Creative Lives: Hattie Stewart, illustrator and artist

In this edition of our Creative Lives podcast, we talk to London-based illustrator and artist Hattie Stewart. She shares what she’s learnt along the way, including how to manage client communication, describing her favourite recent projects, and tells us why working for free is rarely a good idea.

Known for her unique style of ‘doodblebombing’, Hattie’s drawings are recognisable for their precise, cartoonish and psychedelic forms – often laid over photographs or existing graphics as character-filled streams of consciousness.

Hailing from Essex, Hattie began working commercially for fashion brands such as Luella while she was still studying on the illustration BA at Kingston. Graduating in 2010, she has since amassed a client list that includes Apple, Mac Cosmetics, House of Holland, Marc By Marc Jacobs and Pepsi. She has also published two books, and had her work exhibited across the world.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. While she balanced commissions with coursework, hattie says studying was no walk in the park – coming up against opinions and directions from her tutors that didn’t suit her way of working.

After leaving college, Hattie was able to continue freelancing alongside part time work at a bar. It was here that Hattie’s style came into place, as she doodled onto printed images – forming the basis of a now ongoing series of playful interventions onto photographic images and magazine covers.

This episode of Creative Lives was was presented by Indi Davies and the editor was Ivor Manly. Lecture in Progress is made possible with the support of a number of brand patrons – they include GF Smith, Squarespace and The Paul Smith Foundation. Check out lectureinprogress.com for more details.