I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Category Archives: from life
The Beetles
Beetles are the most diverse group of organisms on earth, representing a fifth of all living organisms, and there are over 4,000 species in the UK and Ireland alone. Here are three I’ve met since starting sketching… I found this Lesser Stag … Continue reading
Enough thumbnails, already…
A last example, for now, of travel thumbnails. This time in a taxi from Istanbul airport to a city centre hotel, where we arrived before I could finish the last frame. The driver was puzzled when I showed him the … Continue reading
Posted in airport, from life, Istanbul, journeys, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, urban
Tagged city streets, gelly roll, rear view mirror, Rolling Stones, taxi driver, taxi ride, transportation, windscreen view
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Travel thumbnails #3, planes
More travel thumbnails in gouache, this time the view from an airplane flying Istanbul to London. The window shapes and wing-tips are a bit wonky… All in Black Pigma 1mm pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5 Taxiing down the … Continue reading
Posted in airplane, airport, from life, gouache, journeys, sketching, sky, thumbnails, travel, urban, weather
Tagged airplane windows, aviation, clouds, gouache, Heathrow, Istanbul, London, sketch, Thames, travel thumbnails, window shapes
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Travel thumbnails #2, trains
You can see so many subjects for a sketch when travelling, but you’re usually moving past too fast for anything detailed… I’ve been trying quick thumbnail sketches when on the move and gouache seems perfect for capturing the basic shapes … Continue reading
Posted in from life, gouache, journeys, Lexington grey, sky, trains, travel, weather
Tagged landscape, rain, sky, The Guillemots, thumbnail sketches, train windows, transportation, visual memory
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People watching
Istanbullus sitting, walking, fishing, watching, on the phone, and waiting. Slowly learning to construct figure drawings out of lots and lots of curves. Fountain pen with carbon ink, Pigma 1mm black pen, water-brush with Lexington Grey ink, A5
Posted in body, brush pen, from life, Istanbul, line drawing, monochrome, people, sketching, urban, waiting
Tagged curves, figure drawing, fishing, Istanbullus, on the phone, people watching, Richard Hawley, sitting
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Tea please
Some of the many cups of black tea that I enjoyed in Istanbul, in a variety of media. Good practise for drawing ellipses; it’s very obvious when they’re right or wrong…
Posted in cafe, collections, from life, Istanbul, objects, sketching
Tagged black tea, drawing ellipses, ellipses, Istanbul, tea, tea cups, The Rutles
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Tomb, hydrant, B+B
A final group of sketches from Portugal before I get to grips with scanning all the Istanbul pictures… The tomb of Luis Vaz de Camoes, Portugal’s greatest poet, in Jeronimos Monastery, Lisbon. Fountain pen with Carbon ink, water-brush with Lexington … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, from life, Lisbon, Portugal, sketching, travel, urban, watercolour sketch
Tagged hydrant, Jean-Christophe Defline, Jeronimos, Luis Vaz de Camoes, Palace, Sintra, Spiritualized, tomb
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Mosques at night
I was in Istanbul during Ramadan which meant the streets, squares and mosques were busy till late at night, with families breaking their day’s fast and socialising. I could wander around the centre of the old town as part of … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, line drawing, monument, night, urban, white marker pen
Tagged architecture, Atik Ali Pasha, Blue mosque, Dobie Gray, minaret, mosques, night time, Ramadan, Suleymaniye
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Steep street
Looking up a street near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, next to the entrance to the seventeenth century Valide Han or caravanserai on the right. It was a Sunday and most of the shops were closed, with shutters down. The Han … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, travel, urban
Tagged caravanserai, Grand Bazaar, street scene, Valide Han, Van der Valk, wicket gate
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Jet set
My view on the way to Turkey, about 5 miles high, somewhere over France. I spent 6 days in Istanbul, mostly sketching, which was a great luxury. So lots to scan and post over the coming weeks, including lots of lovely … Continue reading
Posted in airplane, clouds, from life, gouache, Istanbul, journeys, Lexington grey, monochrome, travel
Tagged airport, sky, The Kinks
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