A Pop Up in Dalston, London

Yay! My very first pop up. The first time Eye for London prints went up on the walls of an art gallery in London. Big big one for me.

The Cluster Pop up at 1963Gallery Space in Dalston. The launch party was quite a hit, I met so many creative peers, independent local artists. It was a great experience going offline, and putting myself out there and I'm hoping to do at least a few more such shows next year.

This month October, has been by far the best in the year for me- in terms of both sales and just general networking. When I first set up the shop online in Jan, I always thought of it as being a 'side' thing to do as a hobby and I would always have to depend on my day job for a real income. Maybe October was a one off or a freak month, I don't know.... but it gives me hope and confidence that a creative can make a living by being 'creative' and doing something they love. And I feel motivated now to push myself even more, as I'm really enjoying the journey. Discipline and work is most important, much more than the money.

Here are some photographs from the event.

#etsy #popuplondon #dalston #clusterpopup #eyeforlondonprints

12 Birds calling at London Parks

Delighting birds lovers and puppies alike, London Parks are a haven for hundreds of species of birds. The green lungs of the metropolis... Hyde Park and Regent's Park attract some of the most unique and beautiful birds both local and migratory .

It's a bit of an effort pulling myself on a lazy weekend to a park, but when I have, it's been an absolute treat of a day. Along with the bird watching, I quite enjoy people watching. A return to innocence, the unadulterated joy of feeding the ducks or watching the swans in their romantic embrace, almost oblivious to the eager crowds capturing that perfect Instagram moment.

This made an interesting subject for my next illustration, featuring the birds of Regent's Park. Not uncommon, I have seen many vintage illustrated posters of birds where they always seem to look stiff and stuffed. I want to capture the life and excitement in the waters. To celebrate the movement, the flutter, the dancing. Joie de vivre. Or at at least attempt to!

Here are some heroes, featured in the illustration. The Mute Swans, Whooper Swans, Ruddy Duck, Teal Duck, Finches, Swallows, the Heron and Yellow Wagtail.

And not forgetting the rest... the Bar headed geese, Pintails, Pochard, Meapis and Tuft Ducks, and one excitable frog hanging on to dear life.

'Birds of London' available now in the Shop.

#BirdsofLondon #RegentsPark #BirdsIllustration #uniquelondonprintsandposters

Subway Tiles. Art in the London Underground.

Art in Subway Tiles by Eduardo Paolozzi at Tottenham Court Road Station. By Eye for London Prints- Unique London Prints and Posters

Art in Subway Tiles by Eduardo Paolozzi at Tottenham Court Road Station.

Art in Subway Tiles by Eduardo Paolozzi at Tottenham Court Road Station. By Eye for London Prints- Unique London Prints and Posters

Subway tiles. Art in the London Underground

Subway tiles. Art in the London Underground

Subway Tiles. Unique London Prints and Posters. By Eye for London Prints- Unique London Prints and Posters

Enter London's Tottenham Court Road station, and you're in for a treat. Greeted by a tapestry of tiles, outstanding mosaics by the enormously talented Eduardo Paolozzi.

London is the birthplace of Paolozzi, who died in 2005 aged 81.

Themes in the murals vary from everyday life, music, and some abstract patterns.

The beauty is in the details. It's quite funny that everyday you see thousands of people pass by these grand murals in the Rotunda in such a great hurry, I sometimes wonder if they even noticed.

Interestingly even the mural here shows a rushing pedestrian mixing with, a mask from the British Museum and a cow and chicken, far removed from how they appear in the fast food outlets above ground. The Northern and Central tube line platforms have very different styles. For the Northern (black) line, the mosaics are harsher and sparser. The Central (red) line has brighter, more flamboyant, designs.

This is just one of the stations, but in London very famously, every station has it's own unique art walls.

I wanted to design a print, inspired by the hidden art in London Underground Stations. In fact I got so excited by it, that I kept hopping off in different stations and lines, looking for interesting tile patterns and murals.

The Black Horse on Black Horse Lane and the multicolour mosaics on Tottenham court Road are my absolute favourites. How about Hatton Cross? Or the black crows in Leytonstone, a tribute to Hitchcock. The Maze in Oxford Circus, or the Acanthus leaf in Regent Park?

This is a tiny part of the bigger puzzle, a graphic kaleidoscope from the giant treasury of exquisite tiles in the subway.

This print features pieces of Black Horse Lane, Tottenham Court Road, Seven Sisters, Regents Park, Leytonstone, Stockwell, Russell Square, Hatton Cross, Oxford Circus, Warren Street, Baker Street and Hyde Park.

Can you spot the Paolozzi?

Print available in the shop.

#subwaytiles #londonundeground #tfl #tileart #subwaytileart #londonundergroundmosaic #londonsubwayart #londonstreetart #eduardopaolozzi #tilepatterns #londonundergroundartprints #uniquelondonprintsandposters #londonartprintandposters #artintheunderground #subwaymurals