
Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest: 25 July 2025
That moment got my cognitive juices flowing. I began to wonder: if a single face could hold such depth, what might happen if I tried to capture it line by line in my sketchbook?
That moment got my cognitive juices flowing. I began to wonder: if a single face could hold such depth, what might happen if I tried to capture it line by line in my sketchbook?
What we all realised today is that our high streets are not just places to shop – the buildings that line them are repositories of memory. They tell stories about the people of the past: what we loved, how we coped, how we engaged with the world.
A moveable feast - pocketing Paris in my sketchbook In July 2025 I spent a wonderful five days in Paris and sketched and sketched. My Paris Travel Kit ProArte brushes, Derwent waterbrush, Sailor Fude fountain pen, TWSBI Diamond 580 fountain pen, Kaweco brass mechanical pencil, POSCA white fine tip, Boots...
And so it seems fitting—uncannily fitting—that the man standing in the rubble should bear the name he did. Piper. Pipe. Conduit.
There’s a quote by Pablo Neruda that illustrates how I feel: “There is another reality, the genuine one, which we lose sight of. This other reality is always sending us hints, which without art, we can’t receive.”
I’ve photographed many projects where artists, artisans and conservators have helped restore—and sometimes transform—the memory of an age, an epithet, a story, a turning point, through a building, a memorial or a piece of art.
Then, instinctively, I reach into my bag. My fingers graze the edge of my sketchbook. It’s such a comforting feeling - that first touch tingles because of the depth of its meaning. Should I?
A chance to own a limited edition print of the Saxon crypt at St. Wystan, Repton
An opportunity to own an original piece from my A4 sketchbook: an ink and watercolour drawing of the Anglo-Saxon crypt at Repton painted on 225gsm paper.
✨ Wondering why I ask for support?
An Anxiety of Memberships