Drawing Approaches


My work has been characterised by two distinct approaches:

Minimal, Rapid and Naive LInear
... leaving lots of white page, and with occasional colour. I developed this approach in making close observations to document day to day environments (trees, gardens and wild places) in situations where it is necessary to look and work fast (for example Hawthorn Diaries) and for landscape design concept studies and teaching (for example Birches/Chair) where speed and concision are required.

Tonal, slow transcriptions of digital imagery
exploring photographic, filmic and digital qualities of light and places. These drawings often explore autobiographical narratives of gardens, woods and wilderness (for example Haunts of the Lime).

The approach of moving between digital photographic media and paper-based drawing and prints was first developed and refined for my book illustrations in To Design Landscape (2012). Later I expanded the method to make large scale installation drawings transcribing digital projections of pixels (for example (GROVE Exhibition at UC Berkeley).

Since then I have evolved different tonal transcription methods with increasing use of colour, and more attention  to narrative composition. In my latest series of forest installation drawings and garden stories I’m experimenting to combine the fast/line and slow/tone drawing approaches. 

You can see some of my work in progress and read more about my ideas on drawing on Instagram, and in the short essays on this website here.

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