I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Category Archives: kit
In praise of pencils
I’ve tried to like pencils, really I have. I love their woody simplicity, but never found one that felt right on the paper (too waxy, too smudgy etc). But a couple of weeks ago I tried a Grafwood 6B. It’s consistently … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, blind drawing, buildings, cars, figures, hands, kit, line drawing, pencil, people, street scene, technique, urban, urban sketching
Tagged drawing of hand, pencil sketches of people, pencil street-scenes, sketches of Bath, urban sketching, urban sketching kit, water-colour rose
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Edding 30 marker pen
I’ve used marker pens before, reloaded with different inks, with some mixed results. I tried a new one when I went to London last week. The bold lines were great for very fast sketches, and the ink is water-based (so doesn’t ‘bleed through’ the page), fast drying and … Continue reading
Posted in figures, from life, inks, kit, line drawing, London, marker pen, musicians, people, sketching, technique, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Edding 30, Great Western Railway Paddington Band, James Hobbs, London sketches, marker pen sketches, sketch of crows, sketch of police, sketch of sketcher, sketch of tube travellers, The Clash, urban sketching
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Daily sketch kit update
3 months late, but here’s an update to my daily sketch-kit page…
Bootylicious
My trusty boots drawn last month after the first (very light) snowfall of the year. Below is an earlier sketch of them, showing the change in my approach over the last two years; moving from black felt-tip lines and watercolour, to fountain pen and dilute ink washes. … Continue reading
Posted in boots, coloured ink, coloured paper, comparisons, from life, inks, kit, sketching, watercolour sketch
Tagged Brasher Supalite boots, comparing sketch techniques, drawing boots, fountain pen sketches, Nirvana and Destiny's Child, sketch of boots, sketching with inks, walking boots
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New year, new page
The most popular posts and pages on this blog are generally concerned with kit and resources, as are most of the questions that I’m asked through comments and emails. This is great as I set up the blog after realising … Continue reading
26 more Japanese commuters
More quick sketches from Japan, this time a collection of commuters at Kyoto main station around 10pm. I was sketching from one of the many high balconies (see below), pleased to catch a couple of salarymen in the middle of a … Continue reading
Posted in coloured paper, from life, inks, Japan, journeys, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, night, people, trains, urban
Tagged coloured paper, Japanese bowing, Japanese commuters, Kyoto station, monochrome, salarymen, simple sketching kit, sketching commuters, sketching in Japan, sketching with fountain pen, The Jam, urban sketching
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Tokyo commuters
I spent last week on a study trip to Japan, a great opportunity generously supported by the Japan Foundation. The schedule was hectic and very full, but it helped to hone my speed-sketching skills, straight to ink using a simple fountain-pen and water-brush kit. So … Continue reading
Posted in brush pen, collections, coloured ink, from life, inks, Japan, kit, line drawing, monochrome, people, trains, travel, urban
Tagged coloured ink sketch, Japan Foundation, Japanese priest, John Gregory Orchestra, Noodlers Brown 41 ink, sketching commuters, sketching with fountain pen, straight to ink, Tokyo, Tokyo commuters, urban sketch of commuters, waterbrush sketch
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28 bench-sitters
Another collection of strangers, mostly tourists, sat on benches in the square next to Bath Abbey. They’re chatting, reading, texting, pondering, relaxing, waiting, eating ice-cream, and just watching, like me. The square’s a great place for sketching people, they usually stay … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, coloured paper, from life, inks, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, people, sketching, street scene, urban, waiting, waterbrush
Tagged Bad Blue Heron, Bath Abbey, Brown 41, coloured paper, fountain pen, Gil Scott-Heron, Noodlers inks for sketching, people in the city, people watching, seated people, sketching in ink, sketching people, urban sketching, water-brush filled with ink
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Feather and tea
A couple of sketches done using found/improvised resources during a trip to Grinda, the Stockholm island where I drew the 38 boats. The first was drawn using a dip-nib cut into the tip of a swan’s feather that I found (a bottle lid with … Continue reading
Posted in dip pen, from life, holiday, inks, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, technique
Tagged Band of Horses, cutting a quill nib, dip pen, Ferry views, Grinda, improvised sketching resources, Lexington grey, monochrome sketch, quill nib, sepia sketch, sketching from life, swan feather, tea as wash
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Mostly painting
I’ve been reading ‘Urban Watercolor Sketching’ by Felix Scheinberger (here’s Tina’s review). It’s not very ‘urban’, but I recommend it as an enthusiastic, conversational and practical guide to water-colour sketching, with a strong focus on the power of colour. So I’m trying to be a bit … Continue reading
Mostly drawing 