'Long John Silver' - Mervyn Peakes

This dip pen drawing was my big challenge for the week. I knew it was going to be difficult simply from looking at the image, but I could not have anticipated how difficult to actually was when tackling it head on. Dip pen is a rather foreign medium to me, I had never touched it before attending university, and since then it has only been for some small, simple fish drawings. The scale, and detail of the piece, along with the tool needed, caused the replication experience to be very laborious. Although, I also feel that the work and effort was very much worth while, as it caused me to learn a lot. Not only did I develop my skills using the dip pen, by studying Peake's work, I also learned a great deal about form, and how line can be used to create shape, and emulate different materials, depending on how it is used. 
    To begin the piece, I spent a fair amount of time simply creating lines, and testing the limits of the dip pen. I knew I would need somewhat of an understanding of the tool in order to use it effectively. Part of this process was also testing the pen and ink on various types of stock to see how the ink would react, to then decide which paper would be best to carry out the final piece on. Throughout my experimentation, I concluded that cartridge paper was best for the job as it allowed me to create clean, precise lines with no bleeding, which was absolutely necessary. Once selecting my stock, I then copied small sections of the original piece and drew them out to practice Peake's techniques. This stage was very important as it allowed me additional trial runs before beginning the final copy. After this, I then went on to use the light box to trace the key lines of the original lightly onto cartridge paper, ensuring to also mark out certain large areas of shading for extra guidance and accuracy. The next step was to then begin the final forgery of Peakes' work, starting with the shirt, and then working through the background, and darker shading, before lastly approaching the face and hair. This process took a very long time in order to ensure that the copy was both high quality, and exact.
     Despite the initial intimidation I felt towards this task, and the trouble faced while creating the piece, I actually found this process rather enjoyable. Much like the pencil copy, once getting into the drawing, and gaining a better feel for how to complete it, it became almost relaxing and mindless. The most challenging section of the drawing to imitate was the lines and details in the shirt. Although the shirt was not the main feature of the piece, it was still clear in it's use of line and form, so I needed to be as accurate as possible with the direction and line depth and length. However, despite the difficulties faced, I am very glad that this was a necessary task in the brief. I truly feel that it was a very important learning experience.

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A Glance at Mervyn Peake

Mervyn Peake, born in Kuling in 1911, spent a large amount of his early years settled in Tianjin, before permanently settling in England in 1923. He studied at Eltham College, Croydon School of Art (1929) and the Royal Academy Schools (1929-32), all of which allowed his to excel and develop as an artist, before joining the artists' colony of the Channel Island of Sark. With the colony, he exhibited work in 1934, in London at the Cooling Galleries,
     Upon his return to England in 1935, he taught at the Westminster School of Art, where he met Maeve Gilmore, a student of the school. They were married by the following December, and proceeded to have three children together: Sebastian, Fabian and Clare.
      In 1939, Peake's first book 'Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor' was published, revealing as incredibly talented illustrator, carrying both grotesque and romantic themes. From 1940, while serving in the war, Peake began working on 'Titus Groan', the first novel in the Gormenghast trilogy. Although, he was not able to complete this until he was discharged in 1943. Following this, he became known as one of the greatest illustrators of his time, illustrating pieces for 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', 'Witchcraft in England' by Christina Hole, and 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'.
     Peake then returned to Sark with his family in 1946. Until 1959, he used this time to complete his Gormenghast trilogy, and teach drawing at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. However, from the middle of the decade, he suffered with Parkinson's Disease, which made his work increasingly more difficult to complete. Despite this, with his wife's encouragement and help, he was able to complete his work for 'Balzac’s Droll Stories' and his own piece, 'The Rhyme of the Flying Bomb', before his death in 1968.

Illustration from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'

Illustration from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'

Illustration from 'Gormenghast'