Meet The Artist: Love From Lexi
23 Sep 2022
It’s the perfect balance of playfulness and thoughtful detail at Love From Lexi that so charmed us from the beginning. A keen maker of little books since childhood, it’s no wonder Lexi found herself in children’s book publishing after completing a degree in Book Art & Illustration. A part of her career that most certainly seems to have inspired her ever so unique style – amongst many other things – so utterly playful but with no detail spared. Who better to capture the essence of our Autumn 2022 collection with both thoughtfulness and flair – here’s a little on how she captured it so for our seasonal postcard series, and what led her to where she is now.
Tell us how the glorious Love From Lexi came to life? Was it a business you always had in mind or was there a bit of a journey to get there?
“Glorious! Ha! Bless you! It's certainly been a journey. It still is! 'Love From Lexi' began at university studying Book Art & Illustration over 15 years ago. It started out as a bit of fun but quickly turned into a sideline hobby, a bit of an obsession and a very occasional money-maker – selling handmade cards, illustrated paper pieces and prints at London markets and fairs.
"Since then there have certainly been odd years of no drawing at all which seems bizarre now that I'm a full-time illustrator, but I've always loved art and design and have always had a deep longing to create. I guess the day job took over and it wasn't until the pandemic that I was fortunate enough to explore my love for drawing again. It felt so right but also took a lot of courage.”
“It's a question I ask myself a lot. I definitely have a playful, colourful style that I feel comfortable with but I also want to challenge myself sometimes with new mediums and approaches. I do worry that by doing this it might confuse things from a brand perspective. The amount of conversations one has with oneself being self-employed is exhausting, especially having come from the world of brand marketing.
“At the moment I want to avoid limiting myself to a specific subject matter though. Although I love illustrating interiors and what home means to people, translated through objects and collections, I like the idea of exploring many genres.”
You worked in children's book publishing – did that have an influence on your style and how has it evolved over time?
“I was so inspired by the illustrators we commissioned when I worked in publishing. It definitely made me realise the wealth of opportunities that are out there. My style has evolved, from focusing first on graphic black line illustration to discovering how to digitise my work. I feel at one with watercolour paints at the moment, I hadn't really ever used watercolours until the start of the pandemic and now that's pretty much my main medium.”
“I'll try to leave the house first thing and get myself to a pilates or gym class, then it's a strong coffee or two and I'm at my desk working on a variety of different projects throughout the day which can occasionally eat into my evenings... I sometimes find I'm more creative and motivated at night annoyingly. I'm still finding out how I work best!”
Where do you gather inspiration from?
“I gather inspiration from so many places – books, old scrapbooks, charity shop bookshelves, fashion, food, travelling around, antique shops, art galleries and concept stores...the list goes on and on.”
Tell us a little about the postcard you designed for us and how the idea came together?
“I received the Rowen & Wren brief for the postcard and felt excited to try to imagine a ‘through the door’ view of a sitting room, focusing on a few of the new autumn pieces, set in a London townhouse. I particularly like the way the narrative unfolds in the scene, with the relaxed pair of crossed legs in yellow socks on the sofa in the corner. I imagine the person enjoying a lovely glass of something from their bar trolley after a busy day of work.”
Read more about our work to support small British illustrators as part of our Consciousness pledge and watch our latest artist in residence film with Lexi here.
