Charcoal seems to me the most suitable medium for the plant drawings. I like its crumbly fragility, making each mark vulnerable and susceptible. You can smudge it, move it around, make it incredibly black and dense or barely a whisper. It enables me to make emotive botanical drawings in opposition to the purely observational, scientific drawings of this genre. And as charcoal is derived from plants, this connection gives the drawings a sort of circularity and history.
The dampness of the river, and where my work might be shown (in a hub, yet to be renovated, next to the nature reserve), has made me think more about the type of surface I want to draw on.
I like the simplicity of paper. The drawing is then all about the image. I have been showing my drawings mainly unframed but this raises practical concerns about how to store and preserve them, especially as charcoal comes off so easily.
Red Campion, charcoal on paper, 180 x 120, 2023 | Cowslip, charcoal on paper, 120 x 90, 2022
But paper can cockle in damp environments and needs to be framed. Linen, which is also natural and plant-based, can be put on a stretcher so it won’t warp or distort and doesn’t need framing. It’s not as smooth as paper, even the extra fine linen. But the charcoal can be fixed and varnished so it won’t come off.
But I am also thinking about making my own paper from used cartridge paper (I knew I kept all my life drawings for something!) and water and plant matter from the river. And about using recycled materials – packing cases and cardboard, or driftwood from the Thames might also be more appropriate.
