Well I’m back from travelling and have been doing lots of live illustrating at events since returning to the UK!
I went to a great event with the Good wolf people – a social enterprise who use drama and theatre to help people learn and express themselves. They teamed up with Virgin Money for the day and I got to illustrate the headline quotes, drama activities and an Olympian motivational speaker!
I’ve also been to the women’s leadership programme ‘She Leads Change’ currently in full swing with entrepreneurs, coaches and mentors helping to develop female leaders to create positive change.
Just this week I went back to my old university city of Norwich to sketch a full days session focusing on freelance arts practitioners best practice for working with older people. This was a great networking and learning event organised by Creative Arts East and I was happy to be part of it, drawing away at my easel to capture all the great ideas and feedback.
More than a flip-chart scribble…
People often ask what I do or what it’s called and I usually say ‘Live art’ or ‘Live event sketching’ Some of my clients have called it visual minutes or live-scribing, and I love both of those titles too but I don’t think it really explains it too well unless you see it at an event. Mostly I just love to be in rooms listening to things! Being able to draw has been a passport for adventure to explore spaces and meet people I would never get access to if I worked as a lone artist in a studio. I am often in places learning about companies, programs, group dynamics and the way things work.
When I am there I am listening for motifs or metaphors that are perfect for illustrations and then I usually work from the middle of the canvas outwards. This results in a big colourful visual mind map of the event summarising the key quotes, learnings, ideas, and if I’m able to, sometimes even a portrait or two of the participants or speakers in the room! The client is left with a tangible result at the end of the day to hang in their office or use to reflect on what otherwise might have been thrown away notes or flip-chart paper. If you have an event, festival or conference – Contact me for more information. I take my blank canvases far and wide for projects and am always happy to chat through your needs and ideas for the day.
Finally my last little bit of news is….
My painted giant hare for another great Wild in Art project has just been auctioned with GoGoHares and sold for £7500 raising vital funds for Break Charity in Norwich. Hope he’s hoppy in his new home!
ONWARDS with the paint brushes and pens now! Lots more exciting projects lined up so watch this space…
Thank you to all my clients, supporters and buyers that help to make me a happy little artist.
Jenny Leonard Art 