London Designed

Amy Hood Illustration

Amy Hood Illustration

I'm a fine art illustrator based in London. I create vintage-inspired artworks that include fun-loving Lindy Hop dancers and portraits of inspirational women throughout history.
My work is greatly influenced by the specialisms I focused on during my Art Foundation and BA in History of Art many moons ago - namely costume design, vintage fashion, and Renaissance portraiture. My Lindy Hopper range has been inspired by my time learning the dance and by the music of the jazz and big band era.

Your work is influenced by vintage fashion, costume design, and Renaissance portraiture. What  inspired you to combine it all in your illustrations?

I don't think there was ever a conscious decision to combine all these aspects, they all came together quite organically simply because they each fire me up! I love drawing portraits and I love drawing different fabrics and clothes, and in studying the symbolic nature of Renaissance portraiture, I'm particularly interested in what our choice of clothes say about us, both individually and as a society. Though costumes are traditionally thought of as a medium for representing character on stage and screen, our everyday outfits are so self-expressive and full of meaning.  

How was the process of selecting and illustrating the objects from the Suffragette collection?

The process was a very collaborative one between me and the Retail Buyer at the time. I was sent several images and links to items that had been pre-selected by the retail and curatorial teams and together we narrowed the list down based on the significance of each item and the scope of the narrative we wished to represent within the artwork. As the finished piece was a repeat pattern, we also took into consideration the particular colours and shapes of each item to make sure there was aesthetic cohesion and balance.

Tea Towel Votes for Women Pattern

This 100% cotton tea towel is part of a range which has been exclusively designed for the London Museum by Amy Hood, featuring illustrations of objects from the museum's extensive Suffragette collection.

Were there any particular stories from the Suffragette collection that stood out to you while creating your designs?

I learnt that Sylvia Pankhurst (Emmeline Pankhurst's daughter) had designed much of the merchandise for the WSPU / Suffragettes, including several of the pin badges included in the final artwork. It was interesting to see how she combined art and activism and created such a strong visual identity for the organisation. As an individual Sylvia is a fascinating character, and I particularly love her series of paintings and sketches from her 'Women Workers of England' tour in 1907, when she visited factories and mills across the country; sensitively capturing the hardships of the working-class woman at that time.

How do you feel your work connects you with the rich history of London?

I am a born and bred Londoner so having my work in the London Museum is a source of great pride to me. I really love the research part of any project and working on the Suffragette illustrations gave me the opportunity to learn more about the incredible women - particularly Sylvia Pankhurst, working out of the East End, who were helping to shape British politics in the early 20th century. I feel my work is also heavily influenced by the vibrancy of London and in attempting to reflect its rich diversity in my work I feel more connected to the city and its history.

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