This view is of the City of London from across the Thames on the Greenwich side. It was a cold November afternoon and the sun was catching the buildings and freezing the scene for a few minutes underneath a canopy of ochre clouds. It was hard to believe looking at it that this stretch of a few square miles is the engine room of the country’s economy.
I’d just spent time listening to three parliamentary leaders of our country’s Parliament address the most senior business leaders of the country. I’d also just got a call to say that a water pipe had burst at home and had to make the journey back home North.
And in one moment it felt as if I was in two worlds at once!
The fact that looking at this sketch brings back those memories highlights how my drawing brings together different strands of life’s narrative. Images and sketches are loaded with memory, allusions, and also sharply define how I interpret the situations I am in. Perhaps we all react to a picture or a scene in this way, more so than the written word.
On a day to day basis I am privileged to get a snapshot into life across the Yorkshire and Humber region. My working life takes me on the road and I come across extraordinary people and places and businesses from both ends of the spectrum. I’m excited to start documenting some of them in parts of my blog.
(Happy to report that the burst water pipe got fixed and the delightful bright custard stain on the living room ceiling gets painted in 2020!)
