Category Archives: line drawing

On the beach #1

Two from Tenby, where I spent some blissfully vacant days sketching in the Summer. First a range of boats beached in the North Harbour at low tide, with an inquisitive pigeon exploring the seaweed. This was drawn on location, along with the key shading … Continue reading

Posted in beach, boats, buildings, from life, holiday, line drawing, monochrome, sea, Tenby, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sketching cars #2

A second collection of car sketches. First a very cute Corvette I saw near our home; lots of beautiful details in this car, all the way down to the sting in the tail of the  ‘G’ in the logo. Next there’s a full-size wire-frame model of … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, cars, coloured ink, coloured paper, from life, inks, line drawing, monochrome, street scene, urban, vehicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ow, my head hurts

Two bisected heads; first a pickled crocodile at the Grant Museum in London (tiny and old but very lovely), and then an anatomical model human at the Tokyo Museum of Emerging Science (large and modern, where I saw all the … Continue reading

Posted in animal, body, coloured ink, death, exhibitions, from life, inks, Japan, line drawing, monochrome, museum, skulls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sketching cars #1

I kept noticing interesting cars during the Summer, and tried sketching a couple of them. Here’s Eelke’s well-loved and well-travelled Citroen DS (it’s a ‘1974 DS 23 Pallas injection electronique hydraulique’). Eelke had driven it from Holland, around England, Wales and Ireland, and was on his … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, cars, coloured paper, from life, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, urban, vehicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I, Robert

Some robot/robert sketches from Japan, mostly at the Tokyo Museum of Emerging Science. First some animatronic manikin heads that nod and change expression empathetically when you speak into a microphone. They’re looking down on Asimo, the museum’s star attraction, named after Isaac Asimov, … Continue reading

Posted in body, coloured paper, from life, hands, inks, Japan, Lexington grey, line drawing, pencil, people, robots, Uncategorized, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

3 Stockholm doorways

Ostermalm in central Stockholm is full of late nineteenth century apartment blocks, some with lovely doorways. I planned to sketch lots of them when we were there this Summer but only managed three… All Lexington grey in fountain pen and water-brush, watercolour, … Continue reading

Posted in buildings, collections, from life, holiday, line drawing, Stockholm, travel, urban, watercolour sketch | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Remembrance

It’s the 11th day of the 11th month, so here’s a bas-relief memorial tablet in Salisbury Cathedral, placed in memory of Edward Tennant, a young officer and poet killed on the Somme in 1916. It includes touching testimonies to his life and times; “when things … Continue reading

Posted in brush pen, coloured ink, death, inks, line drawing, monochrome, monument, sculpture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

toys R me

Here are four Britain’s cowboy figures, three views of a horse, and various robots enjoying some ‘circle time’. Toy figures are great sketching subjects; they’ve already been simplified as part of their miniaturisation, helping you see the key shapes and structures, … Continue reading

Posted in animals, collections, coloured paper, line drawing, monochrome, objects, technique, toys | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments