Visual Art
Narrative Painting
A creative challenge by Nicola Bealing
The Challenge
A narrative painting is a picture that tells a story. It invites the viewer to imagine what is happening, what happened before, and what might happen next. This challenge invites you to create your own painting that captures a moment in a story, whether real or imagined.
Your painting does not need to illustrate a story that already exists. In fact, the most interesting narrative paintings often suggest mysteries that are never fully explained. They make us wonder and imagine.
What Makes a Good Story Painting?
A narrative painting often includes:
- Characters: People, animals, or creatures who seem to be in the middle of doing something
- A setting: A place that helps tell the story, whether realistic or fantastical
- Action or emotion: Something happening or about to happen, or a feeling that comes through
- Mystery: Questions left unanswered that make us curious
- Details: Small things that add to the story
Story Starters
If you need help getting started, try painting a scene inspired by one of these ideas:
Someone discovers something unexpected in an ordinary place...
Two characters meet for the first time in an unusual setting...
An animal witnesses something strange that humans cannot see...
The moment just before something important happens...
A familiar place transformed by magic or dream logic...
Creating Your Painting
- Choose your story moment: Think about what is happening in your picture. Is it a quiet moment or a dramatic one? What emotions are present?
- Sketch your idea: Make a rough drawing first. Where will you place your characters? What will the background look like?
- Think about mood: What colours will help tell your story? Dark colours can feel mysterious or sad. Bright colours can feel joyful or surprising.
- Add details: Small details can make your story richer. What objects are in the scene? What is the weather like? What time of day is it?
- Leave questions: You do not need to explain everything. Leave some mystery for the viewer to wonder about.
Tips from the Artist
- Look at paintings in books or online that tell stories. Notice what makes them interesting.
- Your story can be funny, strange, sad, or mysterious. Follow your imagination.
- Do not worry about making things look "realistic." Expression and feeling matter more than perfection.
- If you get stuck, try adding an unexpected element to your painting. What if there was a bird in the corner? What if the sky was purple?
About Nicola Bealing
Nicola Bealing is a painter and printmaker based in Cornwall. Her figurative work is laced with dark humour and surreal unease, often featuring birds, beasts, and humans in ambiguous spaces where the ordinary slips into the uncanny.
Nicola's paintings have been exhibited at the Matt's Gallery in London, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool for the John Moores Painting Prize, and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Her work explores the boundaries between beauty and menace, humour and horror.
She believes that the best figurative paintings tell stories that stay with us, making us think and wonder long after we have looked away.
Share Your Story Painting
We would love to see what story you have painted! Ask an adult or carer to submit your artwork. Pictures must be of artwork only and should not include people.
Submit Your ResponseChallenge Details
Category: Visual Art
Time needed: 1-3 hours
Materials: Paper or canvas, paints, pencils, or mixed media
Ages: All ages welcome