Check out the creative process of a man whose hand and eyeballs must hurt very much. All in the name of detailed landscapes
Randomscape
The above piece came about from a drawing I did of a docked ship as part of a series of 10cm x 10cm drawings. I thought that it would look really cool if it was larger and showed all sorts going on. So I got my Rotring 0.35 pen and redrew the docked ship (centre left) on an A3 sheet and it just grew from there. It’s freehand pen and ink and developed randomly with no planning or pencilling in first – hence the title. It means a lot to me because it went on to spawn a series of similar, detailed drawings of different sizes and shapes called Randomscapes.
I love industrial buildings and landscapes; derelict and empty, alive and thriving. At the time, having recently moved to Nottingham, I was struck by the many different types of architecture that subconsciously fed into the drawing. I moved from Cambridge which is flat and quite small, whereas Nottingham has hills and tall buildings to see things from different angles and perspectives.
I have always liked art with lots of detail, it’s great for losing yourself and forgetting the real world for a few moments. I didn’t put people in it as I think our eyes are instinctively drawn to them and the thoughts that follow are about people – What are they doing? Where are they going? What are they thinking or feeling? I wanted it to be about the buildings and the landscape so people could fall into it, maybe even place themselves in it, without having to think about other people. I’m not a misanthrope but people do get in the way sometimes…
I drew it in the house I lived in at the time, the room overlooked the Sneinton terraces and towards Bakersfield and Colwick woods. I loved the view and would often stare at it, watching the weather and the changing light.
There are two reactions I get: not interested and move on, or stop and stare. The first comments are always, “It must have taken you ages...”, or “What is going on in your head?” and sometimes, “Are you autistic?”
I’m a self-employed illustrator and draughtsman, drawing for a living is great. I don’t get to do these sorts of drawings but when I get some spare time, I’d love to get back into the immersive world of randomly drawn landscapes. It would be fantastic to draw a new randomscape on a whole wall. Or perhaps a really detailed coloured version.
Joe Bright's website
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