Category Archives: line drawing

Homework…

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Ed Mostly

I rarely sketch from photos, but the wonderfully encyclopaedic People of the Twenty-First Century by Hans Eijkelboom is a treasure trove of reference images for the urban sketcher. It’s a beautiful catalogue of real people going about their lives, and copying the pictures … Continue reading →

Posted in faces, figures, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, people, sequential, technique, urban sketching | Tagged 'People of the Twenty First Century', Hans Eijkelboom, ink brush sketching, Malcolm Mclaren, practising urban sketching, sketching from photos, sketching people, sketching urban figures, urban sketching | 3 Comments

Harbour life #2

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Ed Mostly

More sketches from Tenby harbour. First the view from the quayside looking down and across beached boats at low tide, then a similar view from last year for comparison (stronger lines, lower angle, more pigeons…). Then a mix; a guided tour, two teenagers … Continue reading →

Posted in beach, boats, collections, drawing buildings, holiday, Lexington grey, line drawing, nautical, sea, Tenby, urban, urban sketching | Tagged air sea rescue helicopter, drawing reflections in water, Fontella Bass, ink brush sketches of water, sketches of boats, sketching harbour scenes, sketching water, Tenby harbour, tenby sketches | 5 Comments

At the fair again

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Ed Mostly

Carters Steam Fair (“100 smiles per hour!“) have been back to our local park. I didn’t draw the Steam Boats, as promised last time, but I did try sketching the merry-go-round horses; this was tricky as they kept setting off again every 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, Bath, coloured paper, fairground, figures, line drawing, park, people watching, urban, urban sketching | Tagged Carter's Steam Fair, fairground sketches, merry-go-round horses, Ride, sketch of merry go round, sketch of photographers, sketch of plein air painter, sketching at the fair, urban sketching | 2 Comments

Livestock

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Ed Mostly

More rural sketching: haughty llamas, inquisitive young bulls and nervous Blue-faced Leicesters, all seen last week in Galloway, South-West Scotland. I’ve sketched sheep and cattle before, but never llamas. Their faces reminded me of camels and kangaroos, with pursed lips and striking eye-lashes, and they … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, coloured paper, farm, Galloway, line drawing, pencil, rural | Tagged blue-faced Leicesters, farm sketches, fountain pen sketches, Four Tops, llama faces, pencil sketches of animals from life, rural sketching, sketch of cattle, sketch of llama, sketch of sheep, sketches of animals | 2 Comments

Toys again

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Ed Mostly

Toys and models are ever-reliable subjects for a quick drawing. You can arrange them how you like, getting a range of angles rarely available in the real world. They’ve also removed any unnecessary details, doing most of the simplification needed for a sketch! Lexington … Continue reading →

Posted in airplane, animals, bikes, coloured paper, inks, line drawing, objects, toys | Tagged Chemical Brothers, fountain pen sketches, sketch of motorbike, sketch of toy puma, sketches of model plane, sketches of toys | 2 Comments

More pencil

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Ed Mostly

I’m still enjoying using the Grafwood 6B pencil, with no rubbing out so no hesitant and uncommitted lines! It’s very smooth, perfect for quick contour sketches of people, and can go from light to dark with the lightest touch. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, buildings, eye, figures, line drawing, pencil, people, self-portrait, urban, urban sketching | Tagged Jr Walker and The All Stars, pencil drawings of people, pencil sketches around town, selfie pencil sketch, sketch of windows, sketching in Bath, sketching people, sketching people walking, urban sketching | 2 Comments

Hedgy

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Ed Mostly

Three stages of a monochrome hedge sketch (sounds stunningly dull, but bear with me…). First the initial pencil line drawing; then adding grey ink (which blends really well with soft pencil) for the leaf shadows, and white gel-pen for the foliage outline; and … Continue reading →

Posted in botany, comparisons, garden, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, sky, technique, white pen | Tagged Explosions in the Sky, foliage outline, high contrast sketch, pencil line drawing, pencil sketch of hedge, sketch of hedge, sketching technique, white gel pen sketch | 6 Comments

The bends

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Ed Mostly

Bath has a lot of steep streets, and lots of them have hairpin bends; so here’s one I pass fairly often (Streetview here). The first sketch was done in full sun last week (it’s followed by the initial line drawing; I added the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, cars, figures, line drawing, street scene, technique, urban, urban sketching, vehicles, watercolour sketch | Tagged Aretha Franklin, comparing sketches, fountain pen sketching, hairpin bend sketch, hairpin bends, line drawing, sketching in Bath, steep streets, street scene sketch, urban sketching, urban sketching technique | Leave a comment

Marker pen sketches

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Ed Mostly

A couple of late night selfies (smile!), washing up on the drying rack, sketches from a walk in the Mendips, and hands. All using my new favourite marker pen; it’s very different from using the 6B pencil, you can get some line variation in … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, boots, domestic, faces, hands, home, kit, line drawing, marker pen, monochrome, self-portrait | Tagged close up sketch of eyes, marker pen sketches, sketch of boots, sketch of washing up, sketches of cows, sketches of hands, sketching kit, sketching selfies, Supergrass | 1 Comment

In praise of pencils

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Ed Mostly

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 →