ELLA BEECH

Hi, I'm Ella, a children's book author and illustrator living in Cambridge UK. I divide my time between illustration and teaching - I am currently working on my first Picture Book and I work part-time on the MA at Cambridge School of Art as an Associate Lecturer. I run a Patreon channel and a Substack newsletter where I share behind-the-scenes videos. See work with me to learn more.

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A little bit about my background: after doing a BA in Fine Art Painting, I moved into Children’s Publishing where I worked for 20 years on the Design side, as a Senior Designer, Head of Design, Art Director, And Head of Campbell Books;  in 2019 I left publishing to complete an MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art.

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I love to work in traditional media and I'm drawn to the happy accidents and rich textures that are made when creating work on paper. I invariably make a mess, and that way, I make new discoveries too. My work is rooted in observational drawing - finding the beauty in the every day, through experiments in colour, texture, light, and composition. 

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I am drawn to character-driven narratives which tackle both the joys and struggles of growing up. I was always a daydreamer and grew up immersed in an imaginative world, and books created a freedom that has never really left me. I love the magic that stories and illustrations can conjure up, and I like to play with the boundaries between real and imagination in my stories, keeping them both grounded in the familiarities of childhood, while straying into the imaginative world. I also love a bit of off-beat humour with a twist of the absurd. I like to bring my design background into my work, focusing on the interplay of colours, with bold and striking compositions, and rich mark-making.

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When I'm not making art, I love to knit, sew, go for long walks, scour charity shops, and car-boot sales for treasures, which help inspire stories!