Category Archives: monochrome

Sketching fuel

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Ed Mostly

My sketching’s mostly fuelled by Lexington grey, a wonderful ink made by Noodlers in the USA. I use it in almost every sketch I do as it’s rapidly waterproof, but also safe for fountain pens. It works well with water-colour washes, and you … Continue reading →

Posted in from life, grisaille, inks, kit, Lexington grey, monochrome, objects | Tagged Fatboy Slim, fountain pen, grey ink, Ink bottles, Lexington, Noodlers, teapot, Ugg boots, waterbrushes | Leave a comment

Green Park Station

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Saturday morning sketching with Louise and Mark at the farmer’s market in Green Park Station, Bath. (The last train left the station in 1962, part of the notorious Beeching cuts.) The line drawing took about 30 minutes, with another 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, buildings, from life, inks, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, panorama, people, sketching, urban | Tagged Beeching cuts, farmer's market, Green Park Station, Poppy day, Remembrance Sunday, The Monkees | 2 Comments

The Wild West

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Guns, tipi pegs and keys from the recent ‘Gangsters and Gunslingers’ exhibition at the American Museum just outside Bath. Strange to see so many battered objects intimately associated with legendary figures. Dillinger’s fake gun was a particular delight. (Following a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, collections, exhibitions, Lexington grey, monochrome, museum, objects, pencil | Tagged American Museum, Custer, fake gun, John Dillinger, prison keys, revolvers, The Specials, tipi pegs, Tombstone jail, Wyatt Earp | 1 Comment

Many hands

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Drawing hands continues to be a challenge so here are some recent attempts. The first set was while watching TV, pausing the program and drawing any hands in the shot as fast as possible. The second is a range of … Continue reading →

Posted in body, from life, hands, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, TV | Tagged Beastie Boys, Herge, left hand, oservational drawing, Tintin in Tibet, TV stills | 5 Comments

A toad, a giraffe, two elephants and a Gorgonite

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Toy figures are well-behaved models, holding their poses indefinitely. They also give the opportunity to sketch rarely seen creatures, and from unusual angles. Broad dip pen with Carbon black ink, water brush with dilute Carbon black ink, A5 White Uni … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, collections, dip pen, inks, Lexington grey, line drawing, marker pen, monochrome, objects, toys | Tagged baby elephant, Carbon black ink, elephants, giraffe, Gorgonite, mug, toad, Tom Jones, toys | Leave a comment

Sitting

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Three pictures of seated subjects from the same day sketching around Bath. Ceramic ‘Immortals’ at the Museum of East Asian Art, an excellent busker called Ben Powell, and a resting shopper. The last two sketches are tiny, and the black … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, from life, Lexington grey, monochrome, pencil, people, urban, waiting | Tagged Barefoot, Ben Powell, busker, guitar, Immortals, Museum of East Asian Art, musician, seated, shopper, solitary, The Strokes | Leave a comment

Beach life

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Ed Mostly

People watching at the seaside this Summer. The first was drawn at beach level, with nearby families, passing promenaders, distant swimmers and surfers. The second was from a cliff path, the figures tiny and silhouetted on the sunlit beach below; … Continue reading →

Posted in beach, from life, line drawing, monochrome, people, sea | Tagged beach, cliff view, dogs, Dunraven, Lowry, Manorbier, P P Arnold, passers by, people watching, promenaders, Summer, surfers | 2 Comments

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 →