A GOUROCK artist's paw-some creations of beloved pets have gained her the attention of thousands of fans online.

Susan Stratton has been drawing since she left school and in recent years she started specialising in 'pet portraits' - realistic pencil drawings of animals across the globe.

The medical researcher recently took TikTok by storm, with videos of her work attracting thousands of views and so many people have asked for portraits that she has a three-month-long waiting list.

The 56-year-old says each lovingly created portrait can take up to 20 hours to draw and the photorealistic pet depictions bring great joy to people around the world.

Susan told the Tele: "I really enjoy what I do - it makes me really happy when people love the drawings.

"There is something different about every pet, I've got to capture their own personality and bring them to life.

"You need to be really particular about it as you want the owner to look at your work and know exactly that it is their pet."

Whilst Susan mainly focuses on pet portraits, she previously drew on her talents to raise funds for local firefighter Andy Adams who was left paralysed after an accident while tackling a deliberate blaze in Greenock.

Her charitable efforts raised almost £2,000, and over the years she has also raised thousands for the Underheugh Ark animal welfare charity.

Susan says she dedicates her weekends to creating the masterpieces, but soon hopes to take on the venture full-time.

She said: "I lose track of time doing this, I sit in my studio at the bottom of the garden and hours pass without me realising.

"It's very different from my day job and I hope to retire soon so I can focus on art full-time.

"Currently I operate on about a three month waiting list, people put their orders in well in advance.

"I've sent drawings everywhere from Australia, Kazakhstan and America and get brilliant feedback."

To see Susan's creativity in action, visit bit.ly/40FSrBw