Illustrating the River Severn

These drawings are made from archive photographs and documentary footage that show the now rare practice of lave net fishing. The moments before and after the photos were taken intrigue me and I can imagine the men wading into the river, then visualising huge salmon leaping into their nets as they stand in the freezing water, hoping for a catch.

I adopted a ‘downstream, upstream’ route for this walk (as I did in Worcester), which fits in with my usual practice when location drawing. I often drift around a location and do a sort of lap, making mental notes of places to draw, before committing to a prolonged drawing. Obviously if something fleeting catches my eye whilst I’m doing this I try to capture it with a sketchbook or camera. My plan for these river walks is that I spot potential drawing sites walking to the mid-point and then engage in drawing on my return. This stretch of the river is quiet, and the path hugs the bank quite closely passing through farmland and flood plain. The unusual buildings of Upton help create a picturesque view, behind the sheep grazing. There are points of industry along the way-large vessels which I believe carry sand dredged from the river (certainly a subject I will return to draw) and what looks like a water treatment site. The directional signs that populate certain stretches of water appeal...

This illustration was made for a University of Worcester research project, called ‘ Sea Change ’. I designed it in response to an article in  The Guardian  highlighting how water companies regularly discharge huge quantities of raw sewage into England’s rivers.