Nell Chesley is a graduate of Meredith College and VCU’s School of the Arts. She began her career as an elementary school teacher. She later was a docent at the VA Museum of Fine Arts. She has been President of Bon Air Artists Association and Co-Director of the Uptown Gallery. Nell's oil paintings are in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond's Children's Hospital, and in an exhibit at the Chrysler Museum. Nell has illustrated four children's books and participated in outdoor art fairs in the Southeast and Minnesota. Nell is married with three adult children and seven grandchildren.