Nestled in the hills near Muttama, Cathy Hamilton sits in her studio working on her latest masterpiece - a drawing of her pet dog.
It's these animals on the farm around her that have inspired her impressively detailed graphite drawings.
"Most of the drawings have a story behind them," she said.
From her donkey Fifi and Dadio the bull, to the guinea fowl Godfrey who eventually got eaten by Roy the Kelpie, Cathy's farm life and her love of rural Australia is reflected on the paper.
It wasn't always a simple country life for Cathy who grew up in Sydney and more than 20 years ago bought a cattle and sheep farm near Rugby with husband Jim.
After a breast cancer diagnosis, the pair decided to downsize and purchase a historic property near Muttama, ditching the sheep and continuing with Angus cattle.
"I was sort of 'what do I do now?' so I started drawing again," she said.
Cathy had been connected to art for most of her life, drawing since childhood and running ceramic tours for women to Spain, Portugal and Italy but never had formal training.
Picking up the pencil again, Cathy joined a drawing group at the Cootamundra Art Centre and ended up with stacks of drawings.
"A girlfriend was asking me what I was going to do with all my drawings," she said.
"I said I don't know and she suggested I put them on cards so I did and it was a local store that tried them out and we went from there.
"Now I do cards, tags, prints, portraits, tea towels, tablecloths and it's just getting bigger and bigger and I love it - you can't stop me."
Initially inspired by her pets and the animals on farm, Cathy has since branched out and draws everything from echidnas and wombats to shells and pineapples as a coastal range.
"I like to draw dogs and I do a lot of pet portraits," she said.
"My favourite ones to draw are Kelpies, Blue Heelers and Labradors."
It was a humble hare running around the farm that initially caught Cathy's attention and became her first drawing.
"It will always stay in the range because it's very dear to my heart," she said.
The details are key to Cathy's drawings who typically spends 10 to 12 hours on a piece, sometimes longer depending on the subject.
"If you put me down and said here's a piece of paper and do an abstract thing I couldn't do it," she said.
"I love perfection and I'm a realist. I draw everything in fine detail and I won't stop until I get it right. I love the detail - it's slow but I love it."
Cathy's secret to a successful drawing - it's all in the eyes.
"When I'm drawing animals, once I've got the eyes right I know I'm on a winner and I know I'll have a great drawing," she said.
"I work really hard to get the eyes right."
The graphite drawings will always be front and centre for Cathy.
The only colour ever added to drawings is at Christmas time where original drawings are doctored to include a coloured bauble or reindeer antlers.
"People say add colour to your range but I never will because there's a lot of colour out there and black and white is still classic and I want to keep that theme going," she said.
Cathy's artwork has proved more popular than she could have ever imagined with more than 120 stores around Australia stocking her products since starting the business four and a half years ago.
She has since picked up several corporate clients including the Bank of Queensland.
She will have her artwork featured in The Block shop as five country houses are renovated on the series and is soon to have her drawings on a major retail store's garments in collaboration with Cotton Australia.
Closing in an unused verandah became a studio but with an ever-expanding range a new premises could be on the cards.
"I think we're going to outgrow it," she said.
The most important thing for Cathy - every product is Australian made.
"It's been an absolute battle to try and find people to make in Australia and it's a little bit more expensive but people are hunting down Australian made," she said.
"It's sad that we stopped manufacturing in this country, which is a shame but I think it will change and being a rural maker we're all so particular about detail and quality so I've stuck to my guns and it's paid off."
Cathy supports her local community with all stationary printed in Cootamundra and all postage sent from the local post office.
"When I first started we used to order stationary from Sydney but to get the right price we'd have to order four or five thousand but this guy in town is great," she said.
"I can say I need 150 asap and he'll ring me in four hours and say it's ready and it's great for him because we're one of his biggest customers so it's keeping it all in the community."
While Cathy draws, her husband Jim works hard behind the scenes designing labels and doing the admin and ordering.
"I couldn't do it without my husband Jim," she said.