From a childhood dining table to M&S flagship stores, libraries, schools and nurseries, Lindfield artist Brett Hudson’s distinctive drawings grew out of freedom, curiosity and a lifelong joy in creating pictures
Raised by creative parents who encouraged art at the dining room table every day, Brett Hudson’s work has since reached a nationwide audience through children’s books, humorous paintings, urban landscapes, greetings cards and animal portraits.
And his broad portfolio of work has been so well received he was recently selected to be one of the 250 local artists – out of 2,000 entries – to be exhibited at Sussex 2025 at Newhaven’s BN9 Studio. Brett even won a £1,000 prize, one of four presented at the show.
It’s the culmination of a lifetime of work which began at home at an early age.
‘My parents were both creative, doing up houses and making them look amazing,’ says Lindfield-based Brett. ‘My dad was a designer draughtsman, so he was very technical, producing large, precise drawings on tracing paper. My mum would paint in oils, and her subjects were mainly animals, pets and houses. My sister was very good at crafting and would make beautiful pictures and objects from things she’d found.
‘We were encouraged to get all the paints, pens and paper on the dining table. Dad would bring home used printer paper from the office, which meant we could try anything and not be too precious about it, which I think has proved to be very important.’
At school, Brett continued to hone his skills while developing a love of book illustrations. ‘Overall, I enjoyed the other lessons but struggled to read quickly and would often misunderstand what was required,’ he says.
‘The way I would choose a book was from the illustrations. If the pictures were exciting, interesting or funny I’d give the book a try.’
The pictures inspired Brett’s own work, and earned him some early recognition. ‘A couple of highlights at school were winning a book token for a drawing I had done of a manor,’ he says. ‘Another one was our Year 6 trip to the Isle of Wight where we had diaries. I put a lot of time into pictures of landscapes, butterflies and cartoons of my teachers and classmates. When we got back to school I was presented with a prize.’
Rather than sit A-Levels, Brett, now 53, knew he wanted to study art, in particular illustration, and followed his instincts. He signed up for a BTEC in general art at Northbrook College, near Worthing, followed by a two-year course in illustration and graphic design. ‘My generation was the last to use cut and paste with scalpels and spray glue,’ he explains.
‘There were three computers but nobody taught us how to use them. Our course consisted of life drawing, history of art, print making and screen printing, which I particularly enjoyed. It was so exciting to see the results.’ After this Brett studied illustration as an HND and was thrilled when a piece from his graduation show was bought by a card agent and sold in Marks & Spencer.
‘It was a funny picture of a larger woman in a bathing costume, lying on a sunbed wearing a shower cap and with cucumber over her eyes,’ he recalls. ‘I went into M&S’s flagship store in Oxford Street to buy 10 of them. When the cashier asked why I wanted so many, I told her it was my drawing. She called over her colleagues and they all made a big fuss. It was a great feeling.’
Brett set his sights on being a children’s book illustrator, and after traipsing round showing his his portfolio to three or four publishers a day he finally managed to get an agent and started illustrating books for eight to 10-year-olds.
‘I had to create the character based on an outline of the story,’ he says. ‘I would get the layout with the spaces for my illustrations. I’d then sketch everything out and then use an old-fashioned dip pen and ink well. The cover was done separately and for this I’d use watercolour and a dip pen. It was great to see a book eventually published, I would be sent a few copies and sometimes even the foreign language versions.’
Over a decade Brett worked on more than 40 books, plus educational material. Yet despite his productivity, the world of picture books – which he loved most – proved elusive due to the extremely competitive market.
By this time he also enjoyed creating amusing watercolours, which attracted interest when he took them to his first art shows. ‘I approached a gallery in Lindfield called the Birman,’ he says.
‘Although their work was very traditional, they offered me the chance to try out my work. I suggested a painting of the local pond, and they were reluctant as this was the subject of over half the paintings. I went for it anyway, and produced a huge painting of the normal houses in the background but with people boating and swimming on the water, a couple in luminous sportswear on a tandem, an old woman walking her dogs and my dad pulling a chequered shopping trolley. I always put him in a picture if it needed filling.
‘I ended up selling lots of prints. I would paint the houses in a realistic way, but add fun dogs, cats, horses and people having picnics or doing DIY. I would find a beautiful cottage or grand house and make up an imagined world around it.’
After living in Hove, where he’d often go to Brighton on a Saturday morning to sketch people in the vibrant North Laine area, Brett moved to Lindfield 15 years ago. He lives with his wife Lindsey, their two daughters and labrador, Bonnie.
His portraits of comedians such as Kenneth Williams, Eric Morecambe, Rowan Atkinson, Rik Mayall and Dame Edna Everage, are a talking point at Lindfield’s Stand Up Inn. ‘The idea was that people would go in and have a drink and chat about the shows these comedians have been in and the many laughs they have given us,’ he says.
Brett, who works from a purpose-built studio in his garden, says he never wants to stick with one style and enjoys working in various mediums and painting and drawing in different ways.
‘I’ll be working on a pencil portrait while planning a landscape in oils,’ he says. ‘Linked to my illustration style I have developed a process for doing humorous watercolours of people’s homes or favourite holiday memories. It is a way to bring elements together from past and present, relatives or pets that might have passed. I fill the pictures with loads of details, drinks, outfits, cars, hobbies and previous jobs, all tucked away for the recipient to discover. They have proved very popular for special birthdays, anniversaries, wedding presents and retirements.
‘A few years ago I started painting large watercolours and acrylics of London landscapes. They are very detailed and can take several weeks to complete.
Brett’s work starts from £20 for a print, and he sells prints and original work through his website (bretthudsonart.net), social media channels and the Stand Up Inn. Looking ahead, he has applied for various exhibitions and the Derwent Art Prize, celebrating work created using pencils. His eventual goal is to attract interest from a gallery and grow his audience further.
‘I also want to work en plein air painting, whether it be a building, landscape or people and painting directly from life,’ he says. ‘It’s a real skill and I have huge admiration for people who do it well.’
In the meantime, Brett has plenty to keep him busy. ‘Sussex is a fantastic county for an artist, full of inspiration and the opportunity waiting to be painted and drawn,’ he says. ‘Enough for several lifetimes.’.
