ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATION COMMISSION : ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
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Katherine’s attention to detail is truly stunning and her work stands out in our collections of existing prints.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Katherine to other cultural and heritage organisations, with enthusiasm. - Garry Shrimpton, Buyer, St Paul's Cathedral |
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In 2023, St Paul’s Cathedral commissioned me to draw four views of this iconic British landmark. Working from historical drawings, plus detail photographs, I created a series of unique drawings which focused on the overall South elevation as well as a series of special architectural details.
The architecture of St Paul's Cathedral As an architect myself, to be asked to draw this iconic landmark by St Paul's is a huge honour. St Paul's Cathedral was designed by the famous British architect Sir Christopher Wren and is renowned for its stunning architecture and rich history. It was completed in 1710 after 35 years of construction. It is in the Baroque style of architecture, which is characterised by a sense of drama and grandeur. It's iconic dome and impressive façade were absolutely magnificent to draw. The dome is the most prominent feature of St Paul's Cathedral - standing at 111 metres tall and one of the largest domes in the world. My drawings captures this wonderful Baroque architecture at its finest. The dome of St Paul's cathedral is one of the key features of the London skyline and recognisable worldwide and was an honour to draw. |
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The process of creating these architectural line drawings
To begin, I had a conversation with the retail team to discuss and plan for the brief and scope of work. After a number of email discussions and zoom calls, I met with the retail team at the Cathedral to finalise the design brief and plan the desired outputs. Once the layout scope was signed off, I started drawing! This was an extremely detailed set of drawings, requiring time to work out the complexities of the light, shadow and details. The project was a delight to complete and the hand-drawn details I captured were extraordinarily intricate. It required lots of patience, concentration and measuring! I was often measuring fractions of millimetres in order to make sure the proportions, dimensions and scale were correct. We decided to include the planting and trees on the South Elevation drawing to soften the image, add some colour, imbed it into its context and give a true representation of what the Cathedral looks like now. |
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The final drawings
The brief was to create a series of four drawings for St Paul's Cathedral. The first was the South elevation in its entirety, including the planting and trees in the foreground, softening the view against the ‘hardness’ of the stonework. The three additional drawings each focused on a very specific architectural detail; the clock tower, the ball and cross (on the top of the famous dome) and a Corinthian column. Capturing the architectural details provided a juxtaposition to the overall South Elevation. Whilst the overall elevation captures a sense of the grandeur and magnificent Baroque architecture, honing into the details allows you to focus on the often overlooked, or hidden components that make up this beautiful building. It's only by looking in so much detail, I came to realise and understand the scale of the elements I was drawing! Having completed the original drawings in late December 2023, the collection of six cards and five prints, including a limited edition run of 100 x A3 prints of the South elevation, are available exclusively from the St Paul's Cathedral gift shop from early 2024. A stunning scarf design created in collaboration with PJ Studio was released in the autumn 2024. Additional products are planned for 2025. |
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The final artworks have already been described as ‘stunning’ by the gift shop team - it's been wonderful to see the range of prints and cards on the shelves this year!
From the outset, working with Katherine on the St Paul’s Cathedral project has been a joy. We initially started the collaboration at the beginning of 2023 and the journey from concept to the finish product has been seamless. Katherine’s attention to detail is truly stunning and her work stands out in our collections of existing prints.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Katherine to other cultural and heritage organisations, with enthusiasm. At present, we’ve commissioned for four prints; a limited edition south-side view of the Cathedral along with three small detailed drawings but we propose to expand this to cards and other products too. - Garry Shrimpton, Buyer, St Paul's Cathedral |
