You probably know the work of Stephen Wiltshire already, so I won’t need to give him much of an introduction. He creates hugely intricate, detailed cityscapes of some of the most famous skylines in the world. But the most amazing thing about Stephen’s work is his ability to draw them from memory after only seeing them for a few minutes or half an hour or so.
Since he was a child, Stephen has shown expertise and skill in sketching and, when he was diagnosed with autism at three, he used it as a portal to communicate with and to the world, expanding and enhancing his talent with every cityscape he sketched.
Here, Stephen’s sister gives an insight into her brother’s incredible work – the inspirations, the processes, and the places that are next on his ‘sketchlist’.
Stephen’s sketching style
Mr. Wiltshire has had 35+ years to develop his draughtsmanship skills, so years of practice and nurturing his skill to perfection has enabled him to find his signature style of drawing.
The process behind each piece
Mr. Wiltshire has a six month waiting list of commissions as well as other projects, which take him right into 2015. Depending on the project (ie: panoramas) he will normally go on site or the classic helicopter ride he is now famous for doing and memorize, which in turn he will do a small practice test to familiarize himself before going ahead for real. He will sometimes draw from books, magazines, on site or photographs as well.
The inspiration behind the work
Mr. Wiltshire is a Cityscape man and loves all cities around the world. As speech was not an option for him in the late seventies, drawing was the only form of communication back then and has continued to progress and enjoy his passion of drawing. He loves the chaos and order that co-exist in modern cities.
I think as an artist, its a journey of what you see and how you want to illustrate that and with Mr. Wiltshire, he wanted to show his love of buildings, now of course he loves the feedback he receives from followers and responds to that in a positive way, only helping to enhance the style, speed and passion for what he is known best. He draws what and how he sees the world around him.
Style and subject
He often creates quick sketches in 30 seconds, other times he works tirelessly on vast panoramas adding the most intricate details. Stephen is most excited about complex and iconic cities and he finds the countryside or rural views less interesting as a subject matter.
Favourite subject
New York – it’s one of the overseas trips he did as a young child and has very strong and important memories as well as the tallest buildings and skyscrapers. It had a huge impact on Mr. Wiltshire as a child and has continued to be one of the most iconic cities he loves to draw. He also loves the people of the city and is always keen to return.
Where in the world is next?
I think there are quite a few places still on Mr. Wiltshire’s agenda and no doubt I believe he will set his sights on visiting them very soon. Among them would be Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Milan, Montreal and Lisbon.
You can see more of Stephen’s work on his website.
It is just Superb..