Catching up with Charlotte Trounce while on a residency in Japan

Date
20 June 2018

It will be no news to regulars readers that we have a bit of an illustration crush on Charlotte Trounce. The London-based illustrator has a knack for drawing pretty much anything — exhibition artworks, fashion collections or objects for children’s books — so we’ve regularly got an eye on what she’s illustrating. It was during one of these snooping sessions over on Charlotte’s Instagram that we noticed she currently isn’t in London, but on an envious trip to Japan.

What Charlotte was posting to us looked like textured sketches, but maybe we’re being slightly naive about the technology illustrators are using these days, as they turned out to be iPad sketches. The landscape depicted, full of fluffy-like grass, or agricultural landscapes drawn in black outlines, have each been created while on an artist’s residency at Seiunkan Farmer’s Guest House in Komoro.

“After visiting Japan a couple of years ago, I knew I wanted to go back for longer and spend time in the countryside,” Charlotte tells us over e-mail from Japan. “This was the perfect opportunity, and although I’ve always enjoyed sketching while I’m away on trips, I’ve never really given myself time and space to really dedicate some time to it.” The result is a collection of drawings which are fully Charlotte’s signature style, with hinted snippets of where she is through architectural drawings or greenery. As a result, the drawings aren’t overly obvious to where she’s currently staying, allowing the viewer to make their own assumption of the agricultural landscape dependent on what they see, and develop their own relationship to it.

“The farm was surrounded by mountains and rice paddles,” Charlotte describes, “so an incredibly beautiful place to explore and draw!” Spending her time, “going for walks, taking photos and making quick sketches,” Charlotte would then return to her guest house and “develop them further on my iPad, or work on paintings.”

Currently still in Japan and creating more work, we’ll continue to snoop on Charlotte’s drawings (and you can too here) and see her intricately detailed depictions of everything Japan has to offer while we grow more and more jealous at our desks.

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Above

Charlotte Trounce

Share Article

About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.