A Conversation with Oliver Lam-Watson

“…the pencil is my weapon of choice. It’s the bridge between my ideas and the paper, I could have all the ideas in the world but without a pencil and paper, none of them would become anything more.”

What do you do?

I’m currently in the 2^nd and final year of my Masters in Architecture at Kingston University London. I also shoot 35mm dark room photography and create videos on Youtube.

What does your workspace look like? Where do you like to create?

When I’m not in the studios at Uni I’m at my desk in my small student flat. I like to cover my walls in drawings and images that I find interesting, from old tatty sketches to photographs, if I like it, it’s going on the wall. I try to surround myself with a level of intensity when I work, jars overflowing with pencils, scalpel blades, metal rulers and 35mm film reel all make up the landscape of my workspace. But everything has a home, labeled with tape and a black pen. I think its important to apply a level of organization to the chaos.

What role does the pencil play in your process?

I mean…it’s the beginning, middle and end. It is the process. I like to design through sketch, as I’ve never been great with computers; the pencil is my weapon of choice. It’s the bridge between my ideas and the paper, I could have all the ideas in the world but without a pencil and paper, none of them would become anything more.

Why do you choose to work with pencils and, specifically, Blackwings?

There’s something very holistic and natural about working in pencil. I feel like it’s creating at its rawest, no gadgets, and no computers. It allows you to work into a drawing, layer by layer, and shows your thought process in a way I find it hard to achieve using other medias. Blackwing take the variables and unreliability out of the equation. I know that when I use a Blackwing 602, it’s going to look exactly how it did in my minds eye.  

What other tools are essential to your process?

As I mentioned previously, I’m also very fond of 35mm film photography, which I think is a great media. When it comes to 3D representation of my ideas, I find plaster casting useful.

How do you overcome creator's block? 

Just. Keep. Producing.

I always try and make a mark, draw something. Even if it’s wrong, it gives you somewhere to start.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I remember in art class when I was a kid, there was a boy a couple of years below me who was brilliant at drawing. He told me, something that’s stuck with me throughout my 5 years of Architecture. 

“Don’t try doing a perfect drawing of exactly what you see, you wont get it right. Instead, do a drawing ‘about’ the subject, tell your own story, then you cant get it wrong”