- Great art begins with the right color -

Handmade Artists Colors

Chris Nightingale is a fine artist based in the West Midlands, UK. Born in Walsall in 1983, his work is rooted in the timeless principles of classical realism, drawing deep inspiration from masters such as Anders Zorn, John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla, and Antonio Mancini.

Working primarily in oils, graphite, and charcoal, Chris’s portfolio spans portraiture, figure studies, still life, and landscapes. While photographic reference is a practical necessity for portrait commissions, Chris remains firmly committed to the belief that artists - especially those in their formative years - should work from life whenever possible.

Chris Nightingale is a fine artist based in theHe credits this practice as the catalyst for his own artistic development. His still life and landscape works are created exclusively from life, embracing the initial connection with the subject as the beginning of a visual dialogue - a dance between artist and muse.

Chris has not undergone formal atelier training, but his growth has been shaped through workshops, online study, and most meaningfully, through painting alongside fellow artists in drop-in sessions and plein air paint-outs. While often described as self-taught, Chris believes that every artist must ultimately forge their own path in the relentless pursuit of artistic growth.

In 2024, Chris founded both a portrait painting group and a plein air collective, creating supportive spaces for artists to work from life and build community.  His work is deeply inspired by the human condition - faces and figures dominate his collections, often rendered with an intensity that seeks to reveal what lies beneath the mask of societal conformity.

Chris’s dedication to his craft has earned recognition, including exhibiting at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London, with his piece ‘Sketch of a Tattooed Man’.

I consider Francois's paints (Schaal) to be of the highest quality, artisan-made with pure pigment and selected oils – no filler or extenders.  They are simply superb with exemplary handling properties. The richness of pigment is equal to all other premium brands. Since discovering Schaal, particular favourites which have made their way onto my palette include cadmium orange, cadmium red vermilion, manganese violet and cobalt blue. Try them and thank me later.

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