FACELESS LANDSCAPES

HIROYUKI IZUTSU & LOULOU ELLIOTT

 
 
 

Loulou Elliott is a London-based painter and illustrator inspired by landscapes and spaces. With a background in fine art, her move to illustration was prompted by her narrative inclination. An illustration graduate of the University of Westminister, it was here where Loulou first developed her minimalist style, with a focus of muted spaces and emotive, pastel palettes. “I was influenced by my solitude when I first moved to London, and by wanting to find a moment of peace in this big, bustling city,” she told Cluster, “I love nature and the comfort, rest and introspection it offers. My physically small, quiet paintings reflect that”

 
 

Love Stories | BUY FROM OUR ONLINE SHOP

 

Her works feature vast, isolated landscapes often punctuated by a lone figure. In “Shadow”, her piece selected by Cluster, a small figure in an otherwise empty, residential area is dwarfed by its shadow which ascends the wall of an undisclosed building. “The vastness of landscapes and nature puts everything into perspective, they offer a feeling of greatness beyond human comprehension,” she explains. There is a sense of personal and spatial anonymity which allows the viewer to project themselves into her narratives, creating a space for reflection. By withholding all defining characteristics her figures could be anyone, her places could be anywhere.

 
 

Shadow


Typically, Loulou uses gouache and acrylic on thick paper or canvas, “I love that matt look of gouache, the tactility of it and the feeling of creating one ‘real’ singular painting,” she added. Her sharp, clean lines are achieved using tape, while her colour selection process is largely intuitive. Working between photos and raw imagination helps to enhance her illustrations with an ethereal sensibility. “Though my paintings aren’t abstract, there is an intuitive, dreamlike aspect to them” she told us, “the emphasis on colour and form have a strong subconscious effect on the viewer.”

 
 
 
 

With Cluster, Loulou has enjoyed insight into the work and life of fellow artists, “It’s great being able to talk in an art-orientated group, which I’ve missed since university,” she explains, “I’m excited for the workshops and talking over the next few months.” She is preparing to release a new print series in time for Christmas. Focusing on visual narratives, these new works will comprise of soft, coloured pencil drawings on eco-friendly hemp and agave paper. 

Pond | The Garden in Fiction

 
 
 

Don’t Give Up Japan series

 

Likewise, Japanese illustrator Hiroyuki Izutsu is also drawn to themes of landscape and nature. Having worked as an animator for many years, he pivoted his skillset toward illustration in the 1980s. “At this time, illustration was more interesting than the world of animation, though it was difficult to switch from the touch of animation to my current style,” he told us. Though Hiroyuki never received a formal arts education, he learned a lot from manga comics and the work of David Hockney.

 
 

Girl and Dog Walking by the Sea


For Hiroyuki, landscape subjects afford a painterly freedom without strict restrictions on colour, but they also hold a personal significance. “I started to paint landscapes after a big earthquake in Japan ten years ago,” he explains, “my motifs, namely nature, people and dogs, are for me symbols of peace and tranquillity.” In his Cluster-selected piece Girl and Dog Walking by the Sea, he uses a calming colour palette of greys, blues and greens to evoke this sense of peace. Notably, the girl depicted is looking away, out across the ocean, recalling at once the awe-inspiring effect of nature and our insignificance in the face of it.

Today is a Happy Day series

 
 


Hiroyuki begins each piece by collecting reference materials. Next, he starts to paint, before finessing his work in Photoshop or Photoshop Fresco. Though he currently uses a combination of haptic and digital methods, he is keen to experiment with new technologies. “It’s a digital world now,” he told Cluster, “I want to find possibilities of expression with new tools and media.” In the last few years, Hiroyuki has been working in the UK with increasing frequency, even illustrating coffee packaging for Taylors of Harrogate. Through Cluster, he hopes his work will continue to reach new audiences. Recently, his work has been featured by WeTransfer, who are offering one of Hiroyuki’s designs as a desktop wallpaper for pro accounts.

Coffee Packaging for Taylors of Harrogate | Check the whole project here

 
 

Don’t Give Up Japan series

Don’t Give Up Japan series

 
 
 

Both Loulou and Hiroyuki use landscape to provoke feelings of acceptance, whether it be of our smallness when confronted with the vast power of nature, or of the sometimes, solitary nature of human existence. Through their complimentary use of colour, painterly sensibilities and spatial composition they demonstrate the how deeply we are implicated in the environments we occupy.

 
 

More work from Loulou Elliott and Hiroyuki Izutsu can be viewed on the Cluster Illustration platform
and purchased through our Cluster Illustration Online Shop.

Thank you for reading,
Stephanie Gavan & Cluster Team.