David Downton

Image source here. via Uncle Beefy

I had to post this in honor of fashion week. Fashion illustrators fascinate me. I love to watch them sketch and envy the heck out of their skills. Their flying pens that create seemingly loose and jumbled lines always result in deliberate and breathtaking images.

The work of David Downton made me stop in my tracks. In his interview, this question was posed, "Let's talk about your work methods. How do you arrive at the elimination of detail?"

His response:
For me this is the hardest and the most interesting thing. In order to leave something out, first you have to put it in, or at least understand how every thing works. I do dozens of drawings on to layout paper taking the best from each one as I go. When the drawing looks right I start to eliminate, to de-construct if you like. I keep working until it looks spontaneous.