Category Archives: Lexington grey

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

Distant urban texture

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Two sketches looking West towards the Suleymaniye Mosque from the terrace of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Once I’d drawn the key buildings I added an approximation of the city’s texture all around them (roofs, domes, chimneys, walls etc) not having … Continue reading →

Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, urban | Tagged greebling, Suleymaniye Mosque, The Troggs, Topkapi Palace, urban texture | 6 Comments

Life and death #1

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | Leave a comment

Wales, Waves

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Two sketches of waves, from a summer trip to Pembrokeshire, South Wales. The first is from the coastal path high above Manorbier beach looking down on the surfers in the incoming tide. The second is at the water’s edge at … Continue reading →

Posted in beach, from life, Lexington grey, marker pen, sea, Wales, waves, white marker pen | Tagged brown paper, coast path, Pembrokeshire, Steve Reich, surfers, tide, Uni Posca markers | 5 Comments

The bill, please

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Ed Mostly

The remains of another delicious meal at Yen Sushi in Bath. I’m learning how to get an even colour wash by using the water-brush to wet the area first; it’s tricky as you can’t see where you’ve already painted the water… Blue … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, food, from life, Lexington grey, objects, urban | Tagged chopsticks, cups, kaiten sushi, meals, pigma pens, plates, restaurants, water brush, Yen Sushi | 1 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

Enough thumbnails, already…

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | Leave a comment

Travel thumbnails #2, trains

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | 1 Comment

Steep street

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 | 1 Comment

Jet set

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Ed Mostly

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 →