Category Archives: monochrome

Drink?

A glass of milk, mugs of tea, and a glass of water; late night drink sketches (more here). I’m still fascinated by the way that something so simple can be so tricky to get right; the combination of ellipses, curious lighting … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, domestic, from life, glass, gouache, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, objects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

55 passers by

I’ve added a new page to the blog, sharing books that are currently inspiring my sketching; the first is Hokusai’s Manga (‘manga’ originally meant ‘light drawings or sketches’). After copying some of his very simple but individual faces (bottom of post) I sat … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, brush pen, figures, from life, inks, Lexington grey, monochrome, people, sketching, street scene, urban, waterbrush | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wiry views

Drawn at dusk, sat on the bottom steps of The Shrubbery (previously), looking down Harley Street in Bath. My eye was caught by the telephone wires and chimneys silhouetted against the winter sky. I was sorry that I didn’t get … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, buildings, cars, coloured ink, from life, grisaille, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, sky, street scene, urban, vehicles, waterbrush | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The life of stuff

I’m looking forward to more outdoor sketching in Spring, but in the meantime here are some well worn shoes (previously), a phone recharging, utensils hanging in the kitchen, and a bag waiting by the door… Everyday domestic scenes, the stuff of … Continue reading

Posted in coloured ink, coloured paper, domestic, every day matters, from life, home, inks, kitchen, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, objects, waterbrush | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Dogs

First there’s Skip, who sat beside me while I sketched people on a beach in Tenby. She was poised and alert, watching a gap in the fence where a rat had just appeared and vanished, but I had to be quick! Then there’s 3 … Continue reading

Posted in animal, coloured ink, dogs, from life, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, pets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Yet more toys

It’s cold and dark outside, but there are always toys to draw…. Here’s Henry (a mild mannered janitor), some Airfix 1:72 scale knights, a Playmobil vulture, a shire-horse, a grass-hopper, and The Thing from the Fantastic Four. Pencil, Lexington grey in fountain pen and water-brush, … Continue reading

Posted in animals, collections, coloured ink, figures, insects, line drawing, monochrome, objects, toys | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

In Memoriam…

Tombs, memorials and statues are another great source of patient models for sketching, so here are seven monochrome examples spanning three thousand years to finish 2014.  ‘Memento Mori’ or ‘Memento Vivere’ depending on your mood in the run up to the … Continue reading

Posted in body, collections, coloured ink, coloured paper, death, inks, line drawing, monochrome, monument, sculpture, skeleton, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My left hands…

…eleven of them this time, in a range of media. It’s a very reliable model, always there when I’m stuck for something to draw at the end of a long (Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young and Jones!) day, increasingly familiar, but with a fairly … Continue reading

Posted in body, collections, coloured ink, coloured paper, every day matters, from life, hands, inks, line drawing, monochrome, self-portrait, sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Him off the Teevee

TV is always a good source of faces to sketch, press pause and they’ll happily pose for as long as you need; I like the way the drawings tend towards caricature. There’s sometimes a bit of lens/screen distortion on archive clips, and I … Continue reading

Posted in brush pen, coloured paper, inks, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, people, sketching, television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On the beach #3

A final batch of monochromes from Tenby’s beaches. First the tractor that pulls a mobile  jetty up and down the beach in time with the tides (here’s a similar beach-tractor in Aberporth), with sight-seers returning from a boat trip to Caldey Island. … Continue reading

Posted in beach, boats, brush pen, clouds, coloured ink, coloured paper, from life, holiday, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, sea, Tenby, vehicles, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments