Brother and sister duo Tomartacus have been combining their creative talents to reimagine popular London locations as vivid and colourful illustrations that are both immediately identifiable and stunning, too.
We caught up with one half of Tomartacus – Jess – to find out more about their creative process.
Tell us who you are and what you do.
We’re Tomartacus, a brother and sister design duo illustrating London views loved by locals. We capture the unique and varied landscape of our city through a colourful and distinctly local lens. Tomartacus was my nickname for Tom when we were growing up. It’s silly but it has stuck.
What inspired you to create beautiful pieces based on popular London locations?
When we first started Tomartacus 7(ish) years ago we couldn’t find much artwork of the local cafes, pubs and parks that make London the city it is. We wanted to create affordable artwork capturing our favourite bits.
What’s your artistic process?
I take photographs of our favourite spots in London and Tom sketches them using a Wacocm tablet, resulting in a unique brand of hand drawn digital prints.
Everything is drawn from scratch but the digital aspect allows us to work on huge canvases to create large-scale artworks.
Where can we find your work?
On our website: www.tomartacus.co.uk.
Locally we are also stocked at the lovely Curated Makers shop in Battersea Power Station.
You’re environmentally friendly too, right?
At every opportunity we try to be! Our greeting cards are printed on recycled paper with biodegradable packaging. We also use eco-flow inks for minimal wastage.
What have been some of your favourite pieces you’ve created?
We were once asked to illustrate the Barbican for a marriage proposal. It was lovely adding the words “Marry me, Deborah” cryptically throughout the piece. She said yes!
We also like adding in random details that only mean something to us. Our old dog Roddy features in Balham’s Hildreth Street print and our dad pops up in a couple of prints too.
What do you love most about Wandsworth Town?
The village-like, community feel of Old York Road is really special. We love illustrating pubs so The Alma and Brewer’s Inn have been welcome additions to our collection.
Our River Wandle print captures the beautiful waterway that snakes through Wandsworth Town, a gloriously green slice of nature.
Around Easter and Christmas you can find us at The Pop-Up Club at Southside where it’s been great hearing how our work has been received by the locals. We plan to do more prints of the area in the coming months.
Follow Tomartacus on Instagram to view more stunning artwork.
