I wonder how many photographs of London have been taken since Camille Silvy* was exploring photography and the city in the 1860’s? Since those early images were created, photography has spread like a super efficient virus and every generation is captured exponentially more times than the one that came before. The facebook generation appear unable to break wind without recording the event. There must have been billions of pictures of London since Camille’s day and most of them were probably taken since the digital camera explosion of the late 1990’s.
As such, there are many wonderful images of London out there but its increasingly rare to be suprised by a new perspective on the city. I like this picture by Alex Holland because it does take me by surprise as it compares and contrasts an old and a new London icon
It not only eloquently captures one of those moments of juxtaposition that London throws at you on a regular basis but does so with a sly sense of humour. Whilst The Tower of London remains steadfast and in surprisingly good nick, the Gherkin seems to be gurning in the background like a drunk guest spoiling a wedding photo. I like it a lot.
The picture was taken by Alex Holland who like most London artists comes from somewhere else, in Alex’s place Yorkshire. He favours photographing coasts and capital cities and by the look of his website his love of capitals extends to letters as every word on the site is capitalised. You can see more of his work and buy Alex Holland artwork here.
* There is an exhibition of Camille Silvy’s photographs at the National Portrait Gallery until October 24th 2010. I strongly recommend it for anybody with even a passing interest in the past, photography or people. Its fascinating to see both the photographer and the subjects coming to grips with the new medium 150 years ago.
Matthew Lindop paints cityscapes, mostly of London where he lives. This picture is The City At Night and is typical of his work. He spends his time looking up at the skyline and his subject tends to be the outline of the city’s buildings. People rarely make it into view. Its a very calm and collected world as a consequence.
He describes his approach on his website (here) : “Buildings are composed of defined lines, which is reflected in my work. I paint using flat colours and hard edges. I paint using household gloss paints, this gives the work a vibrant, polished, shiny and crisp appearance. I like to work on a large scale as I feel it increases the importance and stature of a painting.”
This next picture is Once Canda Square And HSBC. You can understand why a number of city companies have commissioned Matthew to paint pictures of the buildings that they occupy.
And sometimes he zooms in on a specific detail. This is Gherkin With Japanese Cherry Blossom which he painted as a commission for Trust magazine. I think the calm, clarity of James’ style works well with the Japanese theme.
You can also see Matthew’s work on Private View.
Paddington by James Hobbs
Spitalfields by James Hobbs
James Hobbs is a freelance illustrator who lives and works in London. You can find out more about him on his website, here.
I like his pictures. They are, as you can see, very nice to look at. The images are clean and easy on the eye but their simplicity is deceptive and the more I look at them, the more I notice things going on. I also like this snippet that shows James’s approach to his work:
“When it comes to drawing, though, I am often taken by the more mundane things going on. I like to stand before the great city sights, remove the workbook from the bag, uncap the marker, and then turn around before starting to draw. It’s the street furniture, the everyday, the ubiquitous stuff that is easily overlooked that makes a city what it really is. It’s a kind of anti-celebrity view of the world that I like. They creep in, of course: the Post Office Tower, Canary Wharf or the Gherkin crane their necks to get a look in, but I try, at least, to keep them in their place.”
He can do simplicity as well. Possibly my favourite picture is this one called Obama day from when the US President visited London. Its just a fly-like helicopter above a slice of the London Eye. When I look at it I can hear the blades rotating and imagine the hurly burly of the motorcade that is happening off-stage. The picture captures a point of calm at the centre of a wheel of frenzied activity. Its reminds me of a Japanese Haiku poem.
Obama Day by James Hobbs
Oh, and whatever he says, he can indeed do “celebrity” London buildings as well as this waterscape proves.
Waterloo Bridge by James Hobbs
