Assignment Three: 

Illustrative people and places

1. Visual Research 

I decided to explore a new and previously unexplored route for this assignment. I headed to the small market town on Shipston-on-Stour with an A3 sketchbook and HB pencil initially. Even though the town is now far from where I live, I haven't ever taken the opportunity to explore, so I feel like I could find plenty I have never noticed before. 

I decide to stay in a standing position and move every 5 minutes. As I am stood, and armed with quite a large sketchbook, I do the best with the pencil I have to document my observational drawings on this initial walk. 

The pencil means I can stand and I don't have to carry any water or additional items, so I do feel confident at this stage in my flexibility. 

I am able to make basic notes of colours and texture, notes I wanted to remember. I found the pencil to work quickly with and with ease. 

I have one hour of opportunity. I started in the market area of the town where I found the main road with shops, quite a populated area. However as I wondered the town on foot, I did venture away from the main area in to a much greener area which where I found a contrast to the hustle of the modern world, a much greener area of a beautiful, overgrown graveyard. Inspired by the work of Pam Smy, this is where my instinct has led me. 

Another highlight of the route was a shop on the corner of the road 'Hand in Time'. Such a traditional shop, beautifully presented with a dark green exterior. Most notable though are the words inscribed on the clock face on the outside of the shop, the words "Remember time lost cannot be regained". Most interesting as shops like this are now a rarity. 

Route Drawings: 

Visual References: 

As well as my sketchbook I also documented as much as I could of my route on camera to carry forward for reference material.

Research - Gilly Oxlade- Arnott 

The National Trust have commissioned Worcester artist Jilly Oxlade- Arnott to display twelve pieces in the house, I have her work at Croome, Warwickshire. 

Oxlade-Arnott is known for her detailed architectural ink and watercolour sketches, most famously for historically significant landmarks. Most specifically collections of architecture in Birmingham and Cheltenham. 

However, it isn't the architecture that intrigues me, it's the watercolour sketches of the human form. My tutor has made reference to how blind contour drawings have helped loosened me up in previous exercises, I believe this to be true. However looking back at the pencil sketches above, there still is a stiffness that I aspire to ease. 

The sketches of the human form are created using watercolour, there are no lines. I like the fluidity of the figures. They appear natural without restrictions or restraints. They are identifiable to the eye and appear accurate, without line. Oxlade-Arnott also only uses a limited palette in her sketchbooks which too is interesting to see at work. 

What can I carry forward into my own practice? 

I have decided to revisit my route and select a limited number of landmarks to attempt to sketch using a watercolour palette, I will try to avoid line and let a natural and fluid sketch appear. Perhaps with time and practice, I may get better and so create a looser sketchbook. 

Pam Smy 

'Lob' is an invisible figure to many of the characters in Linda Newbery's manuscript. It was an innovative suggestions by Illustrator Pam Smy to question whether 'Lob needed to be seen in the drawings at all. 

Smy went on a journey with her sketchbook in the search of 'Lob'. She chose the 'Empty Common Allotments' to make 30 records of the everyday. Smy studied the environment for many hours, studying the wheelbarrows, compost bins and sheds along with all evidence of nature. She wanted to expand her knowledge of what she thought she already knew of the everyday in an environment that would give her a number of types of garden, all in one. The allotments. The process of drawing the items within the allotment, made them familiar. This aided her in her search for 'Lob'. Smy observed how the gardens tried to tame the nature within, how the subjects within the space related to each other. Conscious observations that would bring her closer to 'Lob'. "Drawing encourages us to think visually. It also allows us to edit information". 'Holder and Hodgkinson 2012'. 

The character of 'Lob' is starts to emerge in the sketches. I'm hoping to use nature and inspired thinking to find a narrative, perhaps even a character within my observational drawings. 

Visual Reference - Route Revisited

I revisit my route, this time armed with a sketching pad and 'Payne's Grey' watercolour, a bottle of water and one pain brush. 

It is much trickier to sketch this way, I am worried of making careless mistakes on the paper due to sketching on the move. However, the town is quiet and I position myself wherever I can find a perch. I allow approximately 10 minutes in each spot. 

There is a beautiful old tree in the overgrown churchyard. At first glance I notice the facial pareidolia i the tree. The marks are heavy and ingrained and the face appears to be sleeping. This is of particular interest to me. Using the watercolour I capture the marks as best as I can. 

The shop 'Time in Hand' is also of particular interest as it  is so beautiful, old fashioned with an enchanting appearance. It sits on the corner of the street. Again, this is a challenging position. However I try to capture the shape of the shop, the texture of the bricks. Where the light hits. The grey captures reflections beautifully. 

Using my sketchbook, I make quick sketches of the people I see around me. I am not speedy enough or accomplished enough to complete satisfying sketches of people on location using only the watercolour. So to overcome this challenge, I use a line on location with a focus on the movement of the body. 

I use my camera to take further observational reference of the figures and I apply the watercolour in key areas once home. 

I am pleased with these sketches as I feel they are not as uptight as my previous sketches, they are not as relaxed as I would like but I can see an improvement in my effort to loosen up. 

Which drawings do you see as pieces of visual notation? 

I would like to use some of the textures I observed in some way within the reportage. I took a number of photo references of the lines and textures on the trees. This is their age, so established. I wonder if I can incorporate the movement of the trees within a final piece. 

Which drawings do you see as possible pieces or reportage as they already exist? 

The old tree that with trickery appears to be sleepy is a strong possibility as it's a beautiful feature of the graveyard. It presents itself as a living character. it is old and textured which makes is visually interesting. It would work brilliantly within a fictional piece for children. it would be a stretch of my imagination to build it within a scene, a challenge I welcome. 

The 'Time in Hand' shop I have now drawn on both occasions, once in pencil and again in watercolour. I returned to it as it is such a landmark within the town. It is rare and appears prestigious. It sits on the corner and cannot be missed. The words on written on the clock are beautiful and significant as they remind us of the importance of time. 

Which drawings would you like to build upon further? 

I would like to take the figures and put them to another use, position them somewhere entirely different. Perhaps as the tree presenting as a living character, a fictional character, I could create a fictional scene. I would need to expand my imagination and push my creativity to use the tree, time shop and figures in a new way. 

2. Developing a narrative

Continuing with the looser sketches of the watercolour, I looked for areas of interest in my collection of observations. 

Here there is a very old, established willow tree behind the graveyard. The leaves hang at such length and whistle in the wind. 

I love the mark making of the willow here, watery and long strokes. 

Opposite the time shop there is a three story residential house. This caught my eye because of the redness of the brick. Again with the looser strokes, I tried to capture the areas of brick work. It's really interesting to see now what can form without the use of line in my sketchbook. 

Narrative Thumbnails: 

Once home I revisit all of my reportage documentation. All of the sketches and the photos. 

I was most inspired by the time shop and the overgrown graveyard. Here is where I could feel my mind wondering about a storybook style narrative. Again, feeling so inspired by the character of 'Lob' in exercises leading up to this point, I wonder if I could you the nature of Shipston-on-Stour to find a narrative. I also use scamper references to navigate a way forward from here. 

1. Scamper references: Combine - The sleeping tree with a clock within inspired by they shop, 'Time in Hand'. 

I make notes of the words, emotions conjured from this sketch to the side of the drawings, again looking for a narrative. 

2. Substitute - The boundaries of the graveyard with with a new positioning of items. 'Time in Hand' in reality is positioned on the road opposite the graveyard, here I position it within. I also bring the sleeping tree forward, repositioning it to full view, rather than hidden as it is in real life. 

Again, creating a spidergram of feelings and words alongside the drawing. Specifically noting the words on the clock "Remember time lost cannot be regained".

3. Modify - The sleeping tree so the tree becomes a time capsule for the town. Within the tree I position the time shop and the graveyard. This is certainly an expanse of my imagination. 

Carrying this thought forward. I carry the sleeping tree forward and sketch the tree using the 'Payne's Grey watercolour onto a large A3 white sheet of paper. My sketches so far have been small so this tree with be blown up to as big as I can create it on the page. 

Here I am careful to include facial pareidolia first spotted on my visit. 

Carrying forward the narrative of the old sleeping tree as the time capsule for the town, I also create the opening. 

Within the tree I position 'Time in Hand' they shop I have found particularly inspiring in my sketches. 

I also take two of the figures from my sketchbook and using scamper reference - Put to another use, I take the figures from there originally spotted positions on the street and place them within this fictional scene. Here I have a female figure looking into the shop window. The gentleman is now positioned outside of the shop looking on towards the graveyard. 

To contrast against the grey of the tree, I decide to use the real colours of the components within the tree. Using watercolour I try to capture the green of the shop front. 

A  narrative is already taking place here, without me desperately searching for one. I'm really encouraged by this natural progression. 

I now start to think about a background to the sleeping tree. I have taken note of textures in my sketchbook, in photos I had references of the growth within the graveyard. 

I experiment with etching over an Oak tree leaf with an green oil pastels. 

My tutor has referred to a need to work on my tone in my work to date. With this in mind, I boost the colours of my mark making digitally. 

Here the colours of the greens I initially chose to use appear too blue. Considering the age of the tree, I don't believe the blue tints would be a good fit. 

I go again, this time choosing a much darker green. I then boost the colour digitally. 

The texture is heightened. Wonderful, expressive marks have appeared, without losing the veins of the leaf. A rich and intense colour that should look really interesting alongside the grey of the sleeping tree. 

Duplicating by photocopying the mark making, I now have material to start creating a background. 

I also continue to build the scene within the hollow of the tree. 

The figures are placed and coloured within the graveyard. 

I also fill the background with the long branches of the willow tree, scamper reference - Putting to another use. The tree isn't technically within the graveyard, it is behind and cannot be see from afar. The lines of the leaves make a good background here and it gives me the opportunity to use the pleasing marks in my sketchbook. 

Of the list of possibilities for this drawing, I have chosen 'A historical piece in a textbook for children that would be relevant to your location'. 

My reasons are: 

• The tree is presented as a time capsule. 
• The scene within the tree is inspired by the old shop 'Time in Hand', a significant landmark within the town of Shipston-on-Stour. 
• Time and history go hand in hand, history cannot exist without time. 
• The scene is a piece of fiction, based purely on the expansion of my imagination, a fit for a children's piece. 

Illustration: 

I have not hand drawn the wording from the clock so it is at this point I have a go at digitally including the words "Remember time lost cannot be regained". The drawing follows on from this narrative so it makes sense the words are included. 

In my thumbnail sketches, I took the idea of having the ticking numbers of the clock coming from the hidden scene and out of the tree, again they are added in here digitally. The word 'regained' starts to fall as if flowing with the numbers of the clock. 

The font chosen is a traditional style that matches the feel and emotion of the scene and message. Gold has been used as I feel it compliments the greens within the scene. 

Reflections: 

As advised I used the Scamper references to assist me with this assignment, specifically (A) Adapt,  (C) combine, (Modify), and (P) Put to another use. 

Adapting the reference material within my observational drawings allowed for the development of the sleeping tree. Adapting it's purpose composed it as a character within the scene, the main character as it has transpired. 

Combing the old shop 'Time in Hand' and the tree created a mystical and intriguing idea, a curios idea that has been so pressing on my imagination, but so rewarding. Whilst drawing and photographing my route, I could never have guessed such an imaginative idea would have transpired. 

Modifying the position of the figures allowed me to reposition them somewhere entirely different, I took them from the main market town streets and placed them within the old and overgrown graveyard. No graves have been buried in this cemetery in many decades so in actual fact, it is rarely visited hence why it has been left untendered. Also relevant to putting to another use. 

The Scamper references have allowed me to venture down an entirely new path, with a new understanding of the tools necessary to get there. Scamper will now be that valuable tool. 

I believe the idea of the narrative to be much stronger than my sketchbook illustration. 

I could create more of a layered background to the tree, to add further texture and more density. The sketch is a foundation of an idea, but an idea that I am pleased with. 

The  tree looks like the character I had recognised in the facial para , however again I could add further density to the aging facial lines of the tree, adding layers. 

The observation of Jilly Oxlade-Arnott introduced a new way of sketching, and one that I feel I have enjoyed developing in. When I compare the watercolour sketches to the pencil sketches at the start of this assignment, the watercolour sketches are so much looser and happened with fluidity. I hope to continue to sketch in this way. 

As I have progressed through the exercises, the character of 'Lob' and my studies of Pam Smy have directly influenced my desire to use nature and keep pushing at my imagination to break down boundaries in my own mind, to expand my ideas and be brave as Smy was when she decided to create the character of 'Lob' as a form of presence and atmosphere over a static and obvious being. 

Sketching a route and creating observational drawings of everything I see as interest bought a wealth of inspiration, things that I would never have found before. I do still feel awkward sketching on the street, however now as much as before. I have found confidence in moving every 10 minutes so as not to stay anywhere too long. 

What were the main challenges you overcame when drawing in public? 

The awkwardness of standing and drawing, holding the pad of paper. Juggling my belongings. 

I kept moving around on my routes, repositioning myself every 10 minutes. This was because I wanted to capture a lot of material.  I think the next time I will position myself in the same spot and draw the different scenarios that take place. Snapshots of time perhaps, one spot at different times. It would be interesting to see what I could discover this way. 

Has drawing in your sketchbook altered the way you think about how you use photography to document and record? 

Photography has been a fantastic backup, a conclusive and factual record of what I saw. It has been a reassuring resource of material to refer to once I arrived home. 

What the photos couldn't show me though, were the thoughts that went through my head at that time. The inspiration and wonder I felt when I found something hidden, like the time shop and the overgrown cemetery. Photos are the perfect, factual research tool. The emotion comes from the sketchbook.  

What materials suited you best when you were on location? 

I only managed to juggle one pad. The pencil of course was the easiest thing to carry around, although as I found my sketches were rigid and nervous, rather stale. 

The watercolour tube was easy, as it was just one colour, a bottle of water and a brush. Trickier than the pencil but the results were more natural and pleasing. Perhaps a combination of a pencil and one chosen colour could work. 

Do you see your drawings as stand alone drawings or would you prefer to develop them in  studio situation? 

I do not see myself as accomplished enough in street drawing to consider any of the sketches I made as illustrations in their own right. I think my inexperience and nervousness is exposed here. I do need time to develop the bits I captured. 

How will you use your sketchbook drawings to lead to other ideas? 

I think the drawings I have taken are a great snapshot of my ability at this moment in time. As I have mentioned previously, I think the narrative I developed was stronger than the outcome I was able to develop and deliver. It would be useful to develop in this area and use the observational drawings to date as a catalogue of progress. 

The narrative ideas are also seeds of ideas I could use and develop further in future exercises. 

Do you prefer working fast or slow? How will you use these approaches in future work? 

I think my instinct in every exercise so far has been to work fast. I think this is a reflection of my anxiety when faces new experiences and tasks I have had no previous experience in. I think by drawing fast, I get a quick delivery of where I am at and then I can move on. I think the next challenge for me would be to stay in one place and create more sustained drawings. 

Are there qualities in the way you doodle that you can bring into your ideas within the future? 

I really hope that I have that opportunity. I think doodling is when my drawings appear relaxed, a simplicity, a seed of an idea. There are no boxes to tick, only delivering on my imagination at that point. Id really like to evolve so that I can bring more of myself into the tasks. 

I enjoy the fluidity of Indian ink and the intensity of the line on paper. 

References: 

Newbery, L (2014) Lob, David Fickling Books an imprint of Random House Children's Books

Oxlade-Arnott, J (2021) The New National Trust Collection, Croome, 15th August.