Bella Bigsby

Bella Bigsby is a British artist whose work brings together memory, symbolism and the natural world. Self-taught, she works primarily in oil on canvas. Now based in her native Norfolk, she creates oil paintings that reflect her deep connection to the English landscape and a lifelong fascination with nature, folklore and storytelling.

She spent many years living and exhibiting in California before returning to the UK, where the peaceful wilds of Norfolk continue to shape both her life and her art. She draws inspiration from the wild and quiet places around her, painting animals and birds that are as rich in symbolism as in natural beauty. Her paintings are detailed and quiet in mood, often featuring birds, animals, trees and botanical forms that carry both visual and symbolic meaning. Each piece combines observation with imagination, drawing the viewer into a world where nature is layered with history, myth and personal memory, and the work is a personal expression of nostalgia, connection and reverence for nature.

Her influences span cultures and centuries. An early love of the "Golden Age" illustrators, such as Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham, shows in the magical, story-rich quality of her work. She is equally inspired by traditional East Asian painting, especially its use of space, its subtle detail and the emotional power of natural forms, where balance and stillness give form to emotion and meaning. She has exhibited her original oil paintings in Norfolk, Suffolk and California.