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A postie keeping us all connected throughout Lockdown 3 is winning acclaim for his drawings – inspired by a busy life on the roads and among the hills of Rossendale, Lancashire.
Scott Sadler, who has worked for Royal Mail for three years, takes a sketch pad with him on his rounds, where he will spend a break doing a quick drawing. If he is unable to stop when something catches his eye, he will take a photo, and recreate it later.
Many of his creations – available to view on his website or instagram @thesketchingpostman – are recognisable Valley landscapes or architectural features, while others illustrate that age-old, ‘complex’ relationship with pets.
“I can sketch anything which is in front of me,” said Scott, who lives in Cloughfold – just around the corner from his sorting office.
“I mainly do buildings – different kinds of architecture that you see. I’ve drawn chickens and I’ve got quite a nice picture of someone’s dog who climbed in my van and stole my sandwiches!
“I find most of the dogs are friendly, but I’ve got quite a good drawing of where I was attacked by a cat in Haslingden. This cat’s claws came right out – not just the paw but the whole leg came out!
“I managed to take a photo. I held the letterbox open and the claws were still there. It must have been waiting for the mail. The person whose cat it was saw the photo on the Sketching Postman [page] and really apologised!”
Scott, who moved to Rossendale in 2004, living in Haslingden until 2012, says the idea of being a postman had always appealed, especially having previously worked on community safety for a housing association, where he found the combination of the role and commute quite stressful.
While he gets up early now to begin his shifts, he is usually finished by 3pm, giving him more time to indulge his art – which he says has really blossomed in recent years. While he really enjoys his job, he admits it has been busy on a unprecedented scale recently due to the pandemic and busier-than-ever Christmas rush.
The dad-of-one said: “I’ve been a postman for three years, starting at the beginning of January 2018. It’s been extremely busy, and it has been challenging.
“Now Covid has happened, a lot of posties have said they’ve never seen it so busy. This Christmas was ridiculous. People cannot go to the shops and everybody just buys online. Christmas is always busy, but this has been the busiest. It’s tough.
“I work right across Rossendale, I don’t have my own [regular] round so I get to see a huge spectrum of areas and people. Our office is based in Rawtenstall so we’re spread out from there, and there’s 37 different areas. I think I’ve done 31 or 32 of them.
“It’s challenging, definitely, but it’s still very rewarding. I see myself as being quite fortunate on being able to spend a lot of time outdoors and socialise with a lot of people. You do tend to get to know people when you do rounds regularly. Generally people who are locked down don’t get to do that.
“It’s quite a good job to have, as a key worker. At the minute we do tend to see people who are quite remote and don’t necessarily go out, and you might be the only person who they see from day to day. The majority of people are really grateful for what we do. Most people always make the extra effort to say ‘thanks for what you’re doing’. It’s really nice.”
Scott, who also enjoys fell running with Rossendale Harriers, says he has met a lot of talented people through the thriving Rossendale arts scene, including the annual art trail in October. He says a quick sketch might only take 20 minutes, or he might spend an hour or more on commissioned works.
“I try and keep it quite loose and put a colour wash on there. I don’t always go into real detail,” he said.
“I don’t go around trying to get people to buy my work, but I do have people contacting me asking me if I will paint their house!
“Being a postman is a dream job for me. The people of Rossendale are friendly and most are happy to see the postie – unless they’re delivering bills! I love to be outdoors and I’m very fortunate to work in the area where I live. Being able to combine my love of drawing with my work is a far cry from my previous job, and dream come true.”
You can see more of Scott’s work on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thesketchingpostman/ or visit scottsadlerartist.com
He is also on Facebook – search for ‘Scott Sadler Art & Illustrations’ .
