About Me
Hi. I’m Darren. Welcome to my studio!
Each and every commission that makes its way onto my desk means the world to me. No matter what it is, it’s important. It’s special.
Hopefully this page will help explain why.
About Me
How I Work
Every brushstroke. Every colour selection. Every layer. Every microscopic detail.
Each one of these is done with love and care, as every item is treated as if it’s for my own personal collection.
I do get emotionally attached to them which makes it sad when I have to send them away again… but it’s worth it!
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artist
DARREN CARNALL
I believe that every commission is personal.
The relationship I develop with clients determines how the projects will look at the end of the process.
I make sure I understand the clients and their emotional connection with the character I’m bringing to life for them.
It’s important to be a part of their dream. Their dream is my dream.
My Story
I was born here in Liverpool in the UK, where I’ve lived all my life. You know The Beatles? Same place.
In fact their houses/Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields are all just down the road from me!
I always enjoyed drawing and making things as a child… and this passion and love for being creative really never left me.
When I ‘grew up’ (I use that term loosely) I became a financial advisor. It was a decent if unfulfilling job, but I hated selling things to people who didn’t want them!
As it turned out everything was about to be turned upside down anyway when my childhood epilepsy returned and I had to stop work.
I lost my driving license, and it felt like everything had been taken away.
This lasted for many long, frustrating years… and it was during this time that I started painting. I needed something to do!
(Bob Ross on TV gave me the idea to try! – I owe him everything)
At first it was oils on canvas, but eventually I got into sculpting and painting toys & figures. I had an Anakin Skywalker figure that didn’t look like the actor at all, and so I spent a month re-sculpting the face and painting it. It looked great when I was done!
After showing photos online several people started to get in touch asking me to upgrade their figures the same way I’d done my own… and so it began. Slowly at first, but before long I had a waiting list 24 pages long!
Now it’s what I do for a living full time with customers all around the world! I’ve spent 15 years customising and upgrading people’s collectibles for them and couldn’t be happier!
I’ve also expanded into teaching people how to paint!
It just goes to show that things can work out for the best if you’re a little bit lucky, and if you work hard.
I would never have thought of leaving my finance job to paint toys for a living. The epilepsy forced me to do it, and lucky for me there’s enough of you out there who want my work in your collections!!
You don’t know how grateful I am to all of you!
I was born here in Liverpool in the UK, where I’ve lived all my life. You know The Beatles? Same place.
When I ‘grew up’ (I use that term loosely) I became a financial advisor, but eventually lost that career when my childhood epilepsy returned.
It felt like everything had been taken away, and this lasted for many long, frustrating years.
It was during this time that I started painting out of sheer boredom!
(Bob Ross on TV gave me the idea to try! – I owe him everything)
At first it was oils on canvas, but eventually I transitioned into sculpting and painting collectible figures.
You see I had an Anakin Skywalker figure that didn’t look like the actor at all, and so I spent a month re-sculpting the face and gave it a full paint job.
It looked great when I was done!
After showing photos online, people started asking me to upgrade their own figures… and so it began.
Before long I had a waiting list 24 pages long, and now it’s what I do full time with customers all around the world!
I’ve spent the last 15 years bringing people’s collections to life and couldn’t be happier!
I’ve also expanded into teaching people how to paint themselves! Click here to learn more.
It just goes to show that things can work out for the best with a little bit of luck and hard work.
I would never have thought of leaving my finance job to paint toys for a living. It was the epilepsy that forced me to do it, and lucky for me there’s enough of you out there who want my work in your collections!!
You don’t know how grateful I am to all of you!
