An emerging star of the arts world, is the current holder of the biennial Jonathan Vickers Fine Art Award. He has translated stories and memories into atmospheric paintings with an ambiguous narrative of their own. His work is intense and ethereal, articulating the balance between the transient nature of people’s lives and the longevity of their story.
Beal describes the characters he paints as ‘quiet figures within an under-described space’ and concedes that his pictures develop as much from ‘trial, error and accident as they do from painterly proficiency’. This work is the product of a year spent absorbing the stories and traditions connected with the Industrial history of the Amber Valley. Beal’s research uncovered many colourful stories such as the ‘Nailers of Belper’ whose jobs were made redundant by industrialisation. They were heavy drinkers and a notoriously unruly bunch who set aside ‘Saint Mondays’ to recover from the weekends’ excesses.
