Local Artist - Steve Pool

Artist Steve Pool is something of a rarity – he's resisted the golden streets and big-bucks draw of London town and is making a name for himself in the capital, north of the border. Edinburgh-based Steve, 26, specialises in painting, photography and film and although the majority of his success has come from exhibitions in England, he's more than happy with his permanent location: "Being based in Edinburgh has not as yet been a hindrance to me, I think if you have the drive and belief in your work you will get noticed, it's really a question of making the work and getting it out there, submitting to galleries, arts fairs, etc."

Steve started out doing an access course at Telford College and moved on to study Fine Art (with photography, film and printmaking) at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen from where he gained a first-class honours degree and was awarded the Sir William Gillies Award from the Royal Scottish Academy. From here he submitted his work to the Emerging Young Artists exhibition 2003 in Birmingham where a local gallery picked up some pieces and starting exhibiting them.

This provided a solid base and has since yielded further exhibitions including a joint venture called 'Urban Perspectives'. All work from this exhibition was sold and Steve now has limited edition prints selling in this gallery. He also undertakes freelance and commissioned work for an Edinburgh design company. "It's not easy, it's inconsistent, I'm finding it a challenge - but it can be very rewarding. Edinburgh is essentially my base, where I live and work, the rest of the UK is literally a van drive away, and I have lots of friends here who also work in the creative industries, so there is good support. My career is still in its infancy but so far I'm managing to make a living doing what it is I want to be doing."