Ellie Andrews West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Portraits, life drawings and commissions, working from my studio in Burley, Leeds.

I am an artist based in Burley, Leeds. I am also the founder of Leeds Drawing Club (2007) and Body Matters Project (2023)

I consider myself to be a new artist, but have worked in the arts in Leeds since 2007 having owned and operated an independent art gallery in Leeds City Centre.

I studied Theatre Design at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London (Graduating 2005) and after a period working as a Set Designer, I returned to Leeds to set up Leeds Drawing Club in 2007, and Cafe 164 & the Gallery at 164, in Munro House, Leeds city centre in 2011. Throughout my career in hospitality and the arts over the last decade, I have curated many exhibitions, designed and delivered projects for the benefit of the city, and hosted a diverse range of events intertwining food and the arts.

Since closing my hospitality business in 2023, I now focus on my own art practice, and the life drawing classes I run and teach from Leeds Drawing Club studio and in schools across Yorkshire for my Body Matters Project.

I advocate for drawing and creative expression as a powerful tool to support your mental health. Leeds Drawing Club focuses on both creative expression for mental health as well as improving skills and learning to draw.

My own art practice is figurative, and I work two dimensionally, drawing and painting. My subject matter is mostly portraiture and mostly from life. My area of interest is mainly in portraying women, including myself and my daughter. In particular, when a woman finds herself at junctures in her life such as motherhood.