Urban Mapping at the V&A

A letter of love to the staff at Piccadilly Waterstones

A few weeks ago I went to Waterstones in Piccadilly seeking something. Recently, I've gone through a through a few difficult life events, things that I accept and am dealing with but are affecting me in different ways.

I came to Waterstones to find books. Obvious, I know but I needed a certain kind of book. A funny, warm, loving book - the kind of book that we've all read that made us fall in love with reading in the first place. My only stipulation? For the love of god, not chick lit. But I was welcome to anything and everything else. 

Piccadilly Circus, LMC

I went to the main desk and met Darcy. I told Darcy what I was looking for - a book to help me switch off, engage with something else, take my mind off things and basically give me a literary hug.

Darcy was incredible. 

We went through the shop, collecting her colleagues as we went, who all had their own recommendations for me. It warmed my heart to be met with such passion, kindness and joy for books and people that Darcy and her colleagues showed. 

I bought 'The Eyre Affair' by Jasper Fforde, 'High Fidelity' by Nick Hornby and 'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran. 

I wanted to thank Darcy and her colleagues for giving me a lift that day, and showing that in this busy city, people still genuinely care about each other in a real way and are willing to open their hearts to strangers to help them out.

Thanks Darcy - I really loved High Fidelity.

Lizzie xxx

Private or Public London

Walking, exploring, seeing, adventuring, perceiving, being, mapping, finding....

I'm spending the year exploring the hidden joys of London for my solo show, and there is so much wonder to be found.

But there is trouble afoot in old London Town.

What is public? What is private?

Where can you walk in your city, and where is barred to you?

Check out this worrying look at what happened when Guardian journalist Jack Shenker, writer Anna Minton and urban explorer Dr. Brad Garrett went on a mission to walk the Thames Pathway, to varying degrees of success....

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/feb/24/private-london-exposed-thames-path-riverside-walking-route

Being an illustrator : How to get inspired again

Hello again from (stormy and sunny) Cornwall!

One thing I get asked a lot by illustrators/friends/tweets etc is what happens when you're creatively stuck? What happens when your style seems jammed up, and you can't produce anything good?

I think it's really important to remember we've all been there - staring at a blank page and having no idea what to fill it with, and even wondering if we want to fill it. My advice is always this: step away from the page, and give yourself a break. Go for a walk, do something else, read a book, go to a gallery. Be aware that you might just not want to do any work, and forcing yourself to produce something below your usual standard will just make you feel rubbish. Many artists who work alone, writers, musicians, illustrators etc will often beat themselves up with damaging inner monologue - 'why can't I work? What's wrong with me?' The truthful answer is - nothing. Nothing's wrong with you - the minute you substitute unkind thoughts for kind ones - 'you're doing great, you're OK', is the moment ideas become more free, and work starts to flow.

I often find that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone helps also.  Maybe try something different. After my time with the Beehive Design Collective, I've been inspired to do work with washes and inks much more. It's brought a depth to my work that's slightly different, and it's something that I find really exciting. 

Inks from Atlantis art shop, Hanover Street, Brick Lane

 For those who know my usual personal art work, I use lots of pen and ink and specialise in urban cartography (see below image of Chinatown © 2008) 

Chinatown © 2008, pen and ink

But recently I've been looking at lots of different ways of exploring my surroundings with my pen. Working on my new solo show with the Serena Morton Gallery, I've been researching and drawing London's lesser known treasures and committing them to the page. Below is the start of my piece of the Necropolis Railway near Waterloo, and below that is the Guy's Operating Theatre and Museum. 

Necropolis Railway, work in progress 2014/2015

Guys Operating Theatre Museum

So next time you're faced with this...

...then pop down to the art shop and try something different. 

You never know what could happen!

L x

Live Art at the London Transport Museum

Latest commission for Lewis Hamilton

Watch the Video Here

Starting 3 month project today - bring on the inspiration and perspiration

Poo Comic

Graham and Brown Commission and Tent London

Body Art Series

This is a new series I'm working on called Body Art. It's through Twitter and Facebook - I call out for volunteers to sit for me, and I paint their bodies!

If you'd like to get involved, email me at contact@lizziemarycullen.co.uk

How I Create Black and White Illustrations

Hey guys, just thought I'd do a quick blog update on how I create my black and white London city illustrations. This one is the 453 bus route, which I got from New Cross Gate (South London) to Trafalgar Square. In this particular piece, I used an A1(841 x 594 mm) piece of tracing paper, and I began in the bottom left corner. 

453 Bus Route, London

So, here are at the bottom left of the page. I'm starting my journey at New Cross Gate. If you don't know London that well, New Cross is located in the South of the City. You can get to New Cross on foot pretty easily from central London, if you walk through Lambeth, down to Elephant and Castle and head down the Old Kent Road.

I'm using my pen to create a sense of texture in the line work. I like to draw so that I can feel the bricks on the walls, and the feel of the pavement. I also like to capture the light with white space in the drawing.

New Cross

Next stop in the London city illustration is Elephant and Castle. I've travelled down the Old Kent Road, onto the New Kent Road off Tower Bridge Road, and now we're heading into Elephant and Castle.

I have mixed feelings in regard to Elephant. On one hand, I love it. The London College of Communication is there, and I always love visiting the students, and seeing what work they're getting up to. Plus, there is the beautiful old tube station, covered in original maroon pre-war tiles.

HOWEVER: there is also the horrific murder alley underneath the concrete roads - the pedestrian subway. If there were ever worse signage, and a more dangerous thoroughfare, I have yet to see it! (below pic)

In the sky over Elephant, there's is a dark cloud, and strong pen lines indicating heavy rain. Plus, I've added a lot of texture detailing the different kind of buildings in Elephant.

Elephant and Castle

 

Next stop! Lambeth!

My favourite thing in Lambeth is of course, the Imperial War Museum. Any visitors in 2013 will unfortunately be disapointed as it's currently closed for a refurb. However, it's a beautiful park to go walking in, and lovely surrounding architecture.

Plus, there's a load of these bad boys!

UK Heritage Blue Plaques

Lambeth

Next we're on to Westminster Abbey, and round the houses of Parliament and onto the Mall and Horseguard's Parade (below)

From Lambeth, through Westminster and the Mall up to Trafalgar Square is one of my favourite walks. It's a little hectic on weekends, but at dusk and in the early morning, there's nothing lovelier than walking alone under the Houses of Parliament.

 

Almost done! For those wondering, here's the pen I used. 

A rapidograph 0.3 and 0.5