Patsy’s fax machine… new ways to appreciate the old

I’ve always been annoyingly intrigued by the past, from my 1990s teenage obsession with 1970s flares, to my 2000s throwback to vinyl, and my very misguided and short-lived 2010s fling with a real typewriter. I know, I know, it is very easy to romanticise the past and assume it was all so much better and simpler then, though this is unlikely to be the case. I admit it, the flared jeans trailed the ground and wicked up a good 6 inches of rain from the footpath. The vinyl got scratched. I never could find a ribbon to fit that typewriter, and waiting for one stopped me writing for a least 3 months.

I’m not a Luddite. I think it’s important to stay grateful and realisitc about the opportunities technological development has given us. Much as I do love Blur, I can’t concur that Modern Life is Rubbish.

I indulge my obsession with the past by making digitial images of vintage machines. These are mostly drawn in pencil on paper first, then coloured on iPad using an apple pencil and ProCreate. This is an amazing way to draw with an intuitive, traditional feel, but retain all the benefits of a digital image that can be copied and edited. Here is an example of my work.

CC BY-NC These works can be reproduced non-commercially,

but credit must be given to their creator, Patricia Frazer