Who Is The
Shoreditch Sketcher
About
Shoreditch
Sketcher
I'm Phil Dean, also known as the Shoreditch Sketcher—a London-based artist, illustrator, and educator specialising in expressive urban sketching. I originally trained in graphic design at Leeds College of Art and spent many years working in the creative industry before reconnecting with my passion for drawing through sketching on location.
Now based in East London, I spend much of my time capturing the character, architecture, and everyday rhythm of the city. London is a constant source of inspiration for me, but my sketchbooks also document travels to places like Florence, Paris, San Francisco, and Málaga and part of an ongoing connection to the global urban sketching community.
Through the Shoreditch Sketcher social platform, I share my work, process, and materials with a growing international audience. Alongside my own practice, I run workshops, courses, and live events to help people loosen up their drawing style and build confidence sketching in public.
I'm also the author of Tate Sketch Club: Urban Drawing and Urban Watercolour, where I aim to make urban sketching accessible for beginners while offering fresh ideas for more experienced artists.
At the heart of everything I do is a focus on spontaneity, observation, and storytelling—encouraging people to slow down, look more closely, and experience the world through drawing.
Out and About
A Sketching Story
I moved from Leeds to London a number of years ago, and it was that dramatic change of scenery that really reignited my passion for drawing. I originally trained as a graphic designer, where drawing was a big part of the process, but it was only later—heading out to sketch buildings rather than life models—that things started to click for me.
I was taught by Laimonis Mierins, a Latvian fine artist who encouraged us to draw directly in ink, with no safety net, just committing to the line. It was a bold way of working, and it's something that's stayed with me to this day.
Now based in East London, I spend as much time as possible walking the streets with a sketchbook in hand, drawing wherever I can. London is endlessly inspiring—the architecture, the energy, the constant movement—and the more you engage with it, the more it gives back. While big cities offer an abundance of subject matter, I've always believed there's something worth sketching wherever you are; sometimes you just have to look a little harder.
I've filled dozens of sketchbooks since moving to London, each one a kind of visual journal of places, moments, and observations. I try to draw every day, even if it's something simple. It's less about the subject and more about keeping that rhythm going—staying connected to the act of drawing and to the world around me.
Phil Dean, Shoreditch Sketcher
