One a day: Wolverhampton artist’s 50 sketches inspired by lockdown
A Wolverhampton artist who sketched a new drawing every day for each of the first 50 days of lockdown has inspired art gallery bosses to create an online exhibition reflecting life in self-isolation.
Ed Isaacs, from Tettenhall, who specialises in sketching urban views of Wolverhampton, decided to capture the scenes from his immediate surroundings and daily life in lockdown to share on social media.
After creating the first piece, Ed – who has a studio at the city’s Newhampton Arts Centre – made the conscious decision to keep the theme going.
The 69-year-old said: “I had just come back from a weekend in Edinburgh when the lockdown was first introduced. I stopped going out on March 17 and knew I had a lot of time on my hands, so decided to sketch what I could see from home.
“After finishing the first one I set myself the task of doing one a day and just continued from there, finally deciding to stop on day 50 last week.
“I got into the routine of waking up, knowing I had a drawing to complete and then just looking out of the window, in the garden or around the house before deciding what to sketch for that day.
“The drawings were all quite detailed, slow sketches and each one would take several hours to do. And although this was very enjoyable, it did become quite tiring!” he added.
“I hope it inspires other people to do something similar, as it would be great to see a physical exhibition of the work in the art gallery once the lockdown is over.”
Ed, who moved to Wolverhampton from South Wales in 1986 to take up the post of assistant director of housing at Wolverhampton Council, started drawing full-time six years ago and is a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA).
“It’s something I’ve pursued with great enthusiasm,” he said. “I’m part of what’s known as the ‘urban sketch community’, which is a group of people that will go out, find a street corner and sketch the landscape around them.
“I’ve done a lot of sketches of Wolverhampton, which is a place very close to my heart. I then post most of these on my Twitter account @IsaacsEd
“A few years ago I did a series of very large-scale drawings of the ring road, which had a bit of a surreal edge, so there was always something somewhat odd going on in the background.
“These were exhibited at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and a number of the pieces were also sold,” he added.
Inspired by Ed’s latest works, the city’s gallery and council library services are now inviting budding artists to submit their own images of lockdown-inspired art to include in a special online exhibition called ‘Art in Lockdown’.
Anyone who lives, works or studies in Wolverhampton can submit paintings, drawings, written works, crafts or music reflecting on their experiences of life during the coronavirus crisis.
Councillor Harman Banger, Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city economy, said: “During this time art has provided a welcome escape for many.
“We have seen a number of pieces created by members of the public that have captured our beautiful city and reflected how people have coped during the lockdown, with all of the challenges that has brought including home schooling, isolation, working from home or losing a loved one.
“As a city we want to share these experiences with others and I hope this exhibition will highlight how Wolverhampton has been proactive and how we have come together during this time.”
Examples of artwork should be sent as a high-resolution image or audio recording to art.gallery@wolverhampton.gov.uk by Sunday, May 31. People should include their name, a short description and where the piece was created. Submissions will be grouped by age.
Council bosses said they would be looking to present the exhibition publicly once the lockdown had been lifted and venues reopened.
