Winslow artist Laura Boswell is the remarkable talent behind beautiful illustrations featured on seven information pillars that have been popping up around Aylesbury town centre recently.
The pillars not only provide useful information for getting around Aylesbury, but also include bespoke linocut illustrations that tell the historical and cultural story of Aylesbury.
The fourteen illustrations and accompanying facts shed light on the history behind popular landmarks such as the Kings Head and the Clocktower, historical gems such as Aylesbury Ducks and Cubitt cars, and famous locals such as Sir Ludwig Guttman and Ronnie Barker.
Laura commented on her experience of creating these unique illustrations:
“Working on the linocuts for the Aylesbury monoliths was a fascinating challenge. Linocut is a bold and graphic art form, ideally suited to the kind of illustrations needed to bring the very varied subjects of the monoliths to life.
I deliberately used a relaxed and sketchy multi-layered technique for each print to give the set of illustrations a cohesive feel in tune with the brief.
Each illustration is taken from my original hand cut linocuts. They are reduction prints, meaning that each image is cut out of an individual piece of lino with a layer of the lino cut away each time a colour is printed. As the print emerges in full colour, so the printing block is gradually destroyed.”
Why not take the opportunity to discover more about Aylesbury’s treasures past and present with this cultural trail while exploring the town!