Beth Draws Buildings is something that grew from my quiet love of architecture and pen and ink drawing. I loved everything creative as a child and consistently answered the universal school-aged question of ‘What do you want to be when you’re older?’ with the word ‘artist’ (which would very occasionally deviate to ‘famous artist’ if I was feeling optimistic).
My art journey began at Hayton primary school when I was five years old, evidenced by the boxes of scribblings my mum kept under the bed in our family home near Talkin Tarn. During my younger years, I was encouraged to draw by an astute teacher who noticed I had a good eye for copying from another source (something which continues to serve me well over 20 years later).
Following primary school, I continued to develop my skills in mixed media, albeit with a more classical style, at Queen Elizabeth Grammar school in Penrith. GCSEs were filled with peculiar still life drawings and seemingly rigid mark schemes, which ultimately dampened my enthusiasm and led to a change of course as I decided to pursue sciences into further education. At this intersection, I went on to study at Newcastle University and later became a senior specialist speech and language therapist in the NHS, working predominantly in Neurorehab and Respiratory medicine – a long way from my five-year-old prediction!
It wasn’t until 2022, 10 years after leaving school, that I picked up my pens again. This time, I revisited my love of art as a means of distraction during the ups and downs of lockdown. I tentatively set up an Instagram page and began sharing some of my drawings, one of the very first being the London hospital I worked at throughout the Covid pandemic; a worthy first drawing of a building that held so many wonderful people who cared for both patients and each other during a challenging period.
Following this, and after several years of city living, I decided to head north and eventually moved back to Cumbria for a slower pace of life – the countryside I had been missing and a ginger Labrador called Rolo (who can regularly be seen enjoying the fells in my Instagram posts). Moving to Kendal initially, I continued to work for the NHS, providing care to community patients in South Lakeland, and would often complete drawings late into the evenings or whenever I could find some spare time.
As the years progressed, I gained more confidence and took on a number of individual and commercial commissions. I began to specialise in detailed hand-drawings of houses, businesses, and special places. Requests included private home commissions as well as some well-known Cumbrian destinations like Holesfoot, Flakebridge Estate, The Penn, Fellside Sauna and Force Café in Ambleside.
As well as providing original drawings, I also taught myself to make digital vectors, prints, and even wedding stationery to expand on what I could offer to prospective customers. Depending on the commission size, each drawing typically takes 20-30 hours to finish and is completed in a combination of my trusty fine liner pens, pencil and watercolour (the latter being something that I am still trying to refine with practice and a travel sketchbook).
With an increased number of commission requests, I was able to reduce my NHS hours at the start of 2025 and now manage my small business alongside clinical commitments. While initially a somewhat nerve wracking gamble, especially in the middle of a home renovation, the extra time has allowed me a great opportunity to develop new ideas and products. So far, this has included a series of images, cards and prints inspired by the Lake District and surrounding countryside where I grew up.
My ‘Lake District Series’ features nine local places including Hallin Fell, Warnscale Bothy, Place Fell, Ambleside Bridge House, Striding Edge, Loughrigg, Ullswater, Coniston Old Man and Aira Force. Hand-drawn designs are combined with light-hearted puns to make for a set of thoughtful and funny greeting cards, such as ‘ain’t no bothy like you’ for Warnscale Bothy and ‘you’re not quite over the hill’ for The Old Man of Coniston (you can bet which one my dad got on his birthday). When considering the designs, the puns actually came before the drawings themselves and provided weeks of enjoyment as I badgered friends and colleagues to help me brainstorm ideas.
Following this, I released a second series of cards called ‘Peak Occasions’ to mark special occasions with a trig point, intended to gift to those who love the fells and outdoors. Living in the countryside and taking inspiration from our surrounding areas, I am committed to making environmentally conscious and sustainable products. This is something that I strive to maintain across designs and, consequently, all my printed items are made from recycled paper, envelopes and biodegradable packaging.
I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the support for my Lake District cards, selling over 5,000 of these in the first 10 months, all of which have been hand-stamped and packaged individually from my own kitchen table – often overseen by Rolo, who likes to keep an eye on production and any snack breaks. After nervously travelling the Lakes with a bag of sample cards at the start of 2025, I have been proud to regularly supply some brilliant local stockists and never get tired of people spotting my designs in the wild.
While juggling NHS work and trying to grow a small business has had its challenges, one of the most enjoyable things that stemmed from my drawings has been ‘Finders Keepers,’ where I leave prints at the places that inspired them, for people to find on their own adventures. Some of my favourites have included Ambleside Bridge House, found by a couple on their honeymoon; Ullswater Jetty, found by some wild swimmers; and Warnscale Bothy, found by a hiker visiting the Lakes. On the run up to Christmas, I also left Christmas cards around the Lake District and love receiving messages on social media from the people who find them.
More recently, I have begun work on a large-scale A0 (84cm x 119cm) grid project ‘Shades of Home’ which will comprise of 247 4x4cm squares, each with an individual monochrome Lake District vista. Each square takes approximately one hour to complete and is hand-drawn with a combination of fine liners, pencil and brush pens.
At the time of writing, I have completed almost x100 squares (but still have a long way to go!) and hope to finish later in 2026. I have been keen to try and make this piece of work more interactive and so I have been asking people to provide their own Lake District suggestions via my Instagram page. Since starting, I have incorporated multiple people’s favourite walks, swimming spots and fells into my drawing and love the idea of incorporating someone’s treasured moment or memorable day out into the main body of work. Once complete, I hope to display the original drawing in the South Lakes, as well as making prints for people to enjoy in their own homes.
‘After nervously travelling the Lakes with a bag of sample cards at the start of 2025, I have been proud to regularly supply some brilliant local stockists and never get tired of people spotting my designs in the wild’
FIND OUT MORE
After a very busy year, I am looking forward to some new projects and seeing what 2026 brings. If you are interested in any of my work, I would love to hear from you!
You can learn more and purchase designs via my website: bethdrawsbuildings.co.uk
For any new commissions or collaboration requests, you can contact me on Instagram @bethdrawsbuildings or send an email to bethdrawsbuidings@gmail.com.
‘While juggling NHS work and trying to grow a small business has had its challenges, one of the most enjoyable things that stemmed from my drawings has been ‘Finders Keepers,’ where I leave prints at the places that inspired them, for people to find on their own adventures’
