Commission · Dublin landmark
The brief was simple. Draw the Pepper Canister Church. It was going to be a gift, and it is a place of deep meaning to the client's wife, so there was a lot of pressure to get it right.
It was one of my earliest challenging subjects, and it taught me a lot about choosing a perspective.
Commission size
Medium
Drawing size
A5 size, with exceptional detail
Time
40+ hrs. drawing time
Finished drawing just after completion.
Reference
I scouted for 1.5 hours on two different occasions to see the church from different angles and under different light. I took about 50 photographs.
The building itself is unusual, but the context matters as much as the church. The surrounding streets, terraces, traffic, and lampposts all affect the drawing.
Reference options from the scouting sessions.
Process
The hardest decision was the perspective. Once I had chosen it, the church, the surrounding buildings, the windows, and the Dublin lampposts all had to work together on the page.
The surrounding buildings took a huge amount of time, especially the windows. I also had to decide what to do with the traffic. In the end I left one car in, because the street never feels empty and the drawing looked false without it.
Early stage, mid progress, and process composite.
Timelapse from the final stage, when the sky was being drawn in.
Detail
The detail that made the piece work was the way the sun was hitting the dome and pillars.
The sky was one of the final calls. Once it went in, the drawing felt finished.
Detail scans, final scan, and framed original.
Finishing clip from the late stage of the drawing.
Handover
I handed this over in my studio in Dublin 8, ready to frame. The client had it custom framed by their preferred framer, Appletons Picture Framers.
That felt right for the piece. It was a gift, and it needed to leave the studio properly finished and ready for the next step.
Framed piece with me, and framed piece with the clients.
Testimonial
"Absolutely love the drawing of Pepper Canister Church that Rob did for us. The final product is amazing, but the whole process was a thrill too. From discussing the concept, through getting progress updates and then getting the finished picture was seamless and really enjoyable. Couldn't recommend it enough!"