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You might already be familiar with Clare Halifax’s work as her illustrations have been displayed around London and the south-east and west of England, in museums, galleries and also literally around, as her cityscapes have been featured on cycling helmets.
After studying printed textile design at Loughborough University, Clare went on to work as a designer where she developed her passion for pattern.
The Hackney-based artist starts her drawings using pen on paper. From there she creates layers using Photoshop to have made into positives for silk-screen printing the final article. As well as architectural drawings, Clare draws botanical forms, some of which are currently on display at an exhibition in Bath.
‘I love the access you have to everything in London,’ says Clare. ‘There is the culture with amazing exhibitions and performances just a bus ride away. The skyline is ever-changing which is a good and bad thing, but as an artist who specialises in architectural elements, I feel privileged being allowed to document this through my work. There is also good food and great coffee.’
We asked her to take us on a whistlestop tour of London through her illustrations:
Rooftops at Royal Albert Hall Royal
Clare Halifax
‘The Royal Albert Hall is a building that fascinated me when I was young, in a city of squares it was this round thing. As an artist I drew it fairly early on in my career and it introduced this new colour to my work which had previously just been shades of blue: suddenly there was orange.’
Battersea Power Station
Clare Halifax
‘An iconic and imposing building, this is working with my newfound love for the colour orange. I liked how the paper gave the opportunity to introduce another colour in the white of the chimneys and the simple geometry of the building’s form.’
Barbican Study 1
Clare Halifax
‘The Barbican is one of my favourite places in London, it’s always struck me as a village within a city. I love brutalist architecture, mainly for its geometric elements which the Barbican enforces in full but with the added juxtaposition of tropical trees.’
Islington Town Hall
Clare Halifax
‘I like the symmetry of this building and the way it is framed with the trees and flowering baskets that surround it, allowing opportunity for additional colours but also a contrast to the lines of the building. I feel there is a lot of space in this piece as there is not much brickwork detail necessary which lends a lightness to it.’
Stoke Newington Town Hall
Clare Halifax
‘Alongside brutalism is my other favourite architectural period, art deco. It is the placement of the building to the fence, the foreground and background opportunity that I enjoyed when creating this piece.’
Museum of London
Clare Halifax
‘My decision to produce this rose from the combination of elements it allowed, the nature, against the building and the allowance of the use of text.’
You can see more of Clare Halifax’s work and buy her prints at ClareHalifax.com.