I was asked to paint a watercolour painting of Clissold House in Hackney, East London. Though London is often perceived as a sprawling metropolis, it is also blessed with an abundance of public parks and open spaces. Many of these began life as private country estates with Clissold House and park being an example. Clissold House (originallyRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter to enter a free draw to win my signed, original painting of The Limehouse Cut, London worth £160, This painting is 25cm x 16cm, signed & mounted on acid-free card. Newsletter sent 24th-Nov-22. I look forward to your sign up in the box on this page. There will be drawRead more…
You can buy a limited edition print of the painting here I love a bit of history, so I was thrilled to be asked to paint the Greenwich waterfront. Interestingly, my client did not want a contemporary view but how the area looked circa 1930. I had a small watercolour to go on butRead more…
10×10 DRAWING THE CITY LONDON 2019 THEME: ISLE OF DOGS AUCTION DATE: MONDAY NOVEMBER 18th VENUE: ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS, 66 PORTLAND PLACE, W1B 1AD BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE WHAT IS 10X10? 10×10 London is Article 25’s flagship fundraising event. A unique concept, 10×10 brings together 100 prominent artists, designers, and architects to createRead more…
I was really pleased to hear that my painting of The Tate & Lyle Sugar refinery in East London will be exhibited at The New English Art Club annual exhibition at The Mall Galleries in June. I have already painted this scene a few times in watercolour but this is the first time in oils.Read more…
When I used to commute through London, I would often see an allotment from the train window. It was quite a modest affair jammed between the track and a row of Victorian terraces pushing from behind. You can buy a limited edition print of the painting here I love allotments. They are one of theRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter, and you can enter the free draw to win this original painting worth £110 of The Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London. This watercolour preperation study of The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is 26cm x 15cm, signed and mounted on acid-free card. The newsletter will be sent out on the 27th September 2018.Read more…
This print of Commercial Street, Spitalfields, London is 33cm x 40m, signed and numbered. The newsletter will be sent out on the 26th April 2018. I look forward to your sign up in the box on this page. I give away free paintings, drawings, exhibition tickets and prints with my newsletters. Just to note, you areRead more…
In my last video, I painted in the sky of the Tate & Lyle Sugar Factory to give me a basis of the tonal values and mood I needed to work with. In this video, I will be working up the lines of terraced buildings in the foreground. See my current video here: If you haveRead more…
In a great effort to stay with the times, and to deliver a clearer idea of what I do, I am putting more effort into video blogs. ‘Vlogs’ I am supposed to call them. I did a few last year, and I rather enjoyed it all so here we go. See the video here You canRead more…
I have been painting London’s architecture for many years now. I have always enjoyed running about the metropolis, noting its eclectic and often eccentric buildings, so I was most intrigued when a client called me up to commission a very large mural of London buildings for her apartment. I have never done a mural before, so IRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this original preparatory painting worth £100 of Shoreditch, London. This watercolour study of Shoreditch is 14cm x 16cm, signed and mounted on acid-free card. The newsletter will be sent out on the 18th August 2017. I look forward to your sign upRead more…
The online London tourist site ‘The Londonist’ contacted me and asked if they could do a feature on some of my London paintings. They were particularly keen on my London street market scenes. Naturally, I was happy to oblige. Once the article was done, they decided to do a video featuring a few ofRead more…
Those nice people at LONDONIST, the very popular events guide to London decided to a feature on my paintings of London’s many and varied markets. “Artist Liam O’Farrell has traversed London’s biggest markets, immortalising them in his wonderful watercolours. Here, we see the markets through Liam’s eyes — some bustling, some deathly silent — and hear about themRead more…
You can buy a limited edition print of this painting here I was commissioned to paint this junction of Shoreditch High Street. My client spent many years living in an apartment on this junction, and wanted a memory of it. Today, it is party central with a bar, club, coffee shop or nightclub on everyRead more…
This month I am launching my YouTube channel. It is something I have been wanted to do for a long time and am most pleased that I have finally got around to it. I will be doing videos regularly so please do subscribe, and add the odd ‘like’ too if you’re keen. A Sketchbook viewRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this original preparatory painting worth £160 of Dalston Lane, Hackney, London. This watercolour study is 23cm x 13cm, signed and mounted on acid-free card. The newsletter will be sent out on the 27 April 2017. I look forward to your signRead more…
I am having an exhibition of my paintings at The Crystal in London’s Royal Victoria Docks from Tuesday the 8th of November to Sunday the 20th of November 2016 About The Crystal – one of the world’s most sustainable buildings Due to its innovative architecture and technology, the Crystal is one of the world’s mostRead more…
Whilst wondering about The City of London one weekend, I accidently came across Leadenhall Market. I had no idea it was there and it is a bit of a shock at first site. An ornate red cake wedding cake of a building muscled in either side by concrete and glass. You can buy a limitedRead more…
Over the years, I have painted a few of these railway bridges in London, and thought I would put them together as a series. Despite their disruptive construction, I can’t help liking them. They are very ‘London’. Just a pity that many of the trains they support are rarely on time. Getting into London fromRead more…
I am pleased to say that my painting ‘East End Crossing’ has been selected for The New English Art Club’s Annual Open Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in Central London between 16 and 25 June 2016. “Continuing to build on the tradition of painting and drawing from observation, the New English is a vibrant andRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this preparatory pencil drawing. About this drawing While working on a painting in Commercial Road in Spitalfields, London I spotted this man, and his dog loping across the pedestrian crossing. I noted them down and saved them for an up andRead more…
I was invited to do a painting of The Dalston Yard Street Feast in Hackney London. This being a disused light industrial factory complex in the heart of Dalston, which has found a new life as a street food eatery, and a night spot. Click images below to see them larger About Dalston Yard Street Feast, HackneyRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this preparatory pencil study. About this drawing While drawing and painting at Liverpool Street Station, London I noticed a small gathering of girls. I decided that they had all probably just arrived in from Essex, and were here for a Hen Weekend priorRead more…
The arts site ‘Doodlewash’ in the USA recently did a feature on me. I dont often look closely on how I do my painting and art so it was a bit of a learning process for me too. I have put the feature in full below. If you have any questions of queries then pleaseRead more…
I have been painting London scenes for many years and has a particular interest in the ever changing face of the street markets. Many have been on the same site for over 500 years, and some for just a few years. To survive and thrive however each has to adapt to the unpredictable shifts the metropolisRead more…
I have been painting London scenes for many years and has a particular interest in the ever changing face of the street markets. Many have been on the same site for over 500 years, and some for just a few years. To survive and thrive however each has to adapt to the unpredictable shifts the metropolisRead more…
This painting is available to buy here as a limited edition print. If any East London market tells a story of steady gentrification of the area it is Broadway Market in Hackney. It was first opened in the 1890’s to serve the local population who lived in the newly built Victorian terraces, many of theseRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this preparatory pencil study. About this drawing While working in London I spotted this trio on a bit of a tourist shopping spree. I found them interesting because they were all different shapes and sizes. They also seemed to be talking moreRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this preparatory pencil study. About this drawing I was drawing in Broadway Market in Hackney, London and noticed a man taking a photo of one of the buildings. He had a dog at his side, and this dog was craning its headRead more…
I lived in Hackney for a few good years and really enjoyed my time there so I was pretty pleased to re visit the borough to paint one of the typical terraced houses that still remain in the borough. In my lifetime, Hackney has spent many years being viewed as a bit run down andRead more…
This painting is available to buy as a limited edition print here I got caught in one of those ‘spoilt for choice’ situations in London recently. All artists get it at some point. You really want to go out and paint something though you don’t have a clue what you want to paint. You areRead more…
This painting is available as a limited edition print here Producing a painting of this scene of Spitalfields Market has long been on my list of ‘Paintings to do’. I love painting markets, and this one is a real treat with plenty of history attached too. So when I was commissioned by a couple toRead more…
I was recently commissioned to paint a few places in the London Borough of Greenwich. All the places featured, are within 15 minutes walking distance of each other so on a visit you can pack a huge amount into a day. Much of it is open spaces and parkland too, so if your are aRead more…
This painting is available to buy as a limited edition print here I was recently commissioned to paint a few places in the London Borough of Greenwich. All the places featured, are within 15 minutes walking distance of each other so on a visit, you can pack a huge amount into a day. This partRead more…
This painting is available as a limited edition print here There has been a market on Brick Lane since the 17th Century and was then known as ‘The Truman Markets after the old brewery that used to be on situated at number 91. In those days, it was just a Sunday market to cater forRead more…
This painting is available to buy here You can buy a print of this painting here Leaning back in a metal chair outside the Shawarma Lebanese kebab house in Shoreditch, I surveyed the scene before me. An odd site to be sure. Hazardously perched high above the street on top of what looked like glassRead more…
You can buy a limited edition print of the painting here ‘I got it from a man I met in a pub!’ I was in the Barley Mow Pub in Shoreditch waiting for a friend of mine. After a short time he texted me explaining he would be late. Normally this is a bit ofRead more…
Sign up to my newsletter and you can enter the free draw to win this preparatory pencil study. A drawing of a shopper at Columbia Road market, London I was recently commissioned to do a painting of Columbia Road flower market in London, so I popped over on a Sunday morning to get the initial drawingsRead more…
I was commissioned to paint this bar (Casa Blue) which is situated on the corner of Brick Lane and Bethnal Green Road in London’s East End. Now many people say that London is the hippest city in the world. And if London is indeed the most hippest city in the world, then the mostRead more…
The painting is available to buy as a limited edition print here Someone who has never visited Brick Lane Market before could be forgiven for thinking that ‘Brick Lane market’ was all there is, you will discover, however, a few scattered other market gems huddled in the surrounding streets and one of these is BaconRead more…
5 Fournier Street On Good Friday I was invited to be interviewed by ‘The gentle author’ – the anonymous blog and book writer of ‘Spitalfields Life’ who has set the rather daunting ambition of: “Writing at least ten thousand stories about Spitalfields life. At the rate of one a day, this will take approximatelyRead more…
I heard late last week that my painting ‘Brick Lane Market’ has been selected for The 296th RBA Annual Open Exhibition at The Mall Galleries. I am really pleased about getting in as I know the competition is rather brutal and the gallery is such a lovely place to show work. I didRead more…
I have over the years painted my neighborhood, The London Borough of Hackney. Hackney could well be the most famous borough in the country and despite its often insalubrious reputation there is still something of the ‘Exciting reckless friend’ about it. Even big international brands have recognised the ‘outsider’ reputation and attempted to buy intoRead more…
This painting is availabe as a limited edition print I have just finished an oil painting of Brick Lane Market. Well technically it is Sclater Street although most people will know it as part of the Brick Lane market. It’s just tucked around the corner a wee bit. Blink and you’ll miss it. It isRead more…
Well technically it is Sclater Street although most people will know it a part of Brick Lane market. Brick Lane Click on the image to see it larger Like any area in transition there are quite distinctive parts. On the south side can be found the Bengali community who replaced the Jewish community, and inRead more…
This painting is available to buy as a limited edition print This is the Whitechapel Road in East London. I have painted this scene a number of times and i am still drawn to it. A street like this will at first site appear static, unchanging. Though on closer observation you notice it is inRead more…
See the article here Taking a photograph in a public place has become the quickest way to attract police attention, as increasing numbers of photographers can verify. But now it has emerged that anti-terrorism officers are uneasy about a far less sophisticated piece of surveillance technology: the watercolour brush and canvas. Liam O’Farrell, an artistRead more…
I was stopped and searched twice near London City airport – for watercolouring! I was not even facing the airport. I was painting the Tate and Lyle sugar factory opposite. They said they saw me on a camera and thought that “no one would want to paint a factory”. I explained that LS Lowry didRead more…
This painting is available as a limited edition print After much aggravation in the initial drawing stage I have finally completed the painting of Columbia Road Market. It was a challenge to do and took much longer than I first anticipated. I just kept adding figures. The last being the small girl in the front.Read more…