An errand at street level

A laundromat is easy to recognise from the sidewalk, which lets Clara Biel spend her attention elsewhere. In her storefront illustration, the wash of pink meets the sharper red of the signage, and the windows reveal rows of machines. Even the bench suggests a pace for the scene. Someone is going to have to sit down and wait.

A pink car parked outside a row of shops
A pink car parked outside a row of shops. Illustration by Clara Biel / Champ Magnétique. Via Creative Boom · Original image.

When colour sets the pace

Biel, who works as Champ Magnétique, finds subjects in spaces built for routine, from supermarkets to photo booths. Her hot colours can bring a shopfront to mind before we know what kind of shop it is. The signs, doors and parked cars give the eye a series of stops. That rhythm keeps the brightest colours from flattening everything into a single impression.

A photo booth with a red curtain and illustrated signage
A photo booth with a red curtain and illustrated signage. Illustration by Clara Biel / Champ Magnétique. Via Creative Boom · Original image.

Working at the speed of paint

Biel has been carrying more of her illustration into painting. A palette on canvas has to be mixed and applied, and a surface has its own response to a decision. In her interview with Creative Boom, she describes the digital image as a possible sketch for that process. The shift makes sense alongside the subjects she chooses. A place usually passed in minutes becomes something she can spend time making, and that we can spend time looking at.

A figure on a washing machine in a warmly lit laundromat
A figure on a washing machine in a warmly lit laundromat. Artwork by Clara Biel / Champ Magnétique. Via Creative Boom · Original image.

Sources and image credits

Written by The Hasel Magazine. Background reporting: Katy Cowan, Creative Boom, September 17, 2026. Each image links to its source and includes the available credit.