3.3 Illustrative drawings 

I return to the references I have of my route. 

The photos work fantastically well at taking my mind back to each moment, although as stand alone images there isn't an obvious narrative to each image. 

I return to the sketches I made of my route. 

I specifically select the sketches that intrigue me and conjure my imagination. 

Emotions and memorable words. Shadows, continuous, alone, isolated, endless, opportunity, quiet, peaceful, contemplation, history. 

My sketch here is for reference only. It is rather stale of emotion, but perhaps I wasn't looking at the bench emotively at the time. 

I decide to take the word lonely and sketch the bench again, channeling a more emotive response. 

I use only one colour, 'Payne's Grey' from a watercolour palette. I chose this colour because it varies an awful lot in terms of shade, and the grey would work well with the emotion of loneliness. 

I use an ink nib to sketch the bench again, this time from the back. There is no one there, just the bench and its shadows. Intrigued by the shadows in my initial reference, I include them again here, they continue into the ground, much like the feeling of lonely. 

I incorporate the word 'lonely', running along the top of the bench. I mimic my watercolour brush to the slant of the word, as if the colour is in flow with it. 

I then revisit a door I passed on my route. This door has a wreath of dried, blue flowers. 

Emotive and memorable words: Shape, movement, entwined, attached, perfect, blue, unusual, vibrant, striking. 

I take the work entwined and sketch the doorway again. 

I make the movement of the wreath much bigger, so it entwines and engulfs the door. I use only one colour here, blue as I want there to be no separation of the wreath to the door. They appear as one. 

I use black into to draw. 

The word entwined is also included running downwards from the wreath. 

The postbox is built into a wall that is situated in the very centre of the village. 

Emotive and memorable words: Big, important, central, communication, old, history, lifeline, letters, notes. 

In my second reference sketch, I played on the importance of the post box. 

Inspired by how big the box looks here, I choose big and sketch the box again.

I make the bricks purposefully much smaller than they are in real life, to emphasise the shape and importance of the post box. 

The box looks almost like a tower. The word 'BIG' placed within the brick. 

The wash of red continues around the brick, engulfing the bricks. The opposite to reality where the bricks envelope the red box. 

The lavender pot is only a part of a sketch here, unfinished. 

However, lavender is plentiful in the village. 

Emotive and memorable words: Cotswold garden, romantic, sensual, pretty, beautiful, scented, natural. 

I carried forward the word romantic to revisit the lavender. 

I revisited the gate included here in my photo reference. I hadn't made a sketch of this door initially. 

Emotive and memorable words: Closed, shut, inviting, opportunity, secret, camouflaged, locked, secretive. 

I thought about the word inviting. In reality and in my photo reference, the gate is locked with a large stone in front of it preventing entry. What could be behind the gate? Curiosity is inviting. I turned the gate into an opportunity by adding a key. 

I photographed the gate at an angle, which added to its inaccessibility. By sketching the gate head on, also allows it to become more possible. 

Throughout the village, there is growth, in all things. The landscape is ever changing. There is such history alongside new life. I don't have any reference of this word amongst my initial photos or sketches. However I did want to convey this word in my notes. I used the idea of an old tree trunk, surrounded by long green grass to communicate this. This tree does exist at the top of my road, it is grey in its form and the grass grows around it. The loneliness of the Payne's Grey, alongside the newness of Sap Green. The Sap Green towering up the grey of the tree. 

The collective drawings:

Reflection

Consider how your images evolved as you focused on your adjectives...

The adjectives have bought a rather beauty about the drawings. They have more life to them now than the initial reference sketches. They act a little like tiny snapshots of a story. 

The images have meaning now, they stand out as lone pieces. 

Using adjectives focussed my attention also, I know what I needed to communicate and enjoyed this motivation. 

Which compositions and interpretations best convey your adjective...

The word 'lonely' is my favourite of the sketches. 

Using only the one colour of Payne's Grey communicates the feeling of sadness and isolation perfectly. As a stand alone, single colour the variations to its tone are many, it has a blue to it and appears as a very pale grey when needed. 

The strokes of the brush leading upwards also feel emotional, in tune with the word, flowing in the same way as the emotion. 

Drawing the bench from behind also makes the meaning stand out more prominently. In my initial reference sketches I drew the bench from a sideward angle, as I saw it at the time, noting the shadows. Changing the composition gives a sense of somebody who might have one sat on the bench, who is no longer there. 

You used photographic reference in the process of developing your sketches...

The photos act as complete accurate references. They are a great tool of taking me right back to the moment. A reference of colour, of time, of age, of position. A wealth of information in each photo and an instant refresher of the scene. 

How you enjoyed the process of building upon your sketchbook work...

When I returned to the sketches I made of my route I could see how flat they were, deprived of any emotion. They were drawn as quick reference notes. 

Going about his exercise has been so insightful. To use an adjective to visually communicate a scene has added a narrative. It has added so much life to the ordinary. An inspiring way of working.