Wendy Lowe FMP @wendylowefmp - Tumblr Blog

Bermondsey Blue Plaques

Bob and Roberta Smith 'Shop Local'

old photos of Rotherhithe

Planning my journey

How it relates to the bigger picture of your own area of expertise

Earlier this year I did a project where I collected shopping lists, and then drew what I thought the houses of the shopping list's owner what would look like. Judged on their handwriting and what they bought, I turned these shopping lists into a character. As an illustrator, I am hugely interested in personalities, and places, and how places can have personalities determined by the people who go their, the way they look etc. There's a John Berger quote that says "Every city has a sex and an age which have nothing to do with demography. Rome is feminine. So is Odessa. London is a teenager, an urchin, and in this hasn’t changed since the time of Dickens. Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman.” While I think this is a romanticised view, I really love that idea of places being like people.

This year I feel I have really worked of my location drawing skills, and learnt how to visually show the character or feel of a place or object through drawing for example using darker colours if the weather is gloomy. This is a skill I feel I'd maybe like to use within this project, showing my, or perhaps my great-grandmothers feeling (which I could find in her memoirs) towards somewhere through drawing.

This year I have also learnt a lot about new places. While I still live at home for the year, I often travel to new places to visit people and now spend a lot of time in Sussex. I'm sure that my connection with Sussex is a lot different from people who live there; I have different associations with different places, perhaps I notice things that people who live there don't. And I'm sure that the same applies to anywhere. Everyone has their own personal connection with places.

This Is Rome by Miroslav Sasek

#rome #city #m sasek

This Is Britain by Miroslav Sasek

#london #brighton #britain #m sasek #this is britain

A daily telegraph feature where celebrities describe their perfect weekend. Some tell a realistic version of what they often do, while some opt for a more fantasy version, what they would do if time, or money was no limit.

#daily telegraph #perfect weekend

I reverted back to thinking about how I was drawn to the area of SE1 as I thought of it as 'real London' as opposed to tourist London. My parents often listen to BBC Radio London in the morning and this feature caught my eye (or ears). It's called the 'London Weekender' and involves a caller talking the presenter, Robert Elms, through their perfect London weekend. They have to choose how to spend their morning, somewhere to have a meal, something cultural to do, and a form of transport. I think this is a really interesting way of exploring real London and all the wonderful places that can be discovered.

(The link may expire, as shows are only available to listen to for a certain amount of time, but the feature is on his show every Saturday morning).

#London #robert elms #real london

Herb Lecster: It's Nice to Be Alone in Paris

#map #guide #paris #herb lester

Herb Lecster's Clandestine London: 31 places with hidden alcoves and easy exits, neglected restaurants, unreconstructed wine bars, ancient pubs and even natural isolation. In these locations discretion is assured, it's entirely up to you to decide how you make use of that.

#map #guide #london #secret #herb lester

Herb Lester's 'Untamed London', a guide to the parts of London that still remain green

#maps #guide #herb lester #london #green #nature

Grayson Perry's Scarf for the British Museum

#illustration #map #grayson perry #scarf

What techniques and processes relate to your subject matter?

As I am considering looking at a place, naturally I will be doing a lot of location drawing. I would like to perhaps use location drawing to capture the juxtaposition of the old and new buildings, maybe using different colours or mark making to communicate this difference. I would also like to maybe do some drawings that capture the fast pace of Borough Market, documenting both the stationary stall workers and the customers, who move in and out of the market. In addition to this I may also want to do more in-depth studies of the people who work at Borough Market or live in SE1. I am interested in finding about them and their lives and to get this research first hand, I will interview them. During Foundation I have also really enjoyed model making projects, a skill that I had never attempted before this course. I may experiment with this skill during my FMP, perhaps making some miniature market workers and their stalls, using my visual language to capture the atmosphere of the place.

I am also interested in the idea of creating some sort of map or guide, such as the scarf that Grayson Perry designed for The British Museum, which shows his personal journey and portrayal or the museum. "I think of the BM as a friendly giant." says Grayson Perry, "He can get grouchy and cynical at times as he is constantly being besieged by visitors wielding cameras but above all it is a place of wonder and beauty and learning." I really like the way Perry has taken his own personal observations of the museum and used them, through illustration to communicate his journey through it.

Herb Lester also creates maps and guides with his own personal witty twist. Titles such as "An Uncle's Guide to London", "Clandstine London" and "It's Nice to be Alone in Paris" all shed new light on traditional tourist guide, making them creative, funny and charming.

#london #crowd #illustration #sasek

Anne Smith

#map #london #illustration

Eleanor Crow

#illustration #shops #buildings

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