Derek Eland is a British artist originally from Penrith, Cumbria.

He explores what it means to be human and the impact we make on landscape. He was an official British war artist in Afghanistan in 2011 and artist-in-residence at Everest base camp in 2016.

Eland was educated at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith and afterwards at Durham University where he graduated with an honours degree in Politics in 1983. He attended the Royal Military.  He was commissioned into the parachute regiment in 1984 reaching the rank of captain in the third battalion and served in the UK, Cyprus and the Mediterranean and the USA.

In 2015 Eland was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the University of Cumbria.

Derek Eland paints his native landscape. His farming family background and love of the fells gives him a distinctive and unique voice. When interpreting these mountains and valleys, rich patterns and colours are interspersed with farms and cottages.

Derek has an MA in Contemporary Fine Art. He now lives in the Netherlands