A DESIGNER who was inspired by the area has now grown his passion into a new business.

Rob Wisdom, 56, went to art college in Southend and moved to Tiptree in 2003.

He is the designer and illustrator behind Wisdom Art Prints and the graphic designer for Wisdom Design Limited.

His art prints are a new venture in which he began to capture the beauty he saw in Essex.

Mr Wisdom said: “I realised how beautiful and varied the towns are in this one county.

Echo:

“Being in Tiptree, I was fascinated that there’s a Station Road and no station and I wondered what it used to look like.

“For many people, my drawing is the only colour picture that some people will ever see.”

He is a keen cyclist and often rides for 80 miles around Essex, which is where he gets a lot of inspiration for his drawings.

His process involves going to a spot he wants to draw and spending time there soaking up the atmosphere.

Echo:

Each piece has a lot of hidden detail and different narratives to be spotted within.

He said: “When I did the Frinton-on-Sea beach huts, I flew a drone over the beach and told one of the beach hut owners that he will probably be in the piece.

“In the finished drawing you can see him standing there outside his beach hut.”

Each drawing takes a day or two for Mr Wisdom to complete and then he will go over it with a “fine-toothed comb”.

He enjoys researching the history of different places and talking to people to learn more about what people love about the area.

He said: “When I drew Wivenhoe, I drew a couple of swans there and the people told me there was a goose that thought it was a swan.

“They all had a fondness to it in the town, so I put it in the drawing.”

Mr Wisdom plans to continue with more pieces including Clacton Pier.

His prints can be bought in shops including The Cheap Shop in Tiptree or from his website wisdomartprints.co.uk.