In 2020, architect and artist Shaun Gaylard of Blank Ink Design challenged himself to draw 365 sketches of South African buildings, bridges and towers. We asked him how it went, and about his daily drive to draw.

Shaun Gaylard’s love affair with architecture and drawing has been ticking on for many years. “As a child I was deeply interested in architecture. I’d wait for the monthly editions of magazines on architecture and interiors – although the fact that I lived in a small town meant my choice was limited,” he says. And this ever-evolving passion “stayed with me through six years of university and far too many sunrises spent in the architecture studio”, he jokingly adds.

Alongside his architectural career, Shaun has always been drawing, illustrating and documenting both local and international buildings. In 2013, he turned his hobby into a business and opened Blank Ink Design with the intention of merging his two great loves – architecture and drawing.

“Chronological documentation of a city or country’s architecture is the thread that ties all of my work together,” Shaun says. “The title of each work is highlighted with an acronym of the name, similar to that of an airport – a nod to the idea of travel and exploration. My guides are a map for those who have visited the cities, explored the streets or delved into the history – but they’re also there for those who dream of visiting the buildings and their cities.”

Last year’s challenge to sketch 365 drawings of South African architecture saw Shaun set the target of completing one per day. It’s been a dream of his to build a local body of work that doesn’t exist in this kind of scale and narrative.

“The preservation and awareness of architecture is at the forefront of all the drawings I do,” he says. “The idea of capturing this in a book is, therefore, a culmination of more than a decade of work.”

Needless to say, the pandemic definitely had an impact on Shaun’s process – but he has remained optimistic, balancing his full-time job with his commitment to completing the challenge. “I found this a real struggle in the beginning, but with time I found a new blended balance,” he says. “The pandemic has also affected the way I exhibit the drawings. At this point I would have ordinarily had a big launch exhibition and party.

Shaun draws on Fabriano paper, using pencil for the concept and black pen for the final drawing. Following that, his sketches are filled in using Copic markers. You can check on his progress on his website or Instagram. He’s looking forward to finishing his upcoming book, and exhibiting a showcase of all 365 of his drawings from 2020.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? visit blankinkdesign.com

The post RSA 365: Shaun Gaylard’s Architectural Drawings appeared first on Visi.

Blank Ink Design captures the architecture of cities around the world in detailed drawings.

Architect, designer and artist Shaun Gaylard started Blank Ink Design as a passion project in late 2013. “I did a drawing as a gift for my partner at the time, who also loves travel and architecture,” says Shaun. “Through the process of creating the piece, it became clear there was commercial potential.”

His collection of prints began with the A-Z Guide to Architects of the World. Inspired by significant architecture, this drawing showcases 26 buildings arranged in alphabetical order by the architect’s name, from Alvar Aalto to Zaha Hadid.

Shaun has subsequently developed other guides, illustrative documentaries of the cities he’s travelled to. “Each limited-edition city guide is inspired by the expressive architecture that enlivens the streets and enhances the urban fabric of the city,” he says.

The buildings are arranged in chronological order, which provides a sequential visual story of the city’s architectural development. The range includes an intricate fingerprint-like city map of Joburg, also befittingly available in gold, and individual digital watercolours of some of the City of Gold’s landmarks.

Shaun’s guides are mostly dispatched to South Africans, but he’s also received orders from as far afield as Australia.

In addition to expanding the range, every year Shaun does a short run of products, such as ceramics or textiles, and he works on commissions, corporate work and product collaborations.

For more information, visit blankinkdesign.com.

The post Blank Ink Design’s Architectural Prints appeared first on Visi.