Local artist from Wolverhampton enjoyed the patronage of thousands of viewers who came to see his illustrations of the city's quaint but breathtaking scenery. The free exhibition itself started on Dec. 16 and is running until Mar. 24.
Ed Isaacs, the prolific urban sketch artist behind the art show, told BBC that about 3,000 people have already viewed his artwork displayed at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, saying, "I really hope that people are enjoying the exhibition. I am certainly pleased with the number of visitors so far."
Inspired by Wolverhampton, the 'Black Country'
According to the gallery's website, the artist has already built a sizeable reputation for his "meticulously detailed drawings focusing on the concept of place." It added that his art mainly portrays scenes from his locality's environment, endeavoring to capture its "genius loci" or "spirit."
Such unique scenes were drawn from the places within the "Black Country," a territory that encompasses four of the main Metropolitan District Council areas including Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall.
The name itself came from its background as an industrial district during the mid-19th century, at a time when the typical landscape was carpeted by smoke produced from thousands of ironworking foundries and forges in the region.
Now, it has since moved passed the literal and figurative "dark past" of the region and once again boasts the natural beauty that Isaacs aimed to capture in his illustrations, which he initially sketched amid "various journeys" that he took "within the region."
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Ed Isaacs' Career as an Artist
As per Isaacs, his main goal was for "local people to recognize the scenes from around their hometown" with hopes that the pieces would inspire thoughts about these environments.
In an online statement by the gallery, it said that Isaacs himself begins a project by doing small pencil studies of his preferred environmental subject, which he then uses as reference for the larger works, all of which he works on in his home studio.
According to the Wolverhampton-based illustrator, he first visited the city's gallery four decades ago after finishing a job interview within Wolverhampton.
The interviewer reportedly asked Isaacs to stay within the city while they processed the result, which the artist used as an opportunity to view the gallery's pop art collection and Richard Wilson's piece called "The Falls of Niagara."
Thus his current exhibition at the gallery is something the artist considers as an honor.
