Dibujo de un hombre con sombrero y gafas de sol, típico guiri. Englishman abroad. artist. sketchbook. comic style.

NATHAN BRENVILLE

an english Artist living in ESPAñA
I draw stories by hand,
Directly from REal Life

Through being on location, experiencing the moment myself, I create drawings that are lively, memorable and human. Cutting through the noise of generated imagery, the result is a powerful, intimate form of communication in a timeless artistic tradition.

OK, I know that sounds a bit pretentious. But seriously, after more than10 years of professional experience, something about capturing what’s happening in the moment it happens resonates differently with people. Stick with me and I’ll show you…

DRAWING FROM LIFE

Sketching a story is choosing what lines to put on the page and what to leave out.

How did I end up in Spain? Love. I fell in love with a woman from Spain. We met while we were both studying Character Animation at Central Saint Martin's. And it was my love of drawing that had led me there; being one of the few animation courses at the time that still placed a strong emphasis on traditional drawing skills. I invited her on a “sketchwalk” I’d organised, as a way of getting to know her.
My graduation film was, what else? an animated telling of the sketchbooks I'd kept during all the years I’d lived in London.

A few years later, we moved to Madrid, and I had a new reason to keep sketchbooks: chronicling this dramatic change, all the culture shocks large and small that make up life in a different country, learning to fit in and learning to stick out. These sketchbooks now form the basis of the autobiographical comic I'm currently working on.

We had a daughter, and I filled more sketchbooks drawing my experience of parenting too. Wherever I go, a sketchbook comes with me. It's the starting point in my personal life and professional: be it drawing events in situ, editorial illustrations, comics, or animations. To each project I don't just bring a skillset but a lifelong practice of careful observation and curiosity, telling stories with personality and humour. If that's the kind of artist you're looking for, I'd love to hear about your project.