Ollie Ireson

Ollie Ireson is a self-taught pencil artist whose practice began in December 2020, born from the quiet intensity of the second Covid lockdown. Drawn instinctively to the stark honesty of black and white imagery, Ollie embraced pencil for its precision and the comforting presence of the eraser. What started as a personal refuge quickly evolved into a distinctive visual language, marked by obsessive detail, surreal composition, and a deep reverence for the overlooked.

Rooted in Birmingham, the city of his birth and lifelong residence, Ollie’s work channels the textures of urban decay, derelict buildings, forgotten corners, and the strange beauty of neglect. Inspired by surrealist masters like M.C. Escher and René Magritte, he reimagines these spaces into illogical, dreamlike scenes that invite viewers to reconsider the environments we’ve built and abandoned.

Ollie’s meticulous approach elevates the disregarded, asking us to look again and look closer. His piece “336–338 Moseley Road” was shortlisted for the inaugural RBSA Drawing Prize in 2023, and exhibited at the RBSA Gallery. In 2024, “Unreflection” was selected for Birmingham Creates: The Open, displayed publicly outside Snow Hill Station throughout the summer.

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