Bristol Art: colour and collage

King Street, Bristol

Over the past few years I've visited Bristol occasionally to sketch, and also created art at home based on my sketches and photos. I find the inspiration from a busy and colourful city useful.

On my first art trip to Bristol, I joined the Urban Sketchers group for a session. It was a friendly introduction to sketching in a new city. I would always recommend joining an urban sketching group.

A homemade sketchbook page

Before going, I assembled a homemade sketchbook, on wallpaper lining with added collaged scraps. Drawing on a collaged background is one of my ways of overcoming feeling blocked.

I sketched in King Street near the Harbour. It is a vibrant little street with bars and cafes. Even in the summer they had decorations up and the street was attractive and colourful.

I'm hoping to go back soon to to do some more sketching on location. In the meantime here are some Bristol themed postcards created in my studio:

Postcards from Bristol

At home I created a series of postcards, colourful and collaged. I used some postal-related collage materials; stamps, postmarks, and patterns from the inside of envelopes. Stamps

give instant hits of colour and detail on a tiny and intriguing scale.

Drawing from the same area, I find there are things that I return to repeatedly. The Cargo Cranes and the M Shed are iconic and reminders of Bristol's industrial heritage.

I am looking back at these after a year of drawing in beautiful gardens and heritage venues. in comparison, the angles are stark, colours are bold and the heritage is from industry. It is a kind of art that I'd like to get back to now, to rediscover the roots of my art in architecture and industry.

There is also the difficult darkness of the slave trade which is impossible not be to aware of when creating art Based on Bristol Harbourside. I'm not sure that I've found a way to represent this as my work is rooted in the present day. I think it is partly the complex history that draws me to Bristol; the area has found a way to reinvent itself in modern day, but the history will aways be there.

Castle Bridge

This first postcard focuses on the striking new S shaped bridge, snaking across the historic Welsh Back. It is a footbridge that opened in 2017.

One one side is Castle Park sloping down to the Quayside. On the other is Finzels Reach, the south bank of the Bristol floating harbour.

This is one of my favourites, and I hope to use it do inspire a larger artwork. The challenge with reproducing something on a bigger is losing the intimacy and experimental look.

St Mary's Redcliffe: from Postcard to Watercolour

Using the rough little sketches to inspire more finished versions but trying to keep the energy of the postcards. Here are some based on St. Mary's Redcliffe, a church overlooking the Harbour:

Using my own sketches as inspiration helps me loosen up and create images with reduced shapes, blocks of colour and pattern, rather than getting hung up in detail.

Sometimes sketches translate well into a finished drawing. Sometimes a change in size alters it entirely.

St Mary's Redcliffe: from Postcard to Digital

This postcard made use of text and the idea of a postmark over a stamp. I used basic materials; drawing with a blue biro.

I liked the contrast of the ornate church against the large industrial warehouse type feel of the buildings alongside the harbour. I represented these with large typeface abstract and sideways.

I changed the grafitti / mural to 'more', because coming from a smaller town, Bristol seems to have more of everything!

Translating this into a digital drawing, I kept some of the strange stark shapes and graphic look in the design. Experimenting with lettering in the same way... the fence is made of a line of letter 'i'.

I think this might be one that I come back to, as there are quite a few things I prefer about the postcard sketch.

M Shed

I have sketched these cranes countless times. They are prominent landmarks on the harbourside. I read that the final few cranes were taken to a scrap metal merchants and bought back as their worth as reminders of industry was recognised.

The cranes are iconic, giving strong monochrome visual detail.

Once these cranes were fully utilised (and there were 40 of them), in modern times they are exhibits for tourist and heritage interest and surrounded by a colourful environment0.

I recreated this image of the M Shed when I was learning to use Photoshop; I probably used every tool going! I drew elements individually then created a background around them. I used scanned collage materials so I could include paint textures and abstract detail.

M Shed

Another take on the M Shed, this postcard and drawing is from the same side of the river, looking down the length of the M Shed. Reimagining the scene at night, I maximised the lights atop the cranes, making them glow like giant candles. The tall structures are catching the light and contrasting the dark night sky.

A dark starry sky in the drawing is from a sheet of marbling found from my school days when clearing out my Nan's house. Contrasting the warm glow from the building.

I used strange abstract patterns to represent the M Shed. This one I've turned into a greetings card available in my shop!

I hope to return soon to Bristol, to feature the urban colour used in my earlier work. The lively atmosphere of the Harbourside and the preserved industry make it fascinating for me. If you know of a veune that would be interested in an occasional ' Artist at Work' please Contact me.