Today I bring you the wonderfully simple (but also extremely intricate) travel illustrations of Adrian McMurchie. His drawings of European cities, as well as those further afield, are a delight to look at. Adrian also owns Dead Famous Cities, a company that focuses on, well, famous cities – they offer prints and maps of a range of places, from Glasgow to San Francisco!
Your illustrations are lovely, simple, and fresh. How did this style develop?
My loose style has actually tightened up over the years but it evolved from life drawing lessons at college. We were encouraged to draw from life by looking only at the model and never at the paper. This I applied to drawing buildings. Man made structures are far more forgiving to this approach than people!
Let’s talk about process. What steps do you take when creating each piece?
I illustrated the restaurant review for a national newspaper for 11 years so choosing a subject was quite easy for a while. Outwith that I am drawn to Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian builds. I love the intricacies of the design and stonework on these styles of architecture. On the whole, the more detail the better.
I love Art Deco but as my work focuses in the main on draftsmanship I find the clean lines not as attractive to draw. I use a hard pencil 4 or 5H to give a clean crisp line and then apply the ink on top. I used to do a rough first but find working straight onto the watercolour paper better. The rough drawing process dilutes the dynamism of the drawing and overall feel of the finished painting. Finally I apply the watercolour. I use the paint more like a Gouache giving it a more opaque appearance. This is achieved by using very little water with the pigment. The only time I use the paint in it’s traditional method is with the sky letting the water absorb the paint. This helps to give solidity to the building itself.
What inspires your work?
As before I am inspired by most architecture but anything with detail. This doesn’t need to be a building. It can be a scene inside a restaurant or something as simple as a television remote control.
What do you hope your illustrations tell viewers about the places they depict?
I like to think I depict the vigour of urban life and hope my paintings and drawings encourage the viewer to take a closer look at the building or subject matter in general.
Where or what has been your favourite place or thing to draw and why?
I have drawn hundreds of buildings over the years but probably my favourite piece is, “A reasonably accurate map of Glasgow”. It was born out of an idea to illustrate the city centre with all the buildings I had previously drawn. I had recently finished reading, “Scotland: Mapping the Nation” A heavily illustrated history of Scottish maps throughout the years and was taken with the naive style of the early maps. It quickly became apparent there were some gaping holes where I hadn’t drawn anything! I then decided to write in what remained and had some fun with it.
It has since become one of my favourite pieces and sits pride of place in my studio. The title came about after I produced a similar map but folk kept pointing out discrepancies and mistakes so the title covers me for any small errors, in some cases deliberate. My favourite cities to draw tend to be Glasgow, New York and Chicago due to the intricate Victorian architecture but old Europe such as parts of Italy and Portugal are rich in detail in different ways and convey a sense of deep heritage.
If you could draw any place or thing in the world, where or what would it be and why?
I have been lucky enough to have travelled quite a lot around the world but I would like to test myself with Russian and Japanese styles of architecture. I don’t want for a particular building or structure to draw or paint. Almost anything man made is good enough for me to want to sketch.
Finally, where has been your favourite place to visit and why? Any tips for readers planning on going there?
It’s easy to think of a far off city or country and romanticise of how I would love to be there drawing it every day but in reality my home city of Glasgow is rich in a variety of architectural styles that throw up new challenges and interesting aspects. I have lived here all my life and continue to discover new buildings and views to paint. I encourage anyone visiting to always look up. The city is one of the best examples of a Victorian city in the world and unlike New York or Chicago (where i also love) the buildings are not tall skyscrapers so you are able to step back and view the whole building and its detail. It’s also worth reading up on the architecture and history of any city or building before visiting.
You can see more of Adrian’s work on his website.
What do you like about Adrian’s work? Join the conversation below!
Finally… Musement, a site offering museum tickets, art tours, and cultural activities has kindly let Wanderarti readers get €5 off purchases. Just use the code WANDERARTI and you can get discounted offers all over Europe!
