We invited three artists to reimagine educational notebooks from Winsor & Newton’s historic archive. First published between 1850 and 1890, these 'shilling books' offered guidance on various traditional art techniques. In their contemporary reinterpretations, the artists blend the past and the present by using modern day Winsor & Newton colours and materials.
Aysha is a London based illustrator known for creating colourful and playful illustrations and characters. She’s worked with Winsor & Newton on various projects including our latest Graphic Art Campaign and a collaboration with Cass Art to create a mural in their flagship London store.
What notebooks did you reinterpret?
'The Artistic Anatomy of the Dog and Deer'.
How did you approach this unique brief?
I loved working on this brief as it properly took me out of my comfort zone. Working out how to approach anatomical illustrations and recreate them in a playful way was challenging at first!
Once I took that pressure off myself and remembered not to take the drawings too seriously, I could start to have fun with the work. Projects like these, that are a little bit different from my usual briefs, are the best. They always teach me something new about my work and progress my drawing in ways I wouldn’t have been able to get to by myself. I also love gouache and any excuse to work with it is always a dream!
What materials did you use?
Winsor & Newton Designer’s Gouache in the following colours: Primary Yellow, Orange Lake Light, Winsor Red, Opera Pink, Brilliant Violet, Primary Blue, Viridian Hue, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Zinc White and Fineliner (0.5 + 0.8 nib) on Drawing Paper.
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