NOTTINGHAM
Whenever I pick up a sketchbook and pen my first instinct is to draw somewhere in Nottingham. Whether that be when I am out and about or trawling through old photo albums of my parents and the places they grew up and lived. The Williamson part of my family tree have been here in the city of Nottingham since as far back as I have been able to trace; 1624. So it certainly is home.
Nottingham Victoria
(pen and ink with watercolours)
I have something of a fascination with the old Nottingham Victoria Station that was demolished in 1967 and love pointing out the surviving tower on a probably all too regular basis to my children when we bus it into town.
Bridlesmith Gate
(pen & ink with watercolours & promarkers)
Bridlesmith Gate is a place I love. The old buildings that still share stories of the past manage to sit side by side with the new and offers me, as an artist, some vibrant spots to sit, draw and paint.
The Odeon
(pen and ink with watercolours and promarkers)
The Odeon in town was where I would go to the pictures in the 80's. Every film that I love from the first two decades of my life was first seen in this iconic building.
Most of my Nottingham works are done in small sketchbooks that I now keep on me when I am out and about. Sometimes I may be able to sneak just a couple of minutes to mark out the idea of a composition. If I am lucky and time is on my side I may get some details down in ink before taking some photographs and then adding colour when I get into my studio.
I have only recently learnt to be kind to myself in the early stages of a sketch. It is very easy to think you have not got a sketch quite right or something is missing. But more often than not the thing that is missing is simple...it is the remaining time you still need to spend on the piece to bring it all together. A piece of art is arguably never finished. Once I realised that I realised that a drawing doesn't have to be perfect, I felt liberated as an artist.