Nic McLean Art & Illustration

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Nic McLean Art & Illustration Artist and Illustrator re-imagining a more whimsical world with both paint and Procreate.

I am an Irish artist living on the beautiful north east coast of Scotland. The inspiration for my paintings is just life in all its wonder - animals, nature and everyday objects which I re-imagine on canvas, paper, and digitally with a vibrant palette and a vivid imagination.

It was Tuna aka Phteven's 16th birthday at the end of July. I painted this in celebration but then never posted it. Bela...
18/08/2026

It was Tuna aka Phteven's 16th birthday at the end of July. I painted this in celebration but then never posted it. Belated birthday wishes to one of the cutest wee dogs on the Internet!

If this looks a little blurry swipe across and you'll see why!

It's another teeny tiny portrait. I love painting this small although my middle-aged eyes do not!

Penny for your thoughts (and for size comparison!

I stepped outside my comfort zone today by painting in public (it was a fairly deserted beach with only one another dog...
12/08/2026

I stepped outside my comfort zone today by painting in public (it was a fairly deserted beach with only one another dog walker off in the distance but still, baby steps!)


Bonnie was quite happy for a wee lie down with her new favourite stick!

I liked the idea of this tiny watercolour kit but it's really not my medium. I wonder if they do gouache travel kits?

I think I prefer it now.

What do you think?

I've always enjoyed painting in miniature so when I saw these little wooden doll house frames I wanted to see if I could...
10/08/2026

I've always enjoyed painting in miniature so when I saw these little wooden doll house frames I wanted to see if I could possibly do a pet portrait small enough to fit. Turns out I could.

This is the gorgeous Skye, my sister's springer spaniel. I've painted her a few times but this one is definitely the smallest.




I've added this size to my custom pet portrait offerings so if you're a fan of you too can have your best fur friends immortalised in miniature!

My favourite size 0 paintbrush is perfect for those tiny features.

This was my entry to the Picture Hooks cat illustration competition. Although it didn't win I'm glad I drew it as its an...
05/08/2026

This was my entry to the Picture Hooks cat illustration competition. Although it didn't win I'm glad I drew it as its another piece for my portfolio. It was inspired by a story idea I wrote a few years ago inspired by the sad fact that black cats (& dogs) often find it more difficult to find forever homes due to silly outdated notions of bad luck.The only thing that makes black cats unlucky is people still believing superstitious nonsense and choosing not to adopt them!

Poor Cosmo wishes he had a forever person to love.

Maybe if he painted himself ginger someone would love him?

Maybe if he rescued someone from a desert island they'd be so grateful they'd love him forever?

Maybe if he found a new planet altogether the inhabitants wouldn't care that his fur was black?

This will hopefully be the general flow of my days from here on in. I can't tell you how much it makes my heart sing to ...
10/07/2026

This will hopefully be the general flow of my days from here on in. I can't tell you how much it makes my heart sing to be living so close to the coast again, and to have time to paint.

In fact, now that we've moved to Montrose I'm delighted and excited (if a little nervous) to have taken the leap back into being a self-employed artist and illustrator and to be working on my first commission since making that decision.

It's been a while since I last painted on anything but my iPad. While I do love the ease of digital drawing, I'd forgotten how much I love actual painting but I do keep having to remind myself not to pinch the canvas to try and zoom in!

As I paint, I'm working my way through The Good Ship Illustration podcasts from the very start and getting plenty of tips on picturebook illustration along the way & it's so easy to listen to - I love the craic the Good Ship ladies have as they chat all things illustration.

Converse with the cosmos. Another one from the archives. This popped up in my memories today from ten years ago - I can...
06/07/2026

Converse with the cosmos.

Another one from the archives. This popped up in my memories today from ten years ago - I can't believe it's been that long. This was part of my space junk series - I was obsessed with starry skies (still am) and painted lots of random objects in space. Another series I may just revisit at some point.

The Queen of the Castle.A while back I did a series of rewilding paintings. Each had a wild animal in a famous city and ...
04/07/2026

The Queen of the Castle.

A while back I did a series of rewilding paintings. Each had a wild animal in a famous city and it was based on the idea that the doomsday clock had finally reached midnight, we'd wiped ourselves off the face of the planet (which, in fairness, is looking increasingly likely) and nature had reclaimed what was originally hers.

There was a lion in London, an elephant in New York, a polar bear in Moscow (all of which have sold) and this one of a deer and a raven at the Castle in Edinburgh, which is still available.

I'm thinking I might add to this series - any suggestions for what animal and which city I could do next?

It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's .I'm Nic(ola) and I love adding a touch of whimsy to the everyday...
02/07/2026

It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's .

I'm Nic(ola) and I love adding a touch of whimsy to the everyday. I'm seeking representation as an illustrator as I'd love to work on picturebooks.

Agents, would you rep me, if that's not crazy, here's my artwork - email me, maybe?!


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Montrose

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