I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Author Archives: Ed Mostly
Many hands
Drawing hands continues to be a challenge so here are some recent attempts. The first set was while watching TV, pausing the program and drawing any hands in the shot as fast as possible. The second is a range of … Continue reading
Posted in body, from life, hands, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, TV
Tagged Beastie Boys, Herge, left hand, oservational drawing, Tintin in Tibet, TV stills
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A toad, a giraffe, two elephants and a Gorgonite
Toy figures are well-behaved models, holding their poses indefinitely. They also give the opportunity to sketch rarely seen creatures, and from unusual angles. Broad dip pen with Carbon black ink, water brush with dilute Carbon black ink, A5 White Uni … Continue reading
Posted in animals, collections, dip pen, inks, Lexington grey, line drawing, marker pen, monochrome, objects, toys
Tagged baby elephant, Carbon black ink, elephants, giraffe, Gorgonite, mug, toad, Tom Jones, toys
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Seasonal skull
Returning to a favourite model for a Halloween still life. This one’s a full size plastic medical model, bought in a flea market years ago. Skulls are fascinating subjects to draw, loaded with cultural traditions and artistic baggage, and currently appearing on … Continue reading
Posted in death, from life, Lexington grey, marker pen, objects, skeleton
Tagged Halloween, Kraftwerk, memento mori, memento vivere, skull, Uni Posca
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The Shrubbery
Looking down The Shrubbery, a steep path near our home in Bath. You have to squint a bit for it to work, and that’s a conservatory half-way up the house on the left, built on a balcony. (I blended dilute Winsor … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, buildings, from life, inks, kit, monument, urban, waterbrush
Tagged city view, complementary colours, Primal Scream, roof tops, steep path, The Shrubbery, Winsor and Newton inks
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Beach life
People watching at the seaside this Summer. The first was drawn at beach level, with nearby families, passing promenaders, distant swimmers and surfers. The second was from a cliff path, the figures tiny and silhouetted on the sunlit beach below; … Continue reading
Posted in beach, from life, line drawing, monochrome, people, sea
Tagged beach, cliff view, dogs, Dunraven, Lowry, Manorbier, P P Arnold, passers by, people watching, promenaders, Summer, surfers
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Life and death #2 Mostly dogs
More sketches from the recent British Museum Pompeii exhibition. First the famously contorted death-cast of a guard dog, followed by a mosaic door sign (“Cave canem”- beware of the dog) found in the same villa; it’s hard not to see the sign as a portrait … Continue reading
Posted in animals, collections, death, exhibitions, from life, Lexington grey, monochrome, museum, pencil, sculpture, sketching
Tagged British Museum, British Museum Pompeii exhibition, cave canem, death-cast, dogs, guard dog, hounds, House of the stags, hunting, Pompeii, stag, Talking Heads
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Distant urban texture
Two sketches looking West towards the Suleymaniye Mosque from the terrace of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Once I’d drawn the key buildings I added an approximation of the city’s texture all around them (roofs, domes, chimneys, walls etc) not having … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, urban
Tagged greebling, Suleymaniye Mosque, The Troggs, Topkapi Palace, urban texture
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Life and death #1
Some sketches of famous finds from Pompeii, recently on show at the British Museum in London. The exhibition contrasted Roman art that celebrated life, with plaster casts that documented agonising deaths. The death-casts are very emotive objects, both expressionist and … Continue reading
Posted in body, collections, death, exhibitions, from life, Lexington grey, monochrome, museum, pencil
Tagged body casts, boxer pose, British Museum, death-cast, dogs, Hercules, mosaic, plaster casts, Pompeii, Roman art, Simon and Garfunkel, the muleteer, urinating
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Fork handles
I found these in a cupboard while on holiday. I’m afraid a link to this sketch is unavoidable; homophones abounding. Uni Posca markers, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, blue and red Pigma pens, A5
Posted in candles, collections, from life, marker pen, objects, white marker pen
Tagged four candles, plate, The Two Ronnies
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Mostly drawing 