Hello! I'm Ella Beech, an artist and children's book illustrator, living in Cambridge UK. I have illustrated books with The Folio Society, Thames & Hudson and Wide Eyed Editions. My debut book, The Night Before Christmas (The Folio Society) was shortlisted for The V&A Illustration Awards in the Illustration for Children category. I teach part-time on the Children's Book Illustration MA at The Cambridge School of Art from which I also graduated in January 2022 and am a Substack Bestseller with my Newsletter Gather • Filter • Make. I'm currently working on my debut author/illustrator book with Thames & Hudson, which will publish in August 2025 and have two illustrated books coming out this year with Magic Cat and DK.

I'm a bit of a late bloomer with illustration - after doing a BA in Fine Art Painting, I worked in Children’s Publishing for 20 years as a Designer and Art Director (among other things!) but in 2019 I realised I needed to follow my passion for art, drawing, painting, and Children's books, and I decided to take a leap of faith and become a student again! The MA was the most amazing two and a half years and I am so glad I made that leap!

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 everyday, through experiments in colour, texture, light, and composition.

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.

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!

A bit more about me...

I thought I would be an “artist” when I grew up

I followed the "artist" trajectory for most of my young adult life: Art GCSE and A-Level, an extremely exciting and fulfilling year doing a Foundation Course in Art and Design at Wimbledon School of Art and then I went on to do a BA in Fine Art Painting at Winchester School of Art.

Reality

I remember clearly the moment I realised I had no idea how to be an artist after graduation. The idea of getting a studio and just painting felt utterly out of reach to me, as I had to pay rent and buy food and stuff! So by chance, I got a "stop-gap'“ job that happened to be in…

Children's Books

And somehow, I ended up staying for 21 years! It was an amazing experience, and I wouldn’t swap it, but it did rather scupper my plans of becoming an artist. I worked mainly in Pre-School publishing, working my way up from Design assistant, Designer, Senior Designer and eventually to Art Director. Before I left I worked for four years heading up the Pre-School and Novelty book Imprint Campbell Books (an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books).

Leap of faith

There wasn’t one lightbulb moment, more like a slow yearning to be creative that just got too loud to ignore any more. I realised that I wasn’t getting any younger, and it felt like my creative aspirations were slipping silently away. So, in 2019 I gave in my notice! I applied to do the prestigious MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art - and wow, what an amazing two-and-a-half years that was! It was truly magical to devote myself full-time to my creative development with a group of equally dedicated and excited people. During those two and a half years I learned how to move from drawing purely from observation to painting from my imagination, I found my "creative voice" that I continue to work in today.

And beyond...

Since then I have illustrated three published children’s books and am working on new books, which will be published in 2025 and beyond. My first book The Night Before Christmas was published by The Folio Society in 2023 and was shortlisted for the V&A awards in the Illustration for Children category in 2024; My second book Rewild The World at Bedtime published in Spring 2024. Written by Emily Hawkins and published by Wide Eyed Editions, it is a 94 page book with 20 bedtime stories about rewilding projects from across the globe; My third book Dear Vincent is written by art historian Michael Bird and Published by Thames & Hudson. It was chosen as one of the Picture Books of the Month in The Observer in September 2024 and was described as tender and thought provoking in Kirkus Reviews.

As well as the illustration work, I work as a part-time Associate Lecturer on the MA at Cambridge School of Art In Children’s Book Illustrations (yes, the same MA I did in 2019!). I also sell original artwork, archival prints and zines over in my shop.

Let's work together!

For work inquiries, or to say hello, send me an email. I love to chat!

Clients

Education & Experience

2022 - present

Associate Lecturer

MA Children's Book Illustration
Cambridge School of Art

Anglia Ruskin University

2019 - 2022

MA, Children's Book Illustration
Cambridge School of Art

Anglia Ruskin University

I work as a part-time Associate Lecturer, doing individual and group tutorials. I have run workshops, including ones on mark-making, covers and InDesign. I regularly present talks to the class with slides about my work, and have given a lecture on Trends in Children's Books.

I Studied on the part-time course, graduating in January 2022 with a distinction. I took part in the graduation show at the Candid Arts Centre and in the MA stand at Bologna Book Fair.

2015 - 2019

Head of Campbell Books

Macmillan Children's Books

As Head of Campbell Books, my job was to provide creative vision for Campbell’s publishing proramme and growth for the UK, Export and Co-Edition markets. I managed the design and editorial team and publishing programme to deliver a list of over 50 books a year. In that time my strategy was to grow our publishing space and range of books we were offering. I introduced a number of new strands to our range, including Non-Fiction, and First Experiences.

2008 - 2016

Head of Design and Art Director

Campbell Books, imprint of

Macmillan Children's Books

As Head of Design and Art Director for Campbell Children’s Books, I headed up the Design team for seven and a half years. During that time I managed the delivery of the main publishing programme, as well as books for three Licenced properties. Whist working in my senior management role, I continued to design and commission between 8 -15 books per year.

In 2013 I worked on the creation and delivery of the re-branding of the Campbell list. I designed the new logo by hand, and created the new look and styling of the list, a lot if it originally done by hand. I oversaw the creation of a Style Guide, and became “brand champion” of the new look.

1999 - 2008

Various roles

Children's Publishing

1995 - 1999

Education

2008 - 09 Maternity Cover for Art Director Campbell Books
2004 - 08 Senior Designer Campbell Books
2002 - 04 Senior Designer/Designer/Design Assistant Pinwheel Ltd
2000 - 02 Design Assistant/Junior Designer Marshall Editions
1999 - 2000 Design Assistant Dorling Kindersley

1996 - 1999, Winchester School of Art, BA Hons, Fine Art, Painting
1995 - 1996, Wimbledon School of Art, BTec Diploma, Foundation Studies in Art & Design

Awards and other

2025 - Selected for The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf, 2025 BolognaRagazzi Awards Dear Vincent (Thames & Hudson Children's Books)
2025 Peters Children's Book of the Year, Shortlisted non-fiction category Dear Vincent (Thames & Hudson Children's Books) Rewild The World at Bedtime (Wide Eyed Editions)
ABCD Awards, Shortlisted, Children's 6 - 12 Dear Vincent (Thames & Hudson Children's Books)
British Book Design and Production Awards, Highly Commended, Literature category. The Night Before Christmas (The Folio Society)
2024, Shortlisted V&A Awards, Illustration for Children category. The Night Before Christmas (The Folio Society)
2022, Macmillan Prize for Illustration - highly commended
2021, Bologna Illustrators Exhibition - finalist
2021 - Picture Hooks competition, From Seed to Table, Summer Surprises - runner up

Exhibitions and events

April 16 - July 12 2025 Exhibition The Art of Folio , Society of Illustrators, New York.
2024 Bologna Masterclass - Building the 3 C’S - Craft, Community and Career - through education and shared Experiences. Panel with Shelley Ann Jackson, Associate Professor, Course Leader, MA Children's Book Illustration; Rachel Bostick, illustrator.
2024 Bologna Portfolio Reviews.
2023 Exhibition - Black Shuck Festival
2023 Panelist Dog Eared Children's Book Festival, What Do Publishers Do All Day?
2023 Panelist Dog Eared Children's Book Festival,Trends in Publishing