Exhibition by architectural artist Minty Sainsbury

Artist Minty Sainsbury is among 26 shortlisted entrants to the 2017 Royal Arts Prize exhibiting at La Galleria Pall Mall, London, from 30 May until 10 June.

London-based Sainsbury studied architecture at the University of Cambridge, graduating top of her year in 2013, and went on to work in a London architectural practice before deciding to concentrate on drawings in pencil of buildings and cities. Sainsbury suggests that her architectural training informs not only her choice of subject, but also her approach to drawing, with the years spent designing plans and positioning windows on modern facades expressed in the composition of her drawings.

Map of Bologna
“I really like the patterns in maps and so with this drawing of the city centre of Bologna I wanted a mixture of dense detailed areas contrasting with the blankness of the open spaces. I choose to leave sections of the map undrawn just with the outline as this allows the view to focus on the detailed sections.”

St Paul’s Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge
“This is such a familiar view to anyone who knows London well. But I wanted to emphasise this view by highlighting St Paul’s Cathedral in the way that I imagine the architects and engineers who designed the millennium bridge hoped our view would be focused.”

Guinigi Tower, Lucca
“Work in progress on the Guinigi Tower in Lucca Tuscany. I don’t normally draw vegetation so this was a new challenge trying to capture these Holm Oaks on the top of this 125 foot ancient tower.”

Doorway, Amsterdam
“I stumbled upon this doorway walking around Amsterdam and just love the unique layout of the facade and wanted to capture the design in a front-on elevation drawing.”

Lincoln Cathedral
“Lincoln Cathedral as seen amongst its surroundings in the centre of the city.”

Cremona Cathedral
“There is a piazza in front of the cathedral in Cremona but my favourite view is this glimpse of the cathedral you get as you approach it.”

Minoritenkirche, Vienna
“This building has such a unique shape I wanted to emphasise this by drawing it in the centre of a large piece of paper. It’s shape has come about from hundreds of years of adding and remodelling to the initial buildings giving it a quirky mix of architectural styles and building materials.”