ELLA BEECH
Hi, I'm Ella, a children's book author and illustrator living in Cambridge UK with my husband, 16 year old son and Sonny the tabby cat!
I completed an MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in Jan 2022 and I now work part-time as an Associate Lecturer there, teaching across all modules.
I run a Substack newsletter with a paid subscription option where I share insights into my process, peeks into my sketchbook, behind-the-scenes videos and lots more.
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 am drawn to character-driven narratives that 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.
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!
Let's work together!
Exhibitions and events
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Panelist - Dog Eared Children's Book Festival, 2023 (What Do Publishers Do All Day?)
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Panelist - Dog Eared Children's Book Festival, 2023 (Trends in Publishing)
Awards and other
• 2024, Shortlisted V&A Awards, Illustration for Children category
• 2022, Macmillan Prize for Illustration - highly commended
• 2021, Bologna Illustrators Exhibition - finalist
• 2021 - Picture Hooks competition, From Seed to Table, Summer Surprises - runner up
History
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.