Visual Narratives - One week book

Our groups locations: The Packhorse pub. The Fenton pub.

First few days of the brief - observing our surroundings, becoming familiar with the locations and getting to know more about them.

- Over these few days i feel that we documented our time effectively as a group.

- I enjoyed speaking to people to gather information - at the start it seemed quite difficult to approach people, but we soon became more confident in conversing with bar staff and some locals.

- We gathered a few new facts and information about the places, and got to know the kind of people that use the pubs.

- We documented a lot of the old interior through photographs, but also through observational drawing. The pub was quite so it was mostly drawing the interior. - I found through drawing - I often noticed more interesting details about the place - from focusing on one subject long enough. - details that you wouldn't necessarily notice in a photographs. - such as the ornate fireplace coving.

Here are some of the images taken:

Observations:

- We faced a few problems. The pubs didn't open until lunch time so we felt we lost some time in the mornings. When the pubs did open, they were basically empty. - We were able to explore the interiors, but didn't get a full feel of the pub atmosphere - as we were told it could get pretty busy on an evening.

we decided to return to The Fenton on poker night which gave us more events to document, and situations to observe. i.e. conversations, and people to draw. It still wasn't as busy as we would have like but we did get a better feel of the pub. - we felt that we got to know more about the kind of locals that drink there, and an insight into the events that taken place.

- drawing people was quite challenging - it encourage me to loosen up mark making and draw quickly as they moved. - had to learn to be quick in order to capture a moment.

From visiting the pubs we were all quite interested in the people. It was interesting how these traditional pubs - some of the oldest in leeds were still so popular, but also how they attracted a diverse mix of people. - From the regular locals just wanting a quiet pint, to the young students on the lash.

Here are some examples of my observational drawings: