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In conversation with Will Knight

Will Knight is a freelance artist who studied at the Mackintosh School of Architecture between 2007 and 2014 before working for Carson & Partners and StudioKAP. He is known for his drawings of domestic, industrial and commercial buildings which he investigates through recording, measurement and drawing by hand. In 2022 he was commissioned by the Glasgow City Heritage Trust to draw a contemporary bird’ s eye view of Glasgow as part of the Gallus Glasgow project.

MacMag interviewed him at his flat in March 2023 to talk to him about how he developed his individual style, how training as an architect influenced that style and about how he approached his recent work.

MACMAG: To begin with, could you give us in your own words an overview of what your work entails?

Will Knight: My studies in architecture definitely informed my approach to drawing and my approach to looking at the world around me. It was my Masters by Conversion that led me to begin to draw in this way of accurately representing the world in scale and through plan, section, and elevation. It is a way of interpreting existing architecture through drawing and then helping us, through the drawing, to look again at what is around us.

MM: If you had not decided to studying architecture. I think that the education taught me to think about buildings in a way that I would not have before. Although there is a shift, a lot of the education is about designing, whereas I am now recording. Though even in the way that I am looking at things would be the same way that a designer would look at things, rooms or spaces that inspire me or qualities of a space or a certain aesthetic, so I think, certainly, I would not be creating these drawings were it not for studying architecture. Absolutely not. study architecture do you think you would have still considered being an artist and would you have been as interested in the arts?

MM: And following on from this, how would you say that your time in practice working as an architect informed your perspective?

WK: I have always had a love of drawing. It started as a child and then in school which probably led me into architecture. I have always liked the idea of working in the realms of reality. As a kid I forensically drew pirate ships and then football stadiums, and then obviously played with Lego where you're being creative but within a sort of programme or within a boundary and a certain limitation. The way I draw buildings and the way I interpret the world has been massively informed by

WK: In terms of the drawing, I have not really considered it. I think I often saw the two as so different. My time in practice gave me a greater appreciation of any architecture that does get built in terms of how complex buildings are and how the journey from paper to a building is an exercise in collaboration. I think it maybe gave me a sort of greater zeal to enjoy drawing and to enjoy the freedom of creativity and it maybe gives me more confidence in a sort of professional sense as well. As I was once in the world of work you have an experience and I think perhaps having had that experience, that benefits me in terms of ‘I've worked in architecture and now I do these drawings . I think in terms of the sort of aesthetic of the drawing it s probably quite different to what is produced in CAD in practice. Certainly some of the qualities are there. I worked at Studio KAP and their survey drawings were always pretty detailed. Certainly in terms of practically doing surveys, that has helped going into drawing. I suppose in the way that an architect wants to ideally cover everything, I think there was maybe that obsession with recording and covering everything too, but there is definitely a difference in the, perhaps to my detriment, idea of when an architect produces a drawing in the office there is time and a cost of that drawing, and sometimes I approach these drawings as if there is limitless time and the hourly rate would not necessarily be what you would get as a Part I. There is a great essay by Helen Thomas about the idea of non-productive expenditure. The idea that you can produce something beautiful that you cannot measure in monetary terms but there is something about the practice of drawing that is not necessarily about getting it in for planning, getting it printed and getting it sent off to the client.

MM: How did the transition from drawing as an architect to drawing as an artist come about and was it a gradual process?

WK: I think it was a gradual process. I started doing these sorts of drawings in my Master’s project. I was drawing bakeries in Glasgow. I think they are still in the Bourdon, at the Mack, and they were quite well received by tutors. And I enjoyed the process of making them, and I enjoyed the idea of a research project where I am effectively an architect and these bakeries were the clients, and you are bringing people with you. So I think it is far more collaborative than I thought it would be in terms of you are not just producing something for yourself, you are taking someone on the journey and showing them, and they are welcoming you into their world, for you to record though drawing.

MM: Would you say there is a particular drawing that you ve done that you would say encompasses what your practice represents?

WK: I do not think I could say that because they are all real spaces; they all have their own qualities that I appreciate. I think it comes back to enjoying the whole process and I think each of them do that which sounds highfalutin, but I think it is down to the fact that you are drawing everything and you are spending time in the place to survey it. One of the key things about drawing is I never make a drawing without the stakeholder’ s permission. I never just turn up and start walking around bars, cafes, shops or people’ s houses. Each of the drawings has a person behind it, which maybe sometimes is lacking in exhibitions where people want to know who owns this place, who lives there and what is the story of this place. I guess each of the drawings has that so I think it is very difficult to say one particular one. It is probably drawings that I enjoy the aesthetic of, but whether that is about it encapsulating my whole practice, probably not, but more about enjoying the interior; somewhere like the Laurieston Bar, for example, which I am working on at the moment and I am really enjoying recording that through drawing. There is a brilliant tea and coffee shop in Dundee called J.A Braithewaites and it has been in the same family since 1924 and I drew that. It has all these tea caddies and I guess it is places that are beautiful and full of life, but not necessarily in the way that we would design as architects - places that have layers of history. But I could not pick one.

MM: What are the steps that go into your drawing process? Could you run through how you would begin a piece?

WK: Absolutely. I would start with going to the place and then doing some quick sketches in my sketchbook of what the client or what I would see if I got the section in a certain way or a plan or elevation. Then from that, we would make a decision and then use that drawing to then make a survey. I am only ever surveying to make a drawing, which is probably quite different to how an architect would survey where they are having to make a whole suite of drawings. That survey drawing is then translated usually at 1: 20 scale, which I find is a scale that is manageable in terms of paper size but also enables you to capture the detail of the flotsam and jetsam of life - tea cups, fire extinguishers, plug sockets and all these things. From there I am then pencilling out the key elements and then using ink to produce a line drawing and then applying watercolour to show depth and light and shadow and texture. For the technically minded amongst us, I only use one line weight which is 0.2. I know in art school line weights are the thing that students struggle with but I think because you then have the pen and watercolour you can show shadow and depth through that. I am lazy, I am not changing line weight for a window. Then I head to Craig Laurie at the Mack to get it scanned as soon as possible.

MM: We are particularly interested in the drawing you completed for Glasgow Heritage, could you talk to us a little about that?

WK: So that was a bit of a step change for me because it was not a conventional drawing in terms of the approach that I discussed before and in terms of the steps to do it. I would not normally engage with the idea of an aerial drawing or a bird' s eye view, I could maybe do it, but it would not be something that would necessarily float my boat. Though the idea of looking at the original drawing by Thomas Sulman from 1864 and seeing his approach and looking at OS maps and seeing how forensic and considered he was really energised me and enthused me for the project itself. To follow his hand, which I think is effectively what I am doing in terms of the fact that someone has drawn these places before. The learning opportunity of looking at that drawing in such focus and time was an exciting challenge and unpicking his drawing and his method and then applying my own hand to it. It would have been very difficult to have approached it without the existing drawing being around.

I certainly feel that, although it's an analogue approach again and it is pen and watercolour, I think there is something that we can still learn from that drawing that you cannot quite capture if you were to pan across Google Earth. It does not quite have the same impact on the viewer. I hope my drawing is valid, not just as a drawing, but as a tool for designers and architects to see the whole city as one city.

The other thing I like about it was that we are familiar with routes through Glasgow and our areas of Glasgow as architects, always looking around, but I was drawing bits of the city I have never been to before which I think is interesting. Sulman gives as much value to engine sheds and wasteland and the East End which I think is something that in my drawing is the same. It is not editing anything out; it is all part of the whole thing that helps you understand the city as a whole. It is far richer and far more valuable to see the impact of things like the motorway or train lines or gap sites or to question the river from a way you might not have seen it. The drone footage was helpful in that it was a moment in time because the city has changed so much, and it has changed from when I was completing the drawing to today. The drone footage enabled me to be sure that it was accurate for 2022. Though it is already outdated. There are now big buildings by the River Clyde that have appeared since. The sort of realms of the drawing came from layering the existing drawing, but then the information was kind of infilled. It was an exercise in tracing the boundary of the work so I knew geographically where everything was going to be. It was harder to work out going North of the city as the skyline has changed. The city has expanded North so it is hard to know what the impacts on the drawing would bechimneys have been replaced by tower blocks. There was a bit of creative licence there. The original timescale was ten weeks, I took about six to seven months. People kept asking me about it and I felt like an athlete in my response. I just ‘trust the process ’. I do not know if I would have done it in a different way but it is a crazy drawing and I am looking forward to exhibiting it in May. It was quite an effort.

MM: As an artist how important is it for you to have conversations with others in creative industries or conversations with architects? We know you sometimes work in the same space as an architectural practice.

WK: I really enjoy working up the road, with Nathan Cunnigham and Andy Gower of Soma Studio. They have a Part 2 working there, Andy Lang, who was at the Mack three years ago, I think. Well, primarily socially, it helps and also having two kids rattling around my flat is sometimes a challenge. I have hardly worked at home since March. In terms of creatively, I think it is helpful to have their input and their help with some of the technical aspects and just having someone else to sort of witness your progress and encourage it along the way is helpful. I do sometimes help them with surveys. Occasionally I will stand by their computer and chip in. There is definitely a professional separation, but I think, not just creatively and socially, it is helpful to be with others and there is obviously a massive crossover. We do not get too involved in each other' s work but I think just also to have somewhere else to go. I think it maybe makes you feel a little bit more professional to be in an office environment where phones are ringing and occasionally people come into the office. Although the people there are a similar age and it is not shirts and ties, it maybe helps to get away from home. I definitely would be up for continuing that if I can.

MM: If you had any advice for anybody interested in branching into another creative field or collaborating with another field, what would you say?

WK: I think I have done well, no that is wrong, that sounds terrible; what I mean is, I think I have always been quite clear about what my process is, and I have stuck quite rigidly to that so I think I would say not to take shortcuts. I am quite clear about the fact that my work is to scale and this is the process and this is effectively what you are buying into. I always appreciate anyone who does one thing well. I did a residency at Dumfries House and another artist who was there used watercolours in the morning and wax crayons in the afternoon and then photography and I was impressed by that. Obviously as architects you are used to using different skills, model making and computer drawing and she said she feels like once she has finished something, she wants to move onto something else. I am very different, I am quite linear and quite fixed in my targets and goals. The process does not really change, but the subject matter does and I think that is the refreshing thing for me. The personal relationships also change and I think that helps as well. So I think, do one thing well. It is probably from art school, I am quite stubborn and once I have started something I will finish it. I sort of stick through with the hard bits. But yes, do one thing well and stick to your guns.

Website: willknightdrawings.co.uk Instagram: @willknightdrawings