Gaby Harrison is a freelance illustrator, commission artist, and owner of a small, Brixton-based creative business, draw the line.

In 2020, Gaby launched a project to celebrate the many local businesses which had been forced to close due to the first COVID-19 lockdown. By capturing these businesses on paper, and sharing the illustrations online, Gaby hoped to reconnect Brixton locals with the venues they had been forced to abandon, and to show support for all the people working hard to keep those venues afloat. With an initial focus on the community’s incredible independent restaurant scene, the project soon grew into a broader celebration of Brixton as a whole, its many enterprises and its iconic landmarks.

The intimate line and wash renderings Gaby produced were developed on location in Brixtonso as to absorb the energy of moment and place. The originals were then transformed into a series of prints, which take the viewer on a virtual journey through the community from the Brixton Project bridge – one of the first thing you see when you emerge from the underground – through Brixton Village to Electric Avenue and The Ritzy, up to Brockwell Park and the Lido via the Effra Social Club and Hootananny, and back round to the jumble of vibrant shipping containers that make up Pop Brixton.

All the prints in the series are now available to buy for any residents who want to bring Brixton’s buzz into their homes. And Gaby’s custom commission service is open to any individual or business who might want to see another of their favourite local views translated into ink and watercolour.

Follow Gaby as draw the line on instagram.