Friday 17 April 2015

Introducing my new drawing project


Close to the start of my new route near Wick Lane


The route of this project is a fraction of the length of my previous project, Drawing my way round London, that travelled round north London beginning at the Woolwich Ferry in the east and ending at Richmond in the west.

As the title of this blog reveals this journey is merely 805 of my steps in length. It starts at Wick Lane and covers the towpath of the Hertford Union Canal until it joins the River Lee Navigation at White Post Lane. During this spring season I will be making drawings along the route of anything that takes my fancy and I will stop on 21 June, Midsummer's Day. I will be posting them here for you to see and comment on.

This towpath is regularly used by runners, families taking their children for walks, dog walkers and people out for a stroll. It is close to convivial pubs and Victoria Park, London's first public park. It's where you go when you need to get out of the house and stretch your legs. Other people moor their narrow boats here temporarily and call the place their home.

There's generally an air of quiet busyness but during the 19th and 20th centuries this area was a powerhouse of industry which has all but disappeared. So, while I'm posting my new drawings, I'll also be looking at the different heavy industries that worked cheek by jowl with each other close to this very route.

3 comments: