On a sunny pavement outside a London pub, 32-year-old Lydia Wood sits at her easel, sketching the building with a pencil.
Passersby stop to look, but few realize this is part of a years-long mission.
Wood began what she calls "the pub project" in 2021. Since then, she has drawn over 350 intricately detailed sketches of London's pubs.
Her goal: to illustrate all 3,500 of the city's beloved watering holes, a quest that could take at least 10 years.
After losing her teaching job during Covid, Wood started sharing her art online and asked followers if they wanted her to draw their favorite pubs.
"I didn't anticipate the response," says Wood.
"People genuinely missed the ritual of going to the pub with their friends, and they were worried about the pubs that were struggling."
A Book Celebrating London's Pubs
Wood's pub drawings went viral and have been collected in a book, Locals, featuring 60 intricate pencil drawings of pubs across London.
The book includes riverside pubs, alleyway pubs, pubs with cats, and a whole chapter on pubs called The Coach and Horses.
"I wanted the book to feel like you are suddenly pulled to one end of the city, and then to the other," says Wood.
For Wood, the work is about celebrating the communities within pubs, not just the architecture.
Pubs are under threat across Britain; in London, around 1,000 have closed in the last 20 years.
"There are pubs trying to attract younger generations with drag shows, book clubs and quiz nights," explains Wood.
The creative adaptation of these establishments offers hope for their long-term survival. "And I think that will be rewarded in the long term," says Wood.
Her inbox fills daily with pleas from patrons who want their local pubs preserved on paper before it's too late.
"I get messages all the time saying: 'Come and draw my pub, or please, can you draw this pub before it gets demolished next year?'"
says Wood. "Pubs serve a huge purpose, especially for those communities growing up around them."
She recently traveled to south Wimbledon to draw the 150-year-old Trafalgar pub after learning developers wanted to demolish it for flats.
Locals are campaigning to bring it under community ownership.
The drawings take anywhere from six hours to multiple days.
"I could have picked an easier medium to make the process quicker, but I think the pencil is often underestimated as a tool," says Wood.
"It's used for the sketch stage, but to use it to make the piece as a whole is an interesting process."
Spending long periods outside pubs means she meets many new people. She often receives free pints from landlords and chats with curious locals.
Her art becomes a vehicle to talk about pubs in crisis and London's history.
"It opened my eyes to the city," says Wood.
"From a quiet countryside lane in Richmond to a bustling road in Limehouse, it's really fun to experience the whole spectrum of locations."
One drawing features two buildings: The Ship on one side and The Shovell on the other, connected by an underground passage.
"This drawing is about 90% alleyway and only 10% pub," says Wood.
Another pub, The Faltering Fullback in north London, sits adorned in greenery with a beer garden like a treehouse.
"When I was sketching outside, a group of schoolchildren and their teacher came to watch me draw the pub," says Wood.
"What I love about this project is the people I get to meet," she adds.
Wood's first drawing was Blythe Hill Tavern in Catford, her local pub.
"This is my favourite pub because it is my local, and I have so many memories here," says Wood.
Her largest drawing, the Blackfriar pub, took five days to complete on a canvas of 42 by 52.9 cm.
"Each little layer of the pub is different. Its mosaics, etched glass, brickwork and gargoyles make it really unique," she says.
Another pub, named after WWI rifleman Frank Edwards, is under threat of closure.
"I was caught in the rain and had the pleasure of finishing the drawing inside by the open fire with a pint.
Loyal locals also kept buying me drinks as I worked," says Wood.
