On the beach

Barra Mansa

I follow loads of sketchers on Twitter who draw some wonderful street scenes, from the highly detailed to the mere suggestion of place.  I always have those sketchers in mind when I try to do my own urban sketch.  I'm so far away from emulating those guys but I will continue to persevere.

Bedford Street/Commerce Street NYC

Semur-en-Auxois, Burgundy

Rescue from the flood

Poolewe

The River Ewe in Poolewe in the north west of Scotland. Drawn from a Google Street View image

On Skolegade

Rough street sketch

On the Macedonian Border

Drawn with 2H pencil

Untitled

Trying out willow charcoal again

I bought willow charcoal a while ago but haven't used it apart from one quick sketch just to test it out. I fished it out of my art box again today for this sketch of the Grand Canal.  I was just going for the basic shape of the canal but even then I find charcoal very difficult to work with.  It's also pretty messy.  You certainly get found out pretty quickly as an artist.  I have much respect for those who can do amazing work with this stuff.

Starling

Drawn with an H pencil

Untitled

Build it and they will come

 I decided to add some people to my Hagia Sofia pic

Hagia Sofia

Angels Landing

Probably inspired by the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year television programme, I drew this scene from a photograph of Angels Landing at Zion National Park in Utah today. I used Derwent Inktense ink blocks which I bought a while ago then added water to loosen the ink.  I haven't used the blocks before and wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  I've used the Inktense pencils in the past but the blocks are more difficult for a beginner to handle. However, whilst it is very basic, I rather like this.

Oil #1

Aird Uig

Giverny (wet version)

Giverny

Possibly one of the most famous landscapes in the world, Monet's garden at Giverny in France.  I decided to tackle it with a Royal & Langnickel watercolour pencil.  Here, I have not yet applied the water. In my next post I'll show you the wet version.

Miner (updated)

Miner

6B pencil, charcoal and eraser

Inspired by Midtown

A quick sketch in Washington Square

I've been busy recently, including taking a trip to New York City, so I haven't done any sketching for a few weeks.  I did quickly pull out my sketch book whilst resting in Washington Square during a busy day sightseeing.  Not a great sketch, but, as ever, an enjoyable way to capture the memory of spending time in that space.

Quick Amsterdam doodle

Refugee child playing

Rue du Vicomte

Sankt Annæ Plads, Copenhagen

Another quick lunch hour sketch on my legal pad.  This time Copenhagen, where I travelled in the Spring.  I did little sketching while I was there but it is nice to revisit with the miracle of Google Street View.  Here, I've again used a soft pencil, like my recent Paris sketch.  This also reminds me of my Mujibnagar Road sketch from a few months back though is perhaps a little more refined; having more obvious depth and perspective.

Chester

Paris with Pitt Pen

Berries

Autumn is starting to encroach on our lives and the leaves at Lauriston Castle are starting to turn golden.  However, summer is not quite finished with us yet and it was a splendid 18 degrees in Edinburgh today.  Not only do the leaves change colour but the berries come out at this time of year too.  I had to stand in the long grass to draw this little scene (reminiscent of a drawing I did around a year ago). I shall probably colour the drawing later but for now I'll let the natural colours of this beautiful day speak for themselves.

Cycling through Arakawa

Paris quickie

Maybe you expected something else when you clicked on the link to this post from Twitter, but come on, this is an art blog.  I quickly drew this in 15 minutes in my lunch hour.  I didn't have any sketch paper and just used my notebook instead.  It's a classic Paris view which I was trying to recreate as quickly as possible as a sort of test for myself, and also to kill some time before I started back to work.  The barge at the front isn't great but the scene of the Pont Neuf and Notre Dame I'm more content with.

Slow dancers

The artist

Cavalry

Untitled

Crazy kids

The ferry boat keeper's house (coloured)

Untitled

Just resting his eyes

8B Pencil