The exhibition featured at this gallery was 'A celebration of Nick Park and 20 years of Wallace and Gromit'. It displayed a collection of early-stage concept drawings, storyboards, prints and special edition watercolour/ink drawings, providing real insight into character development and how the pair had morphed into their final shells, to be later launched into cult-like status.
'The Illustration Cupboard' also housed an amazing collection of original drawings and prints from other well-known illustrators, many of whom you might recognise in your own book collection.
I was both shocked and very pleasantly suprised to see that such a gallery exists to support and promote beautiful illustration work.
My next stop was a brief visit to the Royal Academy, where I still plan to get back to in the near future, for the promisingly powerful Anish Kapoor exhibition. If the installation of vertically stacked shiny mirrored balls in the entrance are anything to go by, then I'm sure it's going to be unlike anything I've seen before.
On the uppermost floor of the gallery I came across a marble sculpture by Michelangelo, titled 'The Virgin & Child with the Infant St John', dating back to 1505. As I was sketching it (pictured left), I was amazed to think that it had been created such a long time ago, by Michelangelo's own hands and in front of me today. The large wall-mounted sculpture, although slightly worn away, was still breathtaking in its beauty and craftsmanship. I can only imagine how great it must have looked in its hay day.
For me this piece not only demonstrates the capacity of art to persist through the barrier of time, but despite changes in society and tastes, it shows it still has the ability to command a certain appeal and appreciation.
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