Italian Study III – Coloured pencil on paper 30” x 22” 2025 – Roger Towndrow – My practice centres on drawing. Predominantly I use pencil on paper, finding that the modesty, rawness and limited nature of the medium provides a discipline and structure from which to describe a varied imaginative experience. Recent work has used representations of the natural world as indicators of the passing of time, for example, gnarled trees, and blooming and budding flowers. My sources range across 15th century botanical illustrations, natural history archives, internet images, digital photographs, and my own AI image generation. I aim to strike a balance of authenticity in the work, suggested by detailed handmade drawing, while simultaneously hoping to disturb interpretations of the subject matter. Sometimes this has involved referencing faux historical styles or using mixed botanical references to create inconsistencies. I hope to invite consideration of our representations of the natural world, reflecting attempts to hold and study that which is often fleeting.