Category Archives: grisaille

Barry’s book #2

Another five illustrations for Barry’s book, all from life, illustrating various anecdotes and reflections. The holidays are approaching so there’s a fair chance I’ll get more done soon… Lexington grey in fountain-pen and water-brush, watercolour, A4 – about 1 hour each

Posted in Barry's book, domestic, fruit, grisaille, illustration, line drawing, monochrome, objects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Oxford faces

I’ll follow Stuart’s advice and post something cheerier and less morbid (mostly). So here’s a range of faces seen on a day trip to Oxford, most from the wonderful Ashmolean Museum, which I’ve posted about before. They span the whole history of portraiture, … Continue reading

Posted in body, brush pen, faces, grisaille, ink brush, Lexington grey, monochrome, museum, Oxford, people watching, sculpture, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A slice of life

It was stone cold by the time I’d finished drawing it, and tastier than it looks. Mmm, jalapenos… Lexington grey in fountain pen and water-brush, watercolour, A5 – 30 mins

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Same difference

Compare and contrast time again with three sketches looking down the same street towards the Royal Crescent, while sat under one of the five huge trees in The Circus. The first was done with ink-brush a few days ago (colour wash added … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, buildings, comparisons, grisaille, inks, Lexington grey, monochrome, street scene, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tenby in ink

The view from Castle Hill, and Tim’s corner barber-shop (“Quality haircuts at fair prices”). I used the acetate grid to mark some key lines in pencil, and then started in the middle with the ink-brush and worked my way out. They’re … Continue reading

Posted in brush pen, buildings, church, grisaille, inks, Lexington grey, monochrome, rooftops, street scene, Tenby, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Weedy

Spring, sunshine and showers, and months of neglect, so weeds are flourishing in our garden. Each week a different one appears, competing with the others for light and space,  and ripe for drawing… First a mostly monochrome sketch of some wild strawberry flowers amongst dandelions and other … Continue reading

Posted in botany, flowers, garden, grisaille, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, seasonal | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A room with a view

A rooftop view of Cordoba’s Mezquita from our room, and a Moorish gateway in the street outside. The old town streets are narrow, with lovely strong shadows on the white walls and angled patches of sky above. These sketches are mostly grey/grisaille, with a … Continue reading

Posted in buildings, Cordoba, grisaille, holiday, Lexington grey, street scene, technique, travel, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In the kitchen

More late night monochrome sketches, this time corners of the kitchen. In the first sketch I was drawn to the way that strong overhead light made shadows wrap around the apples. In the second one it was the tilted ellipses in the collection of bottles … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, from life, fruit, grisaille, kitchen, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, objects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Camden Road

Chimney pots and windows at the back of Camden Road in Bath, sketched from the road above, while leaning on a high wall (in the foreground bottom left). It’s another view of Bath where the chaotic backs of the buildings are more interesting than the … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, buildings, cars, from life, grisaille, Lexington grey, line drawing, street scene, technique, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Cars, at rest

Parked cars on the road approaching Lansdown Crescent (where the sheep were). Below is the picture without the water-colour glaze, then without the Lexington grey ink washes, revealing the ink drawing that I did on site.  The pencil grid helped with the basic placing … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, buildings, cars, from life, grisaille, Lexington grey, line drawing, street scene, technique, urban, vehicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments