Bridgemont Studio was established by landscape artist  Derek Marshall over forty years ago on his return from Australia. The studio was converted from stables which date back to the early 1700s.

The picturesque cottage is now the home of Derek and his artist wife Elaine. The cottage is situated in Bridgemont just off the A6 and behind a row of terraced houses. Access is gained through a ginnel which is gated and next to a sign for Bridgemont Studio.

Derek is a well-known as an artist in the Peak District and has lived here for more-than forty years. He learned to paint at the Perth Art College when he was in his early 20s and was very fortunate to receive extra tuition from a highly-respected Italian local artist.

With two successful exhibitions in Australia under his belt. Derek returned to England and a successful exhibition in nearby Disley was followed by another in the German town of Bad Nauheim.

Since then Derek has exhibited and sold at the Derbyshire Open and his works of art have recently been on loan to Stockport Art Gallery.

Elaine Marshall is an animal portrait painter.  Although she works as a legal secretary, Elaine paints animal portraits from photographs on a commission basis in oil on canvas.  When not engaged on commission work she also likes to paint flowers and still life.  

Moving to Derbyshire in 1985 from the Wirral she is married to artist Derek Marshall. 

Elaine's love of painting became apparent at an early age when she  regularly won prizes at school. She is self-taught and particularly enjoys the delicate work of floral art.  She started painting animals when someone asked if she could paint a pig for them.  This led to a series of pig paintings. These early pigs paintings invariably  incorporated flowers. Derek has been Elaine’s guide and mentor throughout and a constant source of inspiration.

Paintings can be framed or unframed. A framing service is offered as Derek does his own framing. 

Derek gets his inspiration from frequent walks in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. As well as painting the stunning local scenery, Derek receives many commissions and would be happy to create a beautiful painting of your property or favourite landscape.

Though Bridgemont Studio is not a galley, it has been likened by many to 'Aladdin's Cave'. Here you will find many delightful paintings for sale at affordable, non-gallery prices.

Derek specialises in three types of art, traditional landscape, canal scenes and very popular copies of the the great impressionists masterpieces. He has carefully scrutinised the styles and composition of these great masters to produce fantastic results.

Bridgemont Studio is a working studio, not a gallery! Therefore it is advisable to give some notice of your visit.

If you would like Elaine to paint your pet she needs several clear photographs particularly of the eyes, vital for head portraits and to show the colour of the coat or fur.  If your animal has unusual, markings it’s important that the photographs show this.  You may prefer to put a selection of photographs onto a CD. All photographs and CDs will be returned. Please bear in mind if you email your photographs sometimes the image is blurred.

For head portraits Elaine likes to keep the backgrounds as simple as possible to show the subject to the best advantage.  With full body paintings, again a very simple background works best a bit of ground and sky for example. 

When choosing dimensions, 12”x10” is a the most popular size for dog head portraits.  As a rough guideline Elaine charges around £70 for this unframed.   Horse head portraits are also popular in this size but cost a little more around £80 again for unframed work. 

Framing is available at an additional cost.  Should you want more than one animal on the same painting you would need a larger size depending upon how many subjects you want included but Elaine may make a reduction for the additional subjects.  Please ask for a quote. 

As a guideline regarding timescale Elaine aims to complete a head portrait 12”x10” in about 8 weeks for a dog and a bit longer for a horse.  If you commission a work with a deadline please get the photographs to Elaine in good time in case there are any pitfalls.   Other sizes will take a little longer. 

Derek's Paintings

Elaine's Paintings