About

Behind every portrait,
a hand.

My name is Shana Verro and I am an illustrator. Drawing has always been part of my daily life, and my animals have always been my first models.

After drawing them day after day, the way you might keep a journal, people started asking whether I could do the same for them. I said yes. That is how Ombre d'âme was born.

Today, I draw portraits from your photos, to immortalise those who share your life.

Shana

My everyday

Between pencil and screen.

An illustrator first and foremost, I divide my time between digital creation and traditional drawing. Anatomy studies, sketches, research: my practice grows every day.

And rarely alone. Sunlight — Sun, or Sunny Boy to his friends — is a five-year-old Finnish Lapphund. He came into my life just as I was starting my business: two dreams coming true at once. Since then he has been my emotional support, my partner in adventure and my studio assistant, a role he mostly performs by snoring.

To see my illustration work, visit my website shanaverro.com, or find me on social media as @blueicedjack on Instagram and @shanablueicedjack on TikTok.

Work table: digital drawing screen, graphite study sketchbooks and Sunlight under the desk — Digital and paper on the same desk — and the studio assistant at his post.

Exhibition stand with framed graphite portraits, and Sunlight sitting in front — Sun at an exhibition.

Fairs & competitions

Drawing beyond the page.

I regularly take part in art fairs and run stands at competitions, where I sometimes donate prizes.

Sunlight sometimes joins me when I work outdoors (role: mascot) and is always happy to pose, in exchange for a few treats.

My craft

Why graphite.

Black and white forces you to keep only the essentials: the light, the texture of the fur, the intensity of a gaze. No colour to distract — just the presence of the animal.

Graphite has become my main technique, the one that best lets me express my style. Its lightness and delicacy let me play with what appears and disappears, between blur and sharpness.

Finished graphite portrait of a cat, next to a mechanical pencil

Mural of a rearing horse painted in the grooming area of a stable

Mural painting

On a whole other scale.

I recently had the pleasure of painting a mural in a stable, in the grooming area.

Branching out, challenging myself, sharing my passion: that is what matters most to me in my artistic practice.

“Our animals do not just pass through our lives. They are life companions, souls that leave their mark on us.”

Falak was my first horse. It was by learning to look at him that I understood what I was trying to capture in a portrait: not so much a likeness as a presence.

That is what I try to draw, every time.

Would you like a portrait
of your pet?

Send me a photo and I will reply personally.

Order a portrait Follow me on Instagram