Phosphor's Léon Moh-Cah is known for her remarkable ability to capture not just the look of a place, but the feeling of it too. During her year-long trip across the world, she discovered The Standard Hotel in London, known for its beautifully designed interiors. Recently The Standard caught up with Léon to ask her how she discovered the hotel, which she's illustrated both inside and out, and some more about her technique.
"Travelling is my main source of inspiration for my drawings, it’s very important to me and nourishes my sketches. I travel to draw and I draw to travel. I’m lucky enough that I can do both at the same time," Léon told The Standard.
Having discovered The Standard through 'Chessidency' a chess and music event run by Donna Leake and Haseeb Iqbal in the hotel's Library Lounge, Léon went back to sketch the beautifully designed spaces. "I was sketching for 2 days non-stop," says Léon. "The first day I arrived at 11 in the morning, and I left at maybe 2am."
Continuing her collaboration with The Standard, Léon visited their Bangkok Mahanakhon hotel and sketched their spaces, Tease and The Parlor, as part of an International Women's Day celebration.
Léon Moh-Cah is a French 2D animator and sketch artist, interested in the beauty of everyday life. Her practice, mixing digital and traditional techniques, uses daily observation and travels as a main source of inspiration.
After completing BAs in graphic design and animation in Paris, Léon went on to study an Animation Masters at the Royal College of Art before embarking on her globetrotting adventures. Her animations have been screened and won awards across the world, and she continues to sketch, both for clients and herself, which is lucky, because Léon describes her sketchbook as “an extension of [her] arm”. She is never without her kit, the entirety of which fits in a small purse: an A6-A5 sketchbook, a watercolour palette the size of a phone, a brush, a 35mm film can of water, a pen and a pencil.
Check out more of Léon's work in her Phosphor portfolio and get in touch with Trina if you'd like to commission Léon for your next project.
