Louise French: From Andes Bikepacking to Live Illustration and a Children's Book

Manchester-based illustrator Louise French left London in 2019 with her partner, cycling through Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Patagonia before returning home in March 2020, six days before lockdown. The journey included pushing bikes to a 3,500m pass in Colombia, crossing passes up to 5,000m, camping near glaciers, surviving three snowstorms, traversing the Salar de Uyuni, completing the 1,240km Carretera Austral, and being stuck in La Paz during a political coup for three weeks. French credits the Andes mindset—persisting despite difficulty—with helping her overcome self-doubt in her personal work. She had freelanced since 2014, creating UI and game illustrations for Flight Club Darts, but struggled to finish personal projects. After returning, she launched an online print shop during lockdown, producing a South America series including 'Cycling Colombia'. She also runs Think and Visualise, doing live scribing since 2013 for clients such as UNICEF in Bangkok and Audible in New York. She has faced challenges including two pregnancies, maternity leave, and concerns about AI, but remains optimistic, focusing on in-person work and print fairs. She has completed a children's book draft, signed with an agent, and has two more stories in the series; publishers have called it 'a bit out there and maybe not commercial enough', and she may self-publish.