Pick Me Up at Somerset House

Not sure what to do with yet another long weekend in London? You could do worse than a leisurely, sunny stroll to Somerset House where Pick Me Up, the UK's original graphic arts festival, is under way once more. A selection of exciting new talent from the world of graphic arts has been chosen to showcase their work alongside more established artists, but hurry - the show closes on 5th May.






Intentionally not your average art fair, the downstairs section is nevertheless slightly more familiar territory with sections on individual artists. Hate though I do to leave anyone out, there was way too much intriguing, original and downright cool work on display to mention even half of it - you'll just have to go and see for yourself. Meanwhile, some tantalising tasters . . .

French illustrator Thibaud Herem's incredibly precise and beautifully detailed drawings of London architecture; I particularly covet Liberty's.

Lynnie Zulu's bold and vibrant illustrations, injecting a tropical dash of colour:

           

Edward Cheverton's quirky and playful 3-D figures:

Isabel Greenberg's wonderfully evocative illustrations based on folklore, myth and storytelling:

Billy's Keith Haring-esque fun and sunny wooden sculptures:

Upstairs is a riot of collectives with interactive stalls and pop-up shops, t-shirts and furniture, prints and posters, cards and jewellery. Get involved!

I desperately wanted to visit the alternative photo booth, where instead of a boring old passport pic you could get a line drawing of yourself done by a mystery artist, but sadly the wait was too long. Never one to be deterred or downcast, I nabbed us a couple of seats at the cat mask collage table instead and got creative.

Oh, and did I mention that the works are for sale? The well-known artists can get pricy but I picked up one of the Isabel Greenberg prints for a measly £35. If you really can't make it, you can buy from the website, but do try to visit. It's fun, it's family-friendly and you can satisfy your shopping, arty and home decor cravings all in one hit.

Yours, with another fabulous London pick-me-up,

Girl About Town xx