‘I love capturing the places people cherish’
Illustratorandhouseportraitist,imogenpartridge
There is not a lot of time to catch breath in Imogen Partridge’s day. The helter-skelter begins from five in the morning, when one-year-old Harriet wakes up, closely followed by three-year-old Ted. For three days a week, while the children are at nursery or their grandparents’, Imogen is on the train for London by seven, where she works for an interior design and architecture practice. Once aboard, the sketchbook comes out for her other role, as a self-employed illustrator. ‘Sketching and pen work are fine as we rattle along. The detail I fill in later,’ she says. Other days of the week are no less hectic, with snatched moments to paint. ‘When little hands start reaching out to prod my watercolours, or grab brushes, things are set aside again!’
But come the evening, with dinner done and children bundled into bed, a cosy bay window seat becomes a little oasis. It’s in the corner of the kitchen, in the home in Tonbridge, Kent, that Imogen shares with her husband, Rob. ‘It’s the calm after the chaos of the day. Often I’ll say to Rob, “I’ll just do an hour.” Three hours later, podcasts or music humming in the background, I’m still absorbed.’ Delicate watercolour house portraits – a gabled manor house, for example, or the yellow façade of a shop – are the fruit of her focus, all featuring the characteristic beauty that comes from the slight wobble of a hand-drawn line.
It was a calligraphy course seven years ago that started her down the path of lettering and illustration. She went from creating invites, illustrated menus and place cards for family weddings, to commissions via word of mouth and Instagram. She now counts boutique designers, shops and cafes among her clients. ‘I needed a salaried role to secure the mortgage, and it would have been so easy to drop the illustration. But painting is where I feel at home. ’
Imogen studied interior architecture at university, where she met Rob, and there have been many highlights
to a 12-year career in interior design. Notable projects included trips to Jumby Bay, Antigua, to renovate an estate house on a private island resort. Also Fifteen, in London’s Old Street, and Soho deli, Damson & Co – two modern British diners given a relaxed, rustic edge, with soft lighting, musky colours and culinary books dotted about. ‘I love it when a carefully considered décor tells a story,’ Imogen says. She is less enamoured with the lack of warmth associated with some projects. ‘I hugely value kindness. In a corporate setting this is sometimes absent.’
The joy that springs from working independently could not be more different. ‘I love how involved I feel when people welcome me into their lives. Capturing the essence of a place that someone cherishes is so gratifying.’ One illustration recreated the client’s memories of her grandmother’s garden, with floral swing seat and specific plants in bloom. ‘What I really loved was that it wasn’t particularly large or impressive; it was intimate and real.’ Some projects can be almost painfully profound, as with another client whose mother had not long to live, and they wanted an impression of the dream home she had recently moved into. ‘She sent me an email afterwards, saying: “This was more than just a painting. Thank you, my friend”.’
Many business clients are local, which also elicits a personal connection, as with The Old Haberdashery in Ticehurst. ‘Sonia is a genius curator of glorious things. From a beautiful but unassuming frontage, you go through into a treasure trove. I spend forever in there, chatting. It feels exactly what bricks and mortar shops should be.’
While more high-profile, Imogen’s work for cookery writer and designer Skye Mcalpine retains the personal touch. When Imogen sent Skye a painting inspired by her Victorian townhouse, she was swiftly commissioned to create a series of illustrations for her tableware brand, Skye Mcalpine Tavola. These go out on cards among the tissue paper packaging with each order, with recipes or styling advice on the reverse. Also an impressive catch was boutique hotel, The Newman, for which Imogen painted portraits of its façade for its grand London opening in 2024. ‘This is a dream project. It feels like things have come
‘I love how involved I feel when people welcome me into their lives. Capturing the essence of a place that someone cherishes is so gratifying’
full circle, having started out on interior design for hotels, but now doing the illustration, my favourite part.’
As yet, Imogen has no dedicated studio space at home, just the bay seat and a capacious Fortnum & Mason hamper to tidy everything away at the end of an evening’s painting. But a happy consequence of working amid the hubbub is being able to model the importance of doing what you love. ‘I want the children to see that if you find a passion, you must follow it.’ Waiting for the perfect moment may mean it never arrives. ‘The mortgage has doubled, nursery costs increased, outgoings have skyrocketed… Leaving behind a salary is daunting. But although there is a lot of pressure, I am incredibly determined to make it work. I am so excited to make the leap.’ imogenpartridge.com, @imogen.partridge