Summer in the City Artwork Competition Winners
In the run-up to our summer issue, we held an illustration & artwork competition, asking keen creatives to submit their vision of London during the hot months. We were blown away by the quality of the entries and are very proud to introduce you to our 20 Long-List, 3 Runners Up & Overall Winner!
20 Long-List
Achiraya Bunditanont
Sunny Day in Hyde Park (digital drawing)
Achiraya is an illustrator and designer who grew up in Bangkok and currently lives in London. Her work focuses on people’s experiences, mainly about emotions and daily life. She found that these mundane things connect people together, we all share something in common and you are not alone on this planet.
Antoinette Christoforou
Unwind (pencil sketch & digital drawing)
Antoniette is a London based summer obsessed creative and aspiring muralist. Using Procreate as her main tool, she creates work drawn from the inspiration of her travels, soulful music and love for vibrant colours. Antoniette about embracing the beauty of life and spreading positivity through my artwork.
Ana Parra
Hackney Downs in Summer (digital drawing)
Ana is a Spanish illustrator based in London. With a background in oil painting, Ana fell in love with digital illustration in 2017 and has since been exploring the wide world of illustration and animation. Her illustrations are calming, evocative images that invite introspection, often including female subjects who connect the viewer with their own sense of aesthetic balance.
Catherine Choi
It’s Summer! (digital drawing)
Hi! I’m Catherine Choi, a food lover and recent illustration graduate from the London College of Communication. I love storytelling and am working to pursue a career in children’s book illustration and product packaging. I hope to create art that both kids and adults around the world can connect with, no matter their background.
Daryl Rainbow
Ladies of Wick (digital drawing)
I was born in the Philippines and have lived in London since I was 3. I studied illustration at Camberwell College of the Arts. My work usually illustrates the worlds of sport, entertainment, current events and Londonisms. I also work as an assistant lecturer at Ravensbourne University. Currently I am represented by Studio PI agency. Clients have included: Adidas, Amazon, Arsenal, COPA90, Creative Review, Harry’s, Netflix, Time Out, Under Armour, etc.
Daryl Rainbow
Moped Crossing the Estate (digital drawing)
Daryl Rainbow
Death of Field Day (digital drawing)
Dom Reed
London (acrylic paint)
I am an art/design student based in London, and soon to be transferring my studies to Brighton. While my course is Graphic Design, I like to work across a range of media, particularly image-making through both illustration and photography. This piece was the end result of project looking at London’s cityscape, aiming to capture the contrasts and vibrancy of the capital.
Elena Tamova
London (digital drawing)
Elena is a London based illustrator. Largely self-taught, she began her career as a watercolour botanical artist, gradually moving towards a more digitally based approach. Her work is all about celebrating positivity and beauty in the world around us. Being aware of how art can impact the mental health, she is passionate about making illustrations, full of colour and joy.
Emma Cheesman
Summer Days (mixed media)
Based in London, Emma is an illustrator who enjoys experimenting with mixed media to form bright, charismatic artwork that is full of joy and energy. She is drawn towards creating short, snappy narratives that play upon everyday situations told through odd, topsy-turvy characters which she hopes will inspire and educate her audience.
Elizabeth O’Farrelly
London in Bloom (collage)
Elizabeth is an artist currently studying Fine Art in London. Having previously studied animation, her work blurs the lines between installation and stop-motion, using such mediums alongside painting to explore language and music in a practice that has recently culminated in her first exhibition, ‘Immaterial, Material’.
Grusha Tiwari
Harmony Amidst Urban Symphony (digital drawing)
Grusha is an Indian illustrator and visual storyteller based in London. A graduate of the University of Arts London, she is fueled by a profound passion for storytelling and the creation of immersive, inclusive, and multisensory books for children. In her creative journey, Grusha aspires to find joy and fulfillment, continuously seeking new avenues to explore and enjoy the boundless wonders of her craft.
Hilary Masetti
The Everyman, Muswell Hill (colour pencil)
Hilary is an Urban Landscape Artist, based in Muswell Hill, North London. She is inspired by the beautiful architecture found in all pockets of London and aims to capture all the fabulous architectural detail in her work. All Hilary’s work is all hand-drawn using ink and watercolour pencil or ink and brush pen. She sells giclee prints of her work at many local fairs and markets.
Isabella Kuijers
London Park Life (digital drawing)
Isabella kuijers is a South African artist living in London. She has had five solo exhibitions in Cape Town and recently completed her MFA at London Metropolitan University.
Hilary Masetti
Hillfield Park, Muswell Hill (colour pencil)
Katie Handley
Park People (digital drawing)
Katie Handley is a London-based comic artist and illustrator. Her work has been published in CBK comics anthology and shown at Somerset House. Katie studied Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and has self-published three comics; Nigel Donnington and the Cat Cafe Anarchists, Cryptofox and Steak.
Katie grew up in a tiny village in the Lancashire countryside and takes much of her inspiration from this area. Often her work focuses on themes of power and comedic attempts to control a chaotic world.
Lilian Leung
Summer in Hyde Park (digital drawing)
Lilian Leung is an illustrator and designer based in London and Hong Kong. Currently studying at the University of the Arts London, she enjoys creating digital illustrations but also experimenting with printmaking, such as risography and screenprinting. Her playful and optimistic illustrations draw inspiration from her interest in visual metaphors, social issues, and ducks.
Toks Abiose
Guys at Dawn (ink, watercolour and digital colour)
Like so many book lovers, I grew up wanting to write myself. In my twenties, I would avoid friends so I could walk around London, writing in my notebooks – I walked and wrote. I would begin writing from the back pages of notebooks and I would doodle and draw in the blank front pages. Over the years, notebooks slowly became sketchbooks, doodles became illustration projects, and I eventually drew London more than I wrote London. I am currently adding finishing touches to my first full-length Graphic novel, ‘A Whole Chance’.
Lucinda Strol
Untitled (digital drawing)
Lucinda is a 22 year old graphic designer and illustrator from the Hudson Valley, New York. She’s been living in London since August 2022 and currently works full-time as a graphic designer at an interior design studio. Her work is inspired by color, nature, travel, and music.
Ziqi Zhou
Flower (collage)
Ziqi Zhou base in London. Her work revolves around sculpture and painting while questioning social and cultural views while Discussing the relationship between contemporary people and society. With the help of computer-generated images, she creates a universe of images where objects and spaces create a mysterious miniature theatre.
3 Runners Up
Amy Brownlee
Daisy Dreams, Shoreditch (colour pencil)
Amy Brownlee is a London-based illustrator from Scotland. Moving to London has had a huge impact on her artistic style and body of work, as she is constantly inspired by the city and its inhabitants. Amy works with paint and pencil, using shape and colour to evoke energy and movement.
Lana Lê
London Line Dance (gouache painting)
Lana Lê – aka woolypear – is an American illustrator who specialises in portraits, sequential art, and is based in London. Currently, she’s drawing a graphic memoir about a birthmarked war refugee. Active in her creative community, Lana organises meet-ups for the Association of Illustrators, LD Comics, and hosts Artist Chats. She also teaches drawing and facilitates craft workshops.
Palak Garg
Summer in London (digital drawing)
I am an Indian illustrator and printmaker based in London. As a visual storyteller, my job is to make engaging visuals with community at its centre. I love to experiment with digital and analogue techniques in my work. Every project is different to me and requires a visual language tailored to it. I love making quirky characters in colourful environments that reflect feelings of hope, happiness and peace.
Overall Winner
Daryl Rainbow
London Fields Liberating the People (digital drawing)
I was born in the Philippines and have lived in London since I was 3. I studied illustration at Camberwell College of the Arts. My work usually illustrates the worlds of sport, entertainment, current events and Londonisms. I also work as an assistant lecturer at Ravensbourne University. Currently I am represented by Studio PI agency. Clients have included: Adidas, Amazon, Arsenal, COPA90, Creative Review, Harry’s, Netflix, Time Out, Under Armour, etc.
