Hattie Stewart

posted by Mel Luff November 3, 2014

Self proclaimed ‘professional doodler’ and inventor of the ‘Doodle Bomb’, Hattie Stewart is a young London based illustrator. Her signature ‘Doodle Bombs’ came to life in front of the television, armed with a pen and a copy of Dazed and Confused. Influenced from early childhood by The Dandy and The Beano, her stock characters are comic and cheeky and her work is energetic and playful, bold and colourful. However her tongue in cheek style and cartoon-esque motifs are cleverly infused with a dark humour and sarcasm, stopping them from becoming cutesy hearts and smiley faces – and instead characterising her drawings with a British humour synonymous with London.

Creating her own interpretations through the use of vibrant fluoro and primary colours, her favourite method incorporates paint markers and mainstream magazine covers. The drawn on covers fuse art and fashion, twisting and distorting the already manipulated images into a psychedelic absurdity. Her work encapsulates her eccentric character and imagination; as her preferred workspace is on the floor with everything around her. Hattie Stewart describes her thought process as ‘organic’ and her ideas are rarely preconceived notions, she even states that she never makes mistakes – her style naturally corrects the wrongs to rights, stylistically adapting the smudges and seamlessly integrating any slips of the pen.

The increasing popularity of her work has lead to numerous collaborations spanning across different platforms – from Pepsi to Diesel, and working with the likes of Marc Jacobs, Film 4, Playboy and Urban Outfitters. Her most recent contribution is alongside other British illustrators, print makers and graphic designers in ‘Made you Look’ – a feature length documentary about the UK’s graphic art scene and creativity in an age of modern digital media. Watch this space.

All photos from her latest solo show ‘Hello Cheeky’.