A drawing of the station

An original imagined personal account by an amateur artist.

I began drawing the station because it seemed to contain convenient straight lines. The roof, the platform edge and the repeated windows offered an orderly subject. Within minutes, people had occupied every part I had planned to leave empty.

I tried to wait for the view to clear. It never did for long enough. A family spread bags around a bench, a cleaner crossed with a trolley and someone stopped beneath the clock. My drawing became a record of the station I wanted to see rather than the place in front of me.

On the next page, I drew the bags first. I left room for a person who had already moved and used a few marks to suggest the cleaner’s route. The lines were less tidy, but I began to recognise the changing use of the space.

At home, I kept both pages. The first showed how I had arranged the building in my mind. The second gave it something to do.

What does the account explain about the change in the artist’s approach to drawing the station?