Category Archives: animals

A toad, a giraffe, two elephants and a Gorgonite

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | Leave a comment

Life and death #2 Mostly dogs

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | Leave a comment

Chester Zoo

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Ed Mostly

A busy afternoon sketching a tiny fraction of the 11,000 animals and 400 species on view at Chester zoo. The baby Asian elephants were charming, the flamingos were like animated brush stokes, and the giraffes were improbable wonders of balance and grace, … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, from life, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, zoo | Tagged Chester zoo, elephants, flamingos, giraffes, monkeys, nature, painting with tea, Simon and Garfunkle | Leave a comment

Archeology Museum #1

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Ed Mostly

I spent a very hot afternoon sketching in the cool shade of the Istanbul Archeology Museum. It houses a wonderfully rich collection created during the Ottoman Empire, when Turkey ruled Egypt and the ancient lands of Mesopotamia, Assyria, etc. A large … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, collections, from life, Istanbul, museum, objects, sketching, white marker pen | Tagged Babylon, figure curves, Ishtar gate, Istanbul Archeology Museum, lion, Mesopotamia, small figurines, The Kinks | Leave a comment

Strangeness abounding

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Ed Mostly

3 more sketches from the wonderful and mysterious gardens of the Quinta Da Regaleira in Sintra, Portugal. Looking up from the bottom of the 27 metre deep “Initiation Well” or “Initiatic Well”. It has a secret entrance at the top and … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, from life, garden, gouache, Lexington grey, Portugal, sketching, sky, travel | Tagged animal statues, gargoyles, grotto, Initiation well, looking up, Quinta Da Regaleira, The Monkees | 3 Comments

Swanage

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Ed Mostly

‘The Voyager’ by Tessa Farmer, one of several sculptures temporarily in Bath Abbey. This one’s in a small side chapel, with a collection of ants, wasps and tiny winged figures riding on its back. It’s also carrying a dead mouse … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, Bath, Birds, from life, pencil, sculpture | Tagged ants, Bath Abbey, bird in flight, swan, T-Rex | 2 Comments

Bronze

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Some sketches from the wonderful Bronze exhibition at the Royal Academy in London last Summer. An amazing range of works from many times and places. The horse is Greek, called the ‘Armento Rider’, 550BCE. The spider crawling up the wall … Continue reading →