To say artist Matt Bryans got his start in an airport departure lounge isn’t far from the truth. During the five years that Bryans, now 28, spent “sometimes selling perfume, sometimes dressing as Father Christmas” at London’s Gatwick airport, he was also developing an unusual artistic technique that would earn him a spot in the 2004 Tate Modern Pin-Up show, as well as recent shows at the Andrea Rosen Gallery in New York and Kate MacGarry Gallery in London.

At the airport, Bryans began drawing passersby on scraps of travelers’ discarded newspapers in an effort to break his daily monotony. “Eventually I ran out of pencils,” Bryans says, “so I started using the eraser.” The result was an ongoing collection -- thousands of hauntingly beautiful images of anonymous newsprint faces (some of which he put on display for his solo show at Kate MacGarry).

Despite the prevalence of travel as a theme in both Bryans’ life and his work (he is currently working on collaged color landscapes made from found paper), he’s far from the jet-setting type. “It’s an element of consolidating all of your time in one place,” says Bryans, who lives and works in South London. “London is such a weird hodge-podge, a labyrinth, a funny mix,” Bryans says. “It’s so sort of weird. I think I like it.”

Somewhere in the midst of preparing for his first child (due in August), an October show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta, and “burning aluminum into fake rocks,” Bryans found time to disclose his favorite hometown hideaways.

In his own words:

My girlfriend and I spend quite a lot of time by the canals in Walthamstow Marsh and Hackney Marsh on the Lea Valley. It's a wide-open space bordered by the canals, a railway line, and water reservoirs. You often see kestrels, herons, cormorants, and kingfishers. In the canal itself we actually saw a turtle once! I guess you don't necessarily associate this kind of thing with the London Urban Experience, but it means a lot to us to have it there. If you fancy a quick bite or a cup of tea, there is a little cafe down by the rowing club.

It's coming up to summer, so we'll probably start going swimming again at Hampstead Heath on the other side of town (a 40-minute cycle from Hackney). They have great open-air ponds (male, female -- open all-year-round for the stout of heart -- and mixed). I think the mixed one should open up May-Sept and it's free! They have absolutely enormous carp swimming in this pond.

Maybe it's the thought of the new kid kicking in that makes me think of Hackney City Farm. Of late, they've had some great people making food in the restaurant there, and I thoroughly recommend it. The prices are also great. You can even buy fresh eggs for later too. But if you’re kid-phobic, don't go on the weekend.

Pubs are a hard one, as there are so many good ones, but our local is The Dolphin on Mare Street, which is relaxed and unpretentious. Also, The Dove on Broadway Market can't be beaten for its selection of Belgian beers (and the food's not bad either).

One place we love to eat is at Green Papaya on Mare Street too. It's a Vietnamese restaurant. I can't remember taking a single person there in the last 6 years who didn't like it. On a similar tack, but for more everyday prices, we go to Chan's Noodle Bar on Mare Street. You get a lot for your money, and a nice line in romantic ballads.  (Chan’s usually plays Vietnamese pop music with an emphasis on heart-wrenching emotion and has a framed digital print of a rose with the word love superimposed on it.)

The National Gallery's Salisbury Wing houses its collection of early medieval altarpieces, icon paintings, etc., and has some great stuff. For new stuff, I guess I'd say just dive in almost anywhere. There’s such a huge volume of new artist-run spaces /galleries/one-off events in funny buildings that, to be honest, you just have to get stuck in. Of course I'm biased, but I think Kate MacGarry is always worth a visit!

For some nightlife, the Bethnal Green Working Man's Club is always good for a party. In the past they used to be all over the country, one in every town; guys who worked paid a small fee and became members to sit around and drink and play pool. Now, this one is becoming quite fashionable. They have gigs and things (Ed. note: everything from films, live bands, cabaret & burlesque, and tea and cake, to be exact).

-Alisa Gould-Simon

Hackney City Farm, 1A Goldsmiths Row, E2 8QA, +44 (0)20 7729 6381; hackneycityfarm.co.uk

The Dove, 24-28 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ, +44 (0)87 1223 5423

The Dolphin, 165 Mare Street, E8 3RH, +44 (0)20 8985 3727

Green Papaya, 191 Mare Street, E8 3QE, +44 (0)20 8985 5486

Chan’s Noodle Bar, 181 Mare Street, E8 3QE, +44 (0)20 8985 5969

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN, +44 (0)20 7747 2423, nationalgallery.org.uk

Kate MacGarry Gallery, 95-97 Redchurch Street, E2 7DJ, +44 (0)20 7613 3909; katemacgarry.com

Bethnal Green Working Man’s Club, 42 Pollards Row, E2 6NB, +44 (0)20 7739 2727; myspace.com/workingmenscub and workersplaytime.netTate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG, tate.org.uk/modern/

Andrea Rosen Gallery, 525 West 24th Street, NY, 212.627.5450, andrearosengallery.com