Yes it is ok to draw on walls... sometimes!

What would you do if over 60 people turned up and spontaneously started drawing all over your walls? You probably wouldn't be very happy would you! Well, on Saturday 6th October we invited people to do just that, celebrating the Big Draw on the hoardings in East Cowes.

Artists, Scribblers and Doodlers of all ages spent the day creating a Fantasy Town and before long a weird and wonderful land and its inhabitants appeared - fairy castles, tree houses, houses supported by hot air balloons, space ships, a fantasy football stadium and our very own Cloud Town!

Artist Birgitte Haar Lund was on hand to help participants realise their fantasy dwellings, providing stencils, pencils, marker pens, crayons and chalks to draw directly onto the wooden hoardings, a huge roll of paper and onto the pavement itself. The finished piece can be seen near St James’ Church in Church Lane.

The Big Draw is part of the Campaign for Drawing which has one simple aim: to get everyone drawing. The Big Draw is an annual October showpiece, proving that drawing can be a public activity as well as a private passion. 1000 venues across the UK, from great national institutions to village halls, regularly join in to offer people of all ages the chance to discover that drawing is enjoyable, liberating and at everyone's fingertips.

The Campaign was inspired by the great Victorian writer and visionary, John Ruskin. His mission was not to teach people to draw, but how to see. Each Big Draw season brings fresh opportunities to discover how drawing can connect us to our environment and heritage.

The event was free and organised in partnership by Island 2000 Trust and Quay Arts. The Trust would like to thank everyone who took part and made this event such a great success.