Phil Page, Corri wearing a mask, 2021, charcoal on card, each 21 x 15 cm.

These drawings are observational, recording shape and form. John Berger, in his examination of drawing, notes the importance of this kind of observational drawing for the artist. He describes them as something which “…forces the artist to look at the object in front of him, to dissect it in his mind’s eye and put it together again…” These examples follow a similar trajectory to those which are the essential starting point for my paintings of cities. My drawings of cities cause me to distil information about places, one idea at a time, and produce a parallel record in my memory through the process of making the drawings. The process of drawing the model from life allows me to explore this process of visual distillation further as part of my broader painting practice.