All of London Illustrated
London is a big city—twice the physical size of New York—with over 3 million homes and hundreds of historical landmarks. Nine million of us friendly Londoners cram together to enjoy the city, and we know it’s one of the best places in the world. Even if Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “Hell is other people”, he certainly wasn’t a Londoner!
I originally come from Manchester, and let me tell you: hell is grey skies—and that’s one of the reasons I made the move, as many others have, to the “Big Smoke.” London took time to grow on me; everything is harder here—rent, travel, people, etc. But the big attraction for me was always the architecture. Whether old or modern, it was all captivating. I would walk for hours, and still do, to experience more. As an architect, this is both part of my education and my soul. Seeing architecture inspires me, and you can always take influence from others in your own designs.
Over the years, however, I began to realize that the numerous buildings were starting to blend together. The city became one constant stream of structures. What stood out to me were the spaces—rather than the architecture itself. I took countless photos, but I never really studied them. That’s when I realized I was missing something. I needed to see things differently, so I picked up the pencil.
Drawing is an act—a deliberate relationship between the artist and the object, but also with what created the object. When you draw architecture, you read it, you understand it, and then you know why the architect made the choices they did. You can feel the gravity in the structure, the chisel that forms the carvings, the proportions that make it elegant. All of this becomes part of your memory. And that’s the trick—like taking notes at a lecture, drawing is taking notes of the world around us.
So, I began a quest to draw and paint all of London’s great buildings and to learn as much as I could about this extraordinary city. I have now drawn over 500 of the most iconic buildings that make up the very fabric of the city. It has also helped me connect with many others who share a love for architecture, watercolors, and London. Many people follow my Instagram pages, leaving the kindest comments and suggestions for more buildings I may have missed—proving Sartre was wrong. Hell is not other people… but then again, he was never a Londoner.
For more information visit:
Illustration | Freehandlines
https://freehandlines.co.uk
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Freehandlines – The finest architectural illustrations.
