamily handout
Suzette Lightning and Mark Steadman were only too happy for Alice to paint their home
Family handout Artwork by AliceFamily handout
Alice painted many different styles of houses from all over Riseley

Ms Lightning and Mark Steadman moved to the north Bedfordshire village in 2020 and were left "shocked" by her work.

"She has caught the beauty of our very old cottage with lots of lovely detail including the postbox in our front garden," Ms Lightning said.

"She is a very talented girl and we know lots of other residents who are so pleased with their drawings.

"I am sure she will be a very successful business woman as she gets older if her little cottage industry is anything to go by."

Family handout Alice with Grant Harvey outside this house in Riseley, BedfordshireFamily handout
Grant Harvey found out about Alice's talent for drawing when her mother shared a post on Facebook

Grant Harvey said when he saw other work she had painted, he thought it was "amazing" and promptly ordered one.

"We are absolutely delighted with the picture which now graces a wall in our house."

Alice Artwork by AliceAlice
Alice fits in her painting work around school and hopes to become an architect or a book illustrator

Alice said at the moment her paintings were just a hobby and a way of earning extra "pocket money".

When all the commissions were finished, she said: "I'm going to have a break and then maybe do another village."

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