An illustration project with PPN
I had been asked by the team at People’s Park for Nature if I could attend the Love Our Ouse event happening at the Linklater Pavilion, the central hub at Lewes Railway Land on the outskirts or the county town and provide a live illustration of the species seen down by the river, particularly those on migration.
I arrived at midday and met Dylan who was hosting the event, and we set up some boards with paper for me, and paper for visitors to draw what they’d like to see migrating in the area in 2036. PPN are all about imagining a brighter future, and focussing on what we can put in place now to help nature recover and repatriate, so it’s always great to get people to put these thoughts, wishes, and ideas on paper. There was also a table with wildlife guides and some promo material for the PPN so we could chat to passers-by and encourage more locals to sign the charter.
Dylan had been down by the Ouse earlier in the day to spot some species so we could get started, so I worked from his list and my trusty Reader’s Digest Britain’s Wildlife, Plants and Flowers for inspiration. I heard a Raven kronk-kronking overhead, and sure enough, a pair flew over just as I was getting my paints ready.
It was a glorious day, and lots of people were meandering through the activities, a number of them stopping to ask about the Park, and the children added their drawings to the 2036 paper in their own inimitable style; quite a few giraffes and a walking pizza made an appearance.
Meanwhile I was adding species to a roughly-sketched backdrop of the Downs. There was great excitement as a Common Seal popped its head above the surface before disappearing. There weren’t many insects apart from a good showing of dragonflies, hunting over both the water and the green roof of the Pavilion.
I was working in gouache (which made a lovely change from marker pen!) but I rarely work with an upright plane so that felt quite new. I made up the composition as I went along, adding different things in spaces as I went along. There are some nice buildings along the waterfront so I put those in, and the chalk cliffs behind meant I could leave a lot of white space which was handy.
I had 5 hours to complete the painting so I worked at a pleasantly relaxed pace, but once we had decided that we’d seen most things, I started filling in the background. A last-minute Sparrowhawk had to be squeezed in but the beauty of this randomly-scaled type of artwork is that it doesn’t matter where something is positioned as it’s either closer or further away as long as the background is always behind it so there’s no actual reference point. That’s my kind of logic.
I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and it was a brilliant way to get people talking: there’s something so engaging about watching someone draw or paint.
Can you spot all the species we saw?
