My name is Nick Beall and I am a professional pet portrait artist. I am married to Melanie and if you had a quick read on the about us page you will know we live in rural Wales in a small cottage where we both work in our studio together. Apart from the never ending maintenance jobs needing to be done around the cottage, i work full time as an artist painting animals and enjoy every minute of it.
I graduated from Bournemouth & Poole College of Art and Design in 1994. Upon leaving college I exhibited in the London Mall Galleries and then collaborated with a London Illustration Agency to produce detailed illustrations for encyclopedias, children's book jackets and other publishing and advertising material.
I found this work very limiting, and longed to return to my original love - portraiture including horse and pet portraits. My work was first featured on a variety of websites which produced more than enough interest for me to paint portraits full time. I now have my own website dedicated to dogs, cats and horses to promote my oils and pastels, and I am also featured on here - Melanie's website for my pastels on velour.
For me, being a portrait painter is an ongoing journey to learn and develop my craft. Every painting I complete is another step along this road and another lesson learnt. I feel privileged to be able to paint every day and earn a living from it; it's the best job in the world. I also feel very lucky to have lived all my live in the countryside and the work I do enables me to continue to do so.
I was born in rural Cornwall and enjoy visiting family two or three times a year. Cornwall for me will always be home, however the countryside in Wales is very similar and it's not so populated, so to me its a much more peaceful environment to work in.
It can be difficult to part with the portraits that have taken up so much of my life during their creation. I love to see the clients face when they receive the portrait; this isn't always possible with worldwide commissions, but I appreciate the many wonderful emails and letters I receive from all around the world.
I hope you feel you have got to know me a little better. If you are interested in commissioning me for a pastel pet portrait on velour, don't hesitate to email at any time.
Nick |
