I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Category Archives: death
Remembrance
It’s the 11th day of the 11th month, so here’s a bas-relief memorial tablet in Salisbury Cathedral, placed in memory of Edward Tennant, a young officer and poet killed on the Somme in 1916. It includes touching testimonies to his life and times; “when things … Continue reading
Posted in brush pen, coloured ink, death, inks, line drawing, monochrome, monument, sculpture
Tagged 1st World War memorial, Armistice Day, bas relief memorial, Edward Tennant, John Singer Sargent, Officer died on the Somme, Remembrance, Salisbury Cathedral, sketch of a sculpture, Talking Heads, young officer
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Cursive
Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, tea, A5 – 15 minutes I copied this from the inside of an Egyptian mummy at Bristol City Museum. The whole inner surface of the case was covered with beautifully relaxed and flowing cursive hieroglyphs, … Continue reading
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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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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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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Venetian cadavers
More cheery sculptures from Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice (see previous post), this time on the Giovanni Pesaro monument. These two figures are slightly hidden in the shadows, looking like coy zombies emerging from the shower. Pilot V7 pen and … Continue reading
Posted in death, Frari, monochrome, monument, sculpture, skeleton, Venice
Tagged death, Frari, monochrome, sculpture, Venice, zombie
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Not Casanova
One of the many extravagant and dramatic monuments in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. This one’s for the sculptor Canova (not Casanova, another famous Venetian) and his heart’s buried here. The monument is a large plain pyramid and the … Continue reading
Mostly drawing 