The Process
The Process
RESEARCH: I will if needed conduct detailed research into the subject matter I am drawing. I love knowing everything about the subject matter, as I feel I can better capture the essence of whatever it is I am drawing.
VISUALISATION: Believe it or not, I draw every single picture in my mind before I even set it to paper. Every single pen and pencil stroke, I work through mentally, so as to visualise the best and most efficient way of completing a drawing. It is a process which I find occurring automatically at everything I look at.
THE DRAWING: I was a professional athlete, and trained with the UK athletics squad. This gave me tremendous control over my fitness and breathing, and this has translated into helping me draw pictures. Being a fit person my heart rate is very low naturally. I have been able to train myself to have extreme control over my fine motor functions in my hand, and stillness when it comes to drawing. Control over my breathing has become a crucial part of my process. Indeed I have been known to hold my breath for as long as 2 and a half minutes whilst drawing straight lines and circles. Why?, you ask. Simple. By slowing my breathing down I have been able to slow my heart rate down to as low as 16BPM. This is to allow me 3.75 seconds between heart beats. This stops the beat of the heart from interrupting a straight line or perfect circle from being drawn. The beat of the heart can actually create a wiggle in an otherwise straight line. This sounds highly unusual, but has become part of a process which has made me one of the best exponents of super fine detail on paper.
All I require from you is some very good quality photos to work from as I want the drawing to look a good as it possibly can. Some details about the subject matter, and what you want in the drawing.
I can do the rest for you!
Why do I draw so well? I will explain this below . . .
MEMORY: I have always had a photographic memory for images, I can see an object once for a few seconds, and I can draw this years later down the line to the finest detail. Imagine having a camera constantly taking snaps of the world, and you look back at the thumbnails on your screen. This is what I experience every day. I can picture on my drawing board, knowing exactly where the next pencil stroke will need to be.
SIGHT: I have 25:25 vision and my close range vision was described by an optometrist as almost "Super Macro" in detail perception. This accounts for my ability to perceive super fine detail. I also have an unusual condition known as Tetrochromacy. This is where I have an extra set of cone cells in my eyes which means I can detect even the finest change in colour detail. This means I see more colours than most people.
PRACTICE: Practice makes perfect and have hone my technique over a 35 year period. If you want a drawing done by someone with the skills of an old master then look no further.
You could say that this is a perfect mixture of requirements for my profession!
