Outstanding talent of Burnley artist Demi (25) set to be recognised around the world

And the stir her work is causing, across the UK and also in America, is quite baffling to Demi Box who disarmingly describes herself as 'the girl who draws.'

From portraits of children and dogs to celebrities and sports stars, lockdown has given Demi the chance to concentrate on honing her skills, as she herself is her biggest critic.

She has now received requests for a number of commissions from across the UK and also from someone in America.

"The best part of it for me is seeing the reaction of people who I have done a drawing for of a family member or pet, " said Demi who is 25. "It can be quite an emotional moment."

The seeds of Demi's talent were sown when she was a child and she spent hours drawing cartoons with her best friend. And they would have little competitions to see who did the best drawing.

A former pupil at Unity High School in Burnley, Demi studied art and design at Nelson and Colne College where she notched up a series of distinctions across the board to earn herself a place at the University of Leeds.

But this young woman with a heart of gold turned it down, preferring to stay at home to care for her grandmother, Sylvia Box, who is battling a number of health issues.

Demi, who did bar work before the pandemic hit, has continued with her drawings which take around 30 hours to complete. And even then she can be highly critical of her work which is all done in charcoal.

As a testimony to her talent she drew a portrait of England cricketer Kate Cross. The drawing was a gift to Kate from Demi's younger sister Liberty, a professional cricketer who plays with her in North West Thunder, women's cricket team that represent Lancashire and North West England,

Kate loved the portrait that much she asked for one of her dad, former professional footballer David Cross. David was so blown away with his portrait he has asked Demi if he can include it in his book.

Former professional footballer Bruce Grobbelaar is another of Demi's subjects.

Grobbelaar played as a goalkeeper for Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for the Zimbabwean national team, and Demi drew his portrait for him when he came to give a talk at Moorhouse's Brewery in Burnley where she was doing bar work.

Demi said: "Even though it would be amazing to think I could do this as a career I don't do this for the money.

"I do it because I love to draw."