HUSTLE & BUSTLE

Week one. No sooner as we started the course were we sent out into the Big Smoke to do some research for ourselves. Having been given the area of Notting Hill/Kensington to explore, I jumped on the first tube from Pimlico with only a camera and sketchbook to hand. The aim was to collect and record as much information as possible, allowing us to gain more knowledge of our city.

Already my brain was documenting the big white houses, tall pillars, bikes, graffiti and architecture of Notting Hill and the pastel coloured streets of Portobello which looked better suited to Hansel and Gretel. 

Having collected flyers, leaflets and general rubbish off the streets, I attempted to find the Travel Bookshop from Hugh Grant's memorable Notting Hill. When approaching this famous shop, I was beckoned into a vintage store by a crazy lady who immediately asked myself and two friends to hang up clothes and redesign her shop.  After doing just that we politely left and began our investigations. I narrowed my search in Portobello Market and set to work drawing the people and documenting the numerous shops, stalls and antiques. 

 

Quickly I noticed the fast-paced life in Portobello Market and was keen to record them in colour and different textures. I enhanced my drawings with stitch and selected a page to put in our 'Rough Guide' to London. Here are a couple of my sketches and my final image which I sewed into 70 times.

Recording the amount of men and women that approached each stall within 15 minutes.