Chris Nightingale
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. More recently, his artistic curiosity has led him to explore the styles of J.W. Waterhouse, Ramon Casas, and Ivan Kramskoi.
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. He 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.
Though Chris was an avid draftsperson in his youth, he was discouraged from pursuing painting in his teens due to mild colour blindness and some negative feedback. After more than two decades - and now a father of two - he reignited his passion in 2020, determined to master the craft he had long set aside.
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’.
Offers: Demonstrations, Workshops, Mini-workshops, Talks, Online sessions, Appraisals / Critiques, Holidays, Festivals
Media: Oil paints, Charcoal, Graphite
Subjects: Portraits, Figures, Still Life, Landscape
Will travel to: Up to an hour from home in West Midlands. Also parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire considered
Email: cdnightingale83@hotmail.co.uk
Phone: 07865 642667
