Sometimes a job comes along that really gets me going, really makes me want to create something special. I got a commission recently to illustrate Glasgow’s Union Corner (which had burned down a few weeks previous). A tenant of the building was moving to new premises and wanted to take a little bit of Union Corner with them by way of one of my illustrations.
They didn’t know I’d already made some work about the fire - you can see the comic I drew here - so it felt like kismet when they commissioned me to do the drawing. So far, so dreamy. Here’s where it got messy; I draw things flat. Look at pretty much any of my illustrations and you’ll see buildings are essentially front elevations, lots of people are in profile or drawn simply so I don’t need to worry about perspective.
My perspective is keep it flat, keep it simple.
But the client wanted this drawing to show the corner (fair enough) so I did what I never do; a drawing with perspective. It was awful. Really bad. I looked at it and knew what the problem was; I didn’t enjoy it. I got zero pleasure from drawing it. It was challenging and beyond me. I got despondent.
Then I imagined drawing the whole thing flat and my shoulders relaxed. Ah, imagine how nice that would be. You wouldn’t see the corner though… Unless… I folded the flat hand-drawn illustration to create a corner and therefore PERSPECTIVE. Would that work? I mocked it up with card and scrap paper. It might! Cue an email to the client asking if they’d be interested in seeing where this merry dance led. Luckily for me, they were curious. I cracked on. I spoke to an artist pal - Sara Pinto - about it and they encouraged me too.
So I drew the building in my signature style;
nice and flat in black ink pen, yum yum.
It took a solid couple of hours to ink it after my preliminary sketch time. I asked that (very kind) artist friend if they could possibly assist me in a two person job to mount the precious drawing onto its corner. It was a true collaborative effort; precision measuring, cutting, application of industrial double sided sticky tape, hand washing so we didn’t mark the paper, we were like surgeons. (THANK YOU, PINTO) And it turned out beautifully. It is a witty, unique take on the building, concentrating on each part of it equally. The client can see the window of the room they worked in and see it with every other window.
Like most projects, it wasn’t a straight line, but the journey here was so satisfying, especially going from despair in my skills (been there before) to trusting myself to lean into what I’m good at, creating a piece I was happy and proud to hand over.
Long may it hang on their wall - hopefully it’s occasionally admired and asked about. The client even wrote me a testimonial - I’ve included it here because it was so lovely.
“Working with Rosie was the best. A beautiful and unique thing was made. Rosie was very clear about the process, smooth communications throughout. Rosie was very attentive to the brief, I felt her care and the brief was met beyond my imagination. Thank you Rosie for your way and the gorgeous thing you have created that I will treasure.”