About Annabel

I am a London-based portrait artist specialising in bespoke oil portrait commissions painted from photographs. 

Largely self-taught, I began painting seriously as an Art Scholar at school, where I developed a traditional approach to realism and was awarded the Dean’s Prize for Portraiture. In 2019, I won the Royal Academy’s Young Artists competition, and in 2022 I was shortlisted for the British Art Prize.

I graduated from Durham University with a degree in Anthropology in 2025, continuing to paint and take on commissions throughout my studies. In 2023, I won the College of St Hild and St Bede Art Competition.

Drawn to portraits that tell a story, I often work from photographs that capture a nostalgic moment or memory, a fascination that traces back to my obsession with old family photo albums. My process typically begins with a loose underpainting in oils on canvas, before I slowly build up colour and detail in layers to bring out the warmth in the finished piece.