Remote corners

2024.

A T-shirt design inspired by a surf spot on the far reaches of the northwest coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

This person was able to drive right onto the shore of the river mouth, and leave the door of their truck open to join two friends already in the water. I was struck by the freedom of this and how rare a thing it was back here in the UK to have a wave all to yourselves.

Fineliner & digital.

Screenprinted by Elusive Press, Cornwall.

For sale in the UK.

BAGGY POINT

2024.

Inspired by early June in North Devon and the shared joy of returning day after day to a crystal clear high tide swim spot.

Posca pen & digital.

Refraction i

2024.

One of the joys of using my GoPro is trying to capture moments where you can see the split contrast of the underwater and surface worlds. Here I drew from one such fleeting still.

Fineliner & digital.

hapeshi logo drafts

2024.

I knew I wanted to hand draw the lettering for my personal brand, as all of my designs start as hand drawn. I also liked the idea of the font being unique.

I began with the text then wanted a graphic element to go alongside it. These are sketched ideas that for now are unused, inspired by my travel photos from Arizona, Morocco, New Zealand & North Devon.

Below is the final icon, illustrating a moment of connection with water and the natural world; going below the surface.

Fineliner & digital.

Hand drawn logo icon by Natalie Hapeshi

surf hat

2024.

Drawn from the back of my converted Toyota Estima parked on the lakeside in Frankton on the outskirts of Queenstown, New Zealand.

Fineliner.

meatworks, kaikōura

2024.

I loved watching this wave outside Kaikōura, New Zealand, but never quite mustered the bravery to surf this boulder-strewn break, especially with that name. The nearby ‘Graveyards’ was somehow more accessible for me.

Colour pencil.

Dartmoor skinny dip

2023.

Barefoot by the riverside, dressing after an Autumn dip at Wistman’s Wood.

Digital.

big moves

2024.

A change from drawing moments in the outdoors, the initial sketch was part of a daily drawing practice in September. I challenged myself to hand draw the lettering for this, building on the straight lines of Jenga blocks.

Posca pen, digital.

after heavy rain

2021.

Inspired by my trip to Kuang Si Waterfall in Laos, and swimming surrounded by a dense, green, thriving jungle.

Fineliner & digital.

Screenprinted by Ben Dodge in Kendal.

med

2021.

Inspired by Greek Island architecture, an impossible cityscape assembled from elements of different places.

Screen printed by Ben Dodge in Kendal.

pool donut

2023.

The following 3 drawings are inspired by Marpissa in Paros, Greece. My love for blue ink on white made sense for illustrating the Greek island, and allowed me to put emphasis on the bright sunlight and dark shadows.

Fineliner & digital.

marpissa village

2023.

I had a morning to myself walking around the mostly deserted village streets, coming across more cats than people.

Posca pen.

sun stairs

2023.

A motif I return to again and again are staircases. Their symbolism, the geometric lines and the clean-cut angles of their shadows will always appeal to me.

Posca pen.

vietnam water

2020.

One of my favourite ways of creating art from my travels is to combine elements from many reference images in the same drawing. I love the abstract and nonsensical landscapes that emerge from this process.

Posca pen.

windows into imlil

2023.

First trials with drawing entirely on an iPad in Procreate, inspired by the enchanting mountain village of Imlil at the base of Toubkal.

Digital.

manta

2021.

An experiment in layering different opacities of digital brushstrokes, focusing on drawing light instead of shadows.

Digital.

giulia

2023.

Surf/skate and coastal styles are a great interest of mine, and I loved the composition of the reference photo of Giulia I used for this.

Fineliner & digital.

lew

2023.

Portrait for a birthday card. I love the challenge of drawing with pen straight away with no possibility of erasing lines.

Posca pen.

stilt fisherman

2022.

Inspired by a human connection to the sea I hadn’t witnessed before until visiting Sri Lanka.

Digital.

two baths

2021.

Two bathtubs in an overgrown field in Mid Wales. I like to explore the between-places where manmade structures and the natural world meet, particularly when nature inevitably overpowers them.

Fineliner & digital.

st kilda pool

2021.

A day in 2018 when somewhere cool was needed in Melbourne’s 40+ degrees celsius heat. An exploration into a different way of illustrating water and pool patterns.

Fineliner & digital.

riad

2022.

A drawing linking decorative elements of a riad in Marrakesh.

Fineliner.

Delamere

2021.

Whilst quarantined in a hostel room in Portugal in December 2021 due to Covid, I drew Christmas presents for friends. This was Chris’s, combining themes in ‘Dark’, a Netflix series we loved, and a day trip to Delamere Forest.

Fineliner.

Fineliner sketchbook page

2021.

Minimal drawings of animals that exist in the space between land and water.

Fineliner.

hampstead heath ladies pond

2020.

The best place in London. This is my most frequently bought print on Etsy due to the pond’s dedicated community of cold water swimmers.

Fineliner & digital.

Kakadu national park

2020.

Part of the same series as the Ladies Pond illustration, these were my first proper explorations of introducing digital colour to my fineliner drawings.

Inspired by my trip to Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Fineliner & digital.

Rottnest island

2020.

Surface reflections and distortions are a constant source of inspiration to me. My reference was an underwater still from a cycling trip around Western Australia’s Rottnest Island.

Fineliner & digital.

Life jacket

2020.

I wanted to challenge myself to use different mediums instead of sticking to my preferred fineliner. Here I explored the shafts of sunlight and the patterns they make on skin through the water.

Colour pencil.

pool in vietnam

2020.

In experimenting with pencils over fineliner, this also meant I could introduce more colours and explore blending, shading and overlapping colour.

Colour pencil.

kuang si

2020.

Experiments with a softer texture and drawing style to compare with the screenprinted Kuang Si Falls T-shirt design.

Colour pencil.

matara

2022.

A temple accessible by a bridge over the sea in southern Sri Lanka.

Fineliner.

Houseboats

2018.

Inspired by 24 hours on the backwaters of Alappuzha in Kerala, India in 2017.

Fineliner.

karolina

2020.

The initial lockdowns of 2020 gave me the benefit of a lot of free time and space. I filled this with creating and experimenting, and began painting with gouache for the first time.

This painting and the one below are inspired by the housemates I shared this time with. Karolina’s carefully curated bedroom that was an extension of herself, and Ant’s primary way of expressing himself; through fashion.

Gouache paint.

three ants

2020.

Investigations into print, pattern and texture through Ant’s vast vintage wardrobe.

Gouache paint.

shaun

2018.

So much of what I love about travel is the people I have met, from many different countries, backgrounds and circumstances.

I began a series of felt tip portraits of friends made in my travels, some of whom I hadn’t seen for many months or only knew for a short space of time. The act of drawing these people and then sharing the drawings with them rekindled many connections and opened up new conversations.

Felt tip pen.