Port Edgar

 

 

 

The Scottish Parliament

A referendum was held in Scotland this week to determine if Scotland should be an independent nation.  The majority of people voted for Scotland not to become independent and instead to remain part of the United Kingdom.

The finished Dundas Street doorstep

Tubes

Payne's gray, Cerulean blue hue, Sap green and Raw umber

No art today, just some new materials.  I've used half pan Winsor & Newton watercolours so far.  I wanted some other colours to finish my doorway image I posted a couple of days ago so I went to the art shop today and decided upon these, in tube form, just to try out the difference between these and the dried half pan pigments.  These cost £2.50 each so are not too costly for a beginner like me.  I bought a new brush too).

Random round-up

Hikarie

I drew this a wee while ago and wasn't going to post it, but having looked at it again I've decided that I rather like it; perhaps as it brings back nice memories of my Tokyo trip earlier this year. This is the Hikarie building in Shibuya.  Its 43 floors were completed in 2012 and contain a department store, offices and other facilities including a theatre.  I visited the 11th floor sky lobby from which you have a great view of the city including Shinjuku in the distance.  My 'Coke' sign was just me being lazy.

Work in progress

I bought some watercolour paper yesterday and sketched out an image from a photograph I took in Dundas Street in Edinburgh.  I have a tendency to rush things and so though I should take my time over this watercolour.  With every additional paint stroke there is always the risk that the paint will go astray and ruin the whole thing.  I am happy with what I have done so far (though I cheated a little by using an Inktense pencil for the railing as I didn't have black watercolour and couldn't mix something dark enough) and so I'll stop for now while I'm ahead..

Le Kiosque des noctambules, Metro entrance, Palais Royal, Paris

Disaster at the Canal St Martin

No, not a novel by Edgar Allan Poe, just a pretty horrible picture. In my defence (ok, here come the excuses) I was sitting low down on the concrete edge of this canal in Paris so it wasn't entirely optimum comfort.  However, I hoped it could be rescued by a nice watercolour wash when I came home; I mean, those Line and Washes that other people do look so easy!  Clearly this image was beyond rescue and unfortunately the Moleskine didn't seem to take the watercolour very well.  However I've looked online and it seems that other people have managed to apply watercolours to this notebook ok, so maybe it was my paint or my brushes (yes, I'm blaming my tools now).  Well, I suppose it is just another step in the learning journey.  Maybe the true artists out there can give me some tips......

Take a break on your city break

City breaks are fun but all of that sight seeing can be pretty tiring.  Sketching is a good way to stop and relax and enjoy your surroundings.  This sketch isn't great but I needed to take the weight off my feet and found it pleasant to take out my sketch book and draw this scene on the approach to Les Invalides of some elderly men playing boules under the shade of the trees.

Palais du Luxembourg

Completed in 1645 as a palace but now home to the French Senate, the Luxembourg Palace is just one of the many fine buildings in Paris.  I've just returned from my 14th visit to the city.  The palace can be found within the grounds of the Luxembourg gardens and I took a stroll there on Sunday which was a lovely time for a visit.  The weather was sunny and warm with the last vestiges of summer and there was a chilled out atmosphere as the Parisiens, tourists and returning students relaxed in this oasis of calm in the heart of the city.  Undoubtedly one of my favourite spots, though at this time of year fraught with danger, as I had two near misses from falling conkers (horse chestnuts).

There is perhaps nowhere better as a lunch spot once you've picked up a baguette from a nearby boulangerie and found your perfect vantage point from which to people watch or to lose yourself in your own thoughts or with your head buried in a book.

There is lots to do there too.  If you are lucky there might be a concert taking place at the bandstand, you could sail a miniature yacht on the large pond, the centre piece of the garden or the fittest amongst you could take to the tennis courts.  Tai Chi enthusiasts can be seen moving beautifully among the trees and retirees and studious young men are deeply engrossed in games of chess.

Of course, it's also the perfect place for a sketch. Using my Staedtler 0.5, I'm much happier with the outcome of this sketch than of my recent attempt at the Belem Tower.  Clearly the fine liner made it easier to create a more accurate image in these inexperienced hands. Once again however, I fell off the end of the page.....

Royal Botanical Garden of Edinburgh

We've had a pretty good summer here in Scotland, though August was a little changeable.  I managed to make it to the Botanics (as we call it) on a beautiful sunny day.  Here is a shot taken in the rock garden and my take on it using Derwent (metallic and inktense) and Reeves watercolour pencils. I

used a Staedtler 0.05 pigment liner for the drawing

 

 

The Frock Coat

I loved visiting the Museum of Portuguese Decorative Arts (Museu de Artes Decorativas Portuguesas) when I was in Lisbon. I had virtually the whole place to myself; it was a hidden treasure yet not far away hundreds of people were queueing to visit the castle but no one was giving this place a second look.  It was quite a small museum too so I wasn't overwhelmed by the exhibits as can sometimes be the case with massive national museums. This beautiful frock coat caught my eye (4B Pencil and Derwent Metallic)