By Sally Clifford
Published6th Jul 2025, 06:00 BST
The River Aire, the Leeds & Liverpool canal, and the tracks from the local railway station upon which trains regularly roll, slice through the landscape stretching out of his window with its far-reaching view to Leeds United’s Elland Road home.
For an artist, the panoramic vista is a visionary snapshot of his home city – a place where his love of art began as a young boy.
“Since day one, I just drew through childhood. I am self-taught. I always had a pen in my hand, and I always had a sketchpad.
Clifford Stead, known as Biro Guy, creates stunning colourful artwork inspired by Leeds' changing skyline. Beyond the balcony of his Leeds waterside apartment views of the buildings in progress are re-created in Biro sketches to great effect. Clifford works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulmeplaceholder image
Clifford Stead, known as Biro Guy, creates stunning colourful artwork inspired by Leeds' changing skyline. Beyond the balcony of his Leeds waterside apartment views of the buildings in progress are re-created in Biro sketches to great effect. Clifford works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme
“I always drew imaginary places and would draw a city that used elements of Leeds in it, but it would have other buildings I would see on TV.” Illustrating Clifford’s point is the pen and paint drawing of Leeds and Prague, combining Leeds’ eclectic architecture with Prague’s colourful baroque buildings, dominating his kitchen wall.
“What influenced me, growing up in Leeds, was that all the Victorian buildings were being torn down, so it was all about the future. I was drawing these big tower blocks and now I see Leeds out of the window starting to look like the pictures I drew 20 years ago,” says Clifford.
Drawing was a hobby his parents encouraged him to pursue at Jacob Kramer Art College, Leeds. “English, Geography and History were big subjects for me at school. I went to art college because my parents were keen. I went there because of my drawing.”
Clifford recalls his frustrations of having to surrender his beloved Biro to widen his artistic scope.
Clifford Stead, known as Biro Guy, creates stunning colourful artwork inspired by Leeds' changing skyline. Beyond the balcony of his Leeds waterside apartment views of the buildings in progress are re-created in Biro sketches to great effect. Clifford works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulmeplaceholder image
Clifford Stead, known as Biro Guy, creates stunning colourful artwork inspired by Leeds' changing skyline. Beyond the balcony of his Leeds waterside apartment views of the buildings in progress are re-created in Biro sketches to great effect. Clifford works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme
“It was quite frustrating because they wanted artists with a blank canvas. My pen was taken off me and I was told to draw with a twig and a tin of paint.”
Clifford recalls his early introduction to his pen, which, he believes, is a unique tool for an artist, came during his schooldays.
“I haven’t met many people who use Biros. You did all your writing in class in pencil, but Bic Biros had just appeared. Some teachers would have Bic Biros, and it was like a brave new world in the Seventies,” recalls Clifford.
He began using Biros in his artwork and recalls felt-tip pens were a ‘revelation’ along with the Rotring pen and ink he still uses today.
Clifford Stead works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulmeplaceholder image
Clifford Stead works from home but also hosts walking tours around Leeds and is member of the Leeds Civic Trust. Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme
“It’s like drawing with a needle. The detail you can get. I remember the first time I did a picture with the Rotring, and it changed how I worked. The ink is much stronger, black is jet black, and I also realised it worked well with paint.
“I had never really used paint before. At art college, I started to experiment with Gouache with the Rotring pen, and that started to creep into my style,” explains Clifford.
“The artistic materials make all the difference in the world.”
Clifford began to introduce colour into the finely detailed drawings of his home cityscape.
Clifford with one of his completed skylines Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulmeplaceholder image
Clifford with one of his completed skylines Picture taken by Yorkshire Post Photographer Simon Hulme
The concise and compact scale of Clifford’s colourful drawings of Leeds’ landmark buildings, among them the First Direct Arena, Bridgewater Place and City Hall, comes from working on an A4 sketchpad with little room for manoeuvre.
“I was never comfortable with the giant sheets of paper they gave to me at art college. I just wanted to draw, but I realised they were trying to show me other ways of working and I do appreciate that now.”
Clifford’s trademark chequerboard colours create eye-catching scenes of Leeds as it has never been seen before. “I probably have a number of styles I work in. It is never subdued.”
Photography, another skill gained through college, encouraged him to explore the grittier areas of Leeds’ industrial landscape.
“It was apocalyptic. That was a big game-changer for me. I got my own SLR camera and started to photograph Leeds,” says Clifford.
His renewed appreciation of his home city came when he left to study art at Gloucester College of Art.
“I had never been to Gloucester before, and to live there was something else. It was really good at that age to live in another city because, at the time, you heard about the North-South divide.
"I became aware of how I spoke, and all those things suddenly came into play when I moved to another city. People would say, ‘Where are you from – I’ve not heard that accent’.
It changed my whole life – you see the way Leeds is projected, and that became a big thing in my work. It almost became a lifelong ambition to show the rest of the country that Leeds is a city with a lot going for it.”
Vibrant blues, reds, greens and yellows capture a city where the blend of buildings celebrates a forward-thinking city proud of its past.
“Leeds has quite a split personality. You can see it all out of this window. In 2007, it was going into the skyscraper era. Prior to that, Leeds had done everything in brick.”
Putting pen to paper, Clifford has captured the dramatic change in the city’s skyline and documented its development while profiling its historical importance to others.
His interest in the history of Leeds developed through his involvement with Leeds Civic Trust and its planning committee.
Opening his journals, each page a kaleidoscope of colour, Clifford talks about the successful Sketch Club he helped to set up with a pal after lockdown and ran until last year.
Creatives came from all over to sketch landmarks and locations. Such was the enthusiasm for documenting the sights in drawings, Clifford continues to offer the opportunity through his Walking Tours.
Railway transportation is a popular route beginning at the award-winning Wagon Lifting Hoist in Wellington Place.
The only survivor of a pair previously in operation at Leeds Railway Station was sympathetically restored and opened last year as a mini museum of railway history featuring fascinating artefacts, including station signs kindly loaned by the Middleton Railway in nearby Hunslet.
“It is lovely that Leeds has got this incredible history,” says Clifford.
Taking time to sketch is something he encourages participants to do.
“We sketch all the way round. We do three or four locations, and they are getting a history tour as well,” explains Clifford.
For the first time, Clifford took his tour on the road. ‘See Your City,’ which ran last month, was based on the guided bus tours previously run by Leeds City Council.
Keeping the trip authentic to the era, Clifford organised for a 1960s Leeds Corporation Double Decker to transport passengers around the city’s developments and beauty spots. A 1960s packed lunch was also provided for a picnic during the tour.
Profiling his work around the city has also led to Clifford embarking on some eye-catching commissions.
His artwork wrapped the frontage of the former Debenhams store to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the White Rose Shopping Centre. He also has artwork in the lobby of the Hampton by Hilton in Leeds and the city’s Coles Gallery.
Semi-retirement, following a career spent largely in the printing industry, has brought Clifford so many opportunities and broadened his horizons.
“If you get too much too soon, by the time you get to your 30s, the rest of your life there is nothing to aim for. I think you enjoy it more when you are older.
"The power of art is something else.”