Bloomsbury marks

When I went to arts foundation in Chester at 19, my first tutor (Tony) told me that drawing was all about the marks you make on the paper. Being someone who made tight photorealist paintings in gouache at the time I didn't quite understand what he meant.

Then one day, very near the end of my course he took charcoal to paper and with a dozen or so vigorous moves created a dynamic landscape of long grasses, water and trees. It's a drawing I will remember for the rest of my life because suddenly I understood what he meant.

When I stepped out of the car park today I saw those same sweeping lines, shadows of branches and leaves on the wall and pavements, their shapes defining the space.