When I am in London I like to peruse the bookshops on Charing Cross Road which is renowned for its specialist antiquarian and secondhand bookshops.
I love
the low lit, dusty, damp, and mysterious isles of cramped books full of hidden
stories and history beckoning to be looked at. The thought of finding
something serendipitous amongst the shelves fill me with excitement.
There is a best selling book named after the street called “84 Charing Cross Road”, a 1970 book by Helene Hanff , about a twenty year correspondence between Frank Doel chief Buyer of Marks & Co and her.
I thought I would spend time sketching some of the bookshops that are still surviving. Bookshops especially second hand ones seem to be in decline and driven out of business by the Internet and Ebooks.
There is a best selling book named after the street called “84 Charing Cross Road”, a 1970 book by Helene Hanff , about a twenty year correspondence between Frank Doel chief Buyer of Marks & Co and her.
I thought I would spend time sketching some of the bookshops that are still surviving. Bookshops especially second hand ones seem to be in decline and driven out of business by the Internet and Ebooks.
I am building quite a collection of shop front illustrations. I am inspired by the Typefaces and signage on buildings. I have used A Lamy Safari fountain pen to do the pen work on situ and then digitally coloured the sketches using Photoshop.
Your sketches really capture those shops! I have a photo of my husband looking into a bookshop window there last May when we visited London. We loved the street and shops there. I truly hope they do not disappear.
ReplyDeleteThese are great, Julie!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.....yes I hope they don't fade away in the future. Thats why I think its important to document and keep them alive!
ReplyDeleteI love a good bookshop as well. Your drawings make me want to visit one now.
ReplyDeleteThanks James!
ReplyDeleteawesome... love the detail
ReplyDelete