Mostly drawing

Virtually sketching

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Ed Mostly

Lockdown’s lack of group sketch-crawls has led to regular virtual meet-ups. Using Google Streetview you can freely wander a static location, get lost in side-streets and find a view that suits, joined by other sketchers on Zoom. Transcribing photos/2d images is very different to drawing from life, here’s James Gurney explaining the vital difference. But it’s been fun hanging out with fellow sketchers again, sometimes adding them as Olympian observers above the scene, and the local subjects are perfectly still!

From the top there’s Liverpool (spot the near invisible correction to fit in the Liver-bird…), a roasted corn seller in Istanbul, The Alhambra in Spain, villagers in Pewsey (Wiltshire, UK), bathers in Varanasi (India), and finally tourists in Sintra (Portugal). We’re off to Hong Kong next!

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Posted in drawing buildings, Istanbul, Portugal, Spain, street scene, urban, virtual sketching | Tagged Google Streetview, Istanbul sketch, James Gurney, Lee Perry, Liver building sketch, sketch of Alhambra, sketch of Varanasi, virtual sketching | Leave a comment

Lockdown sketches #3: botanical

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Ed Mostly

Having more time to watch the loveliest Spring I can remember means I’ve been drawing more plant life. Weeds like ivy and bindweed and sticky weed caught my eye at first; I love the way they’re creeping and covering. But old trees, magnolias, wisteria and cauliflowers have their own sinuous charms… (spot the mosquito that nearly bit me while drawing the wisteria…) Mostly inks, with a bit of water-colour

Posted in Bath, botany, ink brush, inks, park, seasonal, Spring, urban sketching, watercolour sketch | Tagged botanical sketches, lockdown sketches, park sketching, sketching in Bath, sketching plants, sketching weeds, The Stairs | 9 Comments

Lockdown #2: people (and birds)

Posted on May 16, 2020 by Ed Mostly

Given social distancing I’m having to be more resourceful to sketch my favourite subject… Here’s a 2m distanced supermarket queue, neighbours sat outside their front doors on VE day, a man doing tai-chi in the park, three Zooming sketchers watching Sintra tourists on StreetView, and various others including quick Zoom portraits, magpies and domestic TV viewing!

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Posted in Bath, dip pen, figures, line drawing, park, people watching, urban, urban sketching | Tagged lockdown sketching, sketching in Bath, tai chi sketch, The Clash, urban sketching, Zoom portraits | 5 Comments

Lockdown sketches #1: landscapes

Posted on May 9, 2020 by Ed Mostly

I hope you’re well. Strange days and worrying times, but much to be thankful for; health, a garden, fine weather, a dog to walk, and family to share it all with. Also thankful for the daily drawing habit, providing continuity, a bit of purposeful structure, and timeless moments when it’s going well! These were done during long dog walks; mostly in inks using a water-brush, a speedy way to catch lines and shapes, and very stable for layers of tonal washes. I think our constrained times have made distant open landscapes more attractive than usual, and the clearer air probably helps…

From the top there’s Kelston Round Hill, then five views of Stantonbury Hill, a moon-set at 5am (our dog had woken up early…), our neighbourhood seen from a nearby hill, Lansdown Crescent from below, and the back of the Royal Crescent.

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Posted in Bath, brush pen, coloured ink, ink brush, landscape, monochrome, urban sketching | Tagged Galaxie 500, ink brush sketches, landscape sketches, lockdown sketches, sketches of Bath, urban sketching | 8 Comments

London Calling #2

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Ed Mostly

The second of three posts collecting sketches from recent trip to London. This time, mostly museums…

To the Museum of London to pay homage to a sacred relic, Paul Simenon’s bass guitar, as smashed on the cover of London Calling. Centrepiece of a small but lovely exhibition to mark 40 years since the album came out…

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Then to the British Museum. Here’s the great court in the centre of the building, seen from an upper window… arnos vale_0020 (4)

(On my last visit I was able to study Rembrandt’s ‘Young Woman Sleeping’ up close; it’s a miraculous speedy sketch made up of about 40 brushstrokes. With my nose pressed against the glass, eyeballing it from about foot away, I had a go at recreating some sections, discovering even more details in the process. Taking the occasional break to sketch other visitors to the gallery…) arnos vale (92)

In the wonderful new Islamic gallery I copied faces from a huge 1950s linocut, fascinated by the different ways Zenderoudi made up eyes, noses, mouths etc… arnos vale_0014 (4)

Then some quick sketches of netsuke in the Japanese gallery… arnos vale_0005 (17)

And finally some more of the 6 million or so annual fellow visitors.

Posted in Duke Confucius, fude pen, museum, urban, urban sketching | Tagged British Museum sketch, museum sketching, sketch of netsuke, The Clash, urban sketching | Leave a comment

London calling #1

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Ed Mostly

The first of three posts collecting sketches from a recent trip to London, all drawn with a Duke Confucius Fude pen, some onto pre-stained pages, with various washes/colours etc

Fellow passengers waiting on the opposite station platform… arnos vale (93) Myself in the window as the train sped through the evening… arnos vale_0021 (4)

Cafe customers… arnos vale (91)

My host (deepest apologies to Adrian for this shocking libel)… arnos vale_0004 (22)

And finally Londoners out and about in the city, mostly sketched from the top deck of a bus (a few in another cafe). arnos vale_0003 (28)

Posted in coloured paper, Duke Confucius, fude pen, London, people watching, trains, urban, urban sketching | Tagged cafe sketches, fude sketching, Iggy Pop, sketching in London, train sketches, urban sketching | 1 Comment

Wonky, skew-whiff, bockety, odd

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Ed Mostly

Last week I accidentally wandered into cubism through blind-drawn continuous-line selfies… I recommend having a go, they only take a minute and the results are so strange that you can’t make any ‘mistakes’. Hold a pencil ready to draw on a page, look into the mirror and draw your face in one continuous line without looking down at the paper. Let your eyes move around the contours and features of your face and trace the same movement with the pencil. It becomes a magical mystery tour as you attempt to keep track of where you are on the page and try not to fall off the edges. Then enjoy the reveal when you look down! Some of them look like reflections in moving water, some like I’ve been badly beaten, and some are just odd. As I look at them I can recognise some of the lines/shapes I habitually use when drawing selfies, but it’s as if they’ve been drawn by someone else; most peculiar!

Collage created using TurboCollage software from www.TurboCollage.com

Posted in blind drawing, daily drawing, faces, line drawing, pencil, self-portrait | Tagged blind drawing, blind drawn selfies, continuous line drawings, continuous line selfies, The Contours

Blue and gold

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Ed Mostly

Five more sketches on pre-coloured paper, with blue and golden yellow backgrounds this time, the idea being to approximate skies and Bath stone, ish. I used the same process of drawing with the juicy fude pen, and then adding the greys and whites to build tone and contrast (as with the other ones I’ve posted recently). I’ve also used a bit of blue/golden yellow watercolour to extend the colour field out, or to add sky/buildings/lights into the sketches (and hot pink for the sitar case!). The overall effect can be a bit extreme but is fun to explore…

All the locations are in Bath; from the top there’s Walcot House cafe, then Kingsmead Square, a sitar busker by the Abbey, a general view of ‘Abbey Churchyard’, and finally looking down Stall Street. arnos vale (84) arnos vale_0006 (12) arnos vale_0001 (49) arnos vale_0005 (13) arnos vale_0002 (27)

Posted in Bath, buskers, cafe, coloured paper, Duke Confucius, fude pen, monochrome, sketchbooks, urban, urban sketching | Tagged monochrome sketches, sitar busker, sketch in cafe, sketch of busker, sketching in Bath, the stranglers, urban sketching | 1 Comment

Remembrance Sunday

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Ed Mostly

Remembrance Sunday in beautiful autumn light at Bath Cenotaph this morning. The band playing, a vicar leading the service, wreaths being presented and the salute being taken; a distant dog barking and a toddler laughing during the two minutes silence. “Stay and remember those who died…” I managed to get a great spot to view the scene, with a policeman just below on the right.