Samara
Heart Art
Moody. Dramatic. Soulful.
Pastel pencil portraits by Samara LeTard, layer upon layer of light, shadow and detail, until the animal looks back at you.
Explore the CollectionA childhood among African wildlife, and a lifetime learning to see an animal.
Samara LeTard is a Sydney-based pastel pencil artist, originally from South Africa, where her love of wildlife began. That early connection to African animals still shapes the subjects she chooses, while Australia’s extraordinary birdlife, its colours, textures and personalities, has become a central focus of her work.
Discover her full story
Selected Works
Highly detailed wildlife portraits, built in pastel on Pastelmat, moody, atmospheric, and always led by the expression in the animal’s eyes.
Out of the Shadows
Rendered in black and white, the absence of colour draws you into the raw power of contrast: light revealing strength, shadow concealing mystery. A quiet confrontation with something ancient, wise and profoundly self-assured.
Pastel pencil on Pastelmat · Original available
After a photograph by Eric Combeau
Before the Laugh
A moment of stillness just before the familiar call breaks the silence — calm, watchful, quietly commanding. Not the bird we know for its laughter, but the presence that exists in the pause before it.
Limited edition prints available
In the Shadows of Love
A mother's trunk and a calf leaning into it — where love becomes both shelter and reassurance.
Limited edition prints available
Unbound
Rising through dust and shadow, the horse becomes a symbol of freedom, endurance and inner fire.
Limited edition prints available
Say What?
A quiet intelligence paired with a curious, almost cheeky gaze. What appears black reveals layers of deep blues and soft greys, built up carefully in pastel to give life and dimension to each feather.
2nd Place, Bird Category — Sydney Royal Easter Show 2025
One animal, one piece of paper, hundreds of hours.
Every original is drawn on archival Pastelmat with the finest soft pastels and Carbothello pastel pencils, then framed — the most recent using ArtGlass, which is designed to reduce reflection. Works have travelled from Sydney to South Africa, New York and London.
Thirty. Then the edition closes forever.
Selected works are released as limited edition fine art prints, each artwork limited to just 30. Made to order, signed and numbered by Samara, and issued with a Certificate of Authenticity.
- Edition
- 30 prints per artwork
- Paper
- Archival fine art paper
- Sizes
- Three, from 453 × 600 mm
- Shipping
- Express, worldwide
Illustrated: edition 1 / 30 — Before the Laugh
A portrait with meaning.
Some animals are not subjects — they are family, or a memory, or the one creature you have never stopped thinking about. A commission begins with that.
a new version was created as a commissioned original.
Pet portraits
Personality and expression, captured from high-quality reference photography. Originals only, never reproduced as prints.
Custom wildlife artworks
An animal you have in mind, drawn as a gallery artwork rather than a portrait.
A collaborative piece
Subject, composition and overall feeling developed together — a one-of-a-kind original wildlife work.
Exhibited & awarded
Self-taught, and still surprised by what a pencil can do.
Samara had always loved art but never felt confident enough to pursue it. During the Covid lockdowns she followed a pencil tutorial, was surprised by the result, and kept going — small pet portraits at first, then larger and larger work as her confidence grew, until she found pastel pencils and the layering they allow.
She works on Pastelmat, building layer upon layer of colour and detail for depth, texture and atmosphere. Her favourite part of any portrait is the expression in the animal’s eyes.
I hope they really see the animal, feel its soul, and realise the depth and beauty in each individual creature.Meet Samara
