Have you ever lived abroad or do you live abroad now? Where do you call home? Is it your childhood location, where you live now, or do you think of every place you’ve ever lived in?
For me, home is a few places. It’s Singapore - a place I often feel homesick for - it’s the family home I spent my teenage and early adult years in (and is still labelled home in my phone!) - and it’s the place I live with my husband now. For some of my collectors, living in the UK and across the world, home is a piece of South London - a park, a pub, or my whole pub series.
Ideas of what home could be - a house or apartment building illustration, a street, a pub or a park
House portrait of childhood home
Illustration of an apartment building - Du Cane Court, Balham
Illustrations of London residential streets
Illustration of Balham Bowls Club, South London by South Island Art
Panorama print of illustrated pubs in Balham
Illustration of a residential street in South London
Illustration of The Grove pub in Balham by South Island Art
Illustration of Primrose Hill, London
One of the reasons I love in-person events so much is seeing people’s reactions as they connect with a familiar place. It’s the way their eyes light up or a little smile appears, it's so special to witness that moment of joy. Listening to stories of connections with home - both present and past.
Bespoke art print of a home in a hallway
Commissioned illustration of a childhood home in Singapore
When you move away from ‘home’, art is a way to take a piece of it with you, carrying those connections on as you move on to your next stage. It’s something to spark cherished memories. A reminder of a place where many happy years may have been spent.
I primarily use colour in my art to communicate those memories of home. Every palette is carefully put together, testing different combinations to ensure the overall feeling it evokes encapsulates the memories of that location.
How you can work with me to bring memories of home into your current space
Reminders of home have been sent across the world, from the Home Counties, UK to New York, USA. Prints purchased as gifts for friends moving away from a town or for partners as you move to a new place together. Coasters and tea towels sent abroad to remind nieces and nephews of their home city as they grow up. Homes - both childhood and present - have been commissioned as gifts, holding hundreds of memories within each illustration. It’s a visual of a whole chapter in your book.
You can work with me to create a bespoke illustration of your home, pick a location from my ready-made collection or choose some home accessories or paintings that reflect home for you.
Explore my fine-art location prints
Find out more about how you can commission your piece of art to remind you of home.