Mark Harvey has always been ‘drawn’ to the southwest, but has taken his love of the West Country to a new extreme with his latest project.
Having inherited a 10m role of paper and been inspired by Mark Wallington’s ‘500 mile Walkies’ – a hilarious account of one man and his (borrowed) dog’s experience walking the South West Coastal Path – Mark has begun the epic task of drawing his way though Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.
As his roll of paper is almost a metre high, Mark is taking the journey by road rather than coast path as Wallington does - to fit in many more of the county’s famous attractions. The drawing follows the progress of a yellow, 1950’s style coach as it winds its way past iconic landmarks including Bodmin Jail, Jamaica Inn and the Eden Project - as well as quintessential towns and villages that are iconic to Cornwall.
Using the simple but effective medium of coloured pencil, Mark has linked the miles-upon-miles of coast roads and inland thoroughfares and has started to realise that perhaps ten metres isn’t quite long enough to complete his mission. He hopes to cross the Tamar into Devon up to Plymouth and across Dartmoor before the roll runs out.
With regard to what happens to this gargantuan masterpiece when its finished, Mark isn’t sure – but he’d love to know of any very long walls or corridors that are looking to be adorned with a stunning West County mural.
Keep up-to-date with the drawing’s progress by following Mark on Twitter and see if you can spot the iconic Cornish landmarks and Mark’s signature seagulls!