I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Category Archives: monument
Stone faces
Twelve of the fifty stone heads that gaze down on an original Magna Carta in the Chapter House at Salisbury Cathedral. They were carved in the 13th century, seem to be based on individuals, and capture a range of expressions that … Continue reading
Posted in collections, coloured ink, Cordoba, death, faces, monument, sculpture
Tagged fountain pen sketches, Manolete's grave, medieval portraits, Salisbury Chapter House carvings, sketches in cathedrals, sketches of sculptures, sketches of stone carvings, The Only Ones, tomb of Bishop of Wells
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Inside the Mezquita
Back in Cordoba, this time inside the Mezquita. The first sketch is an attempt to describe the famous forest of columns, mostly inhabited by tourists; as the columns recede in all directions it feels slightly like being in an Escher … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, collections, coloured ink, Cordoba, faces, monochrome, monument, people, travel, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Cordoba sketches, Escher, faces on tomb, inside the Mezquita, Kasabian, sketches of people taking photos, stone faces, tourists taking photos, urban sketching
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Roman bridge
Looking across Cordoba’s Roman bridge to the old town from the top of the Calahorra Tower, a paraglider buzzing overhead, and the river running low. I drew one side of the bridge before the other and failed to notice that the projecting stone … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, coloured paper, Cordoba, figures, holiday, Lexington grey, monument, museum, travel, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Calahorra Tower, Cordoba Roman bridge, fountain pen sketches, model of Moorish life, sketch of bridge over a river, sketch of people on bridge, sketches of Cordoba, The Cure, urban sketching, view from Calahorra Tower
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Sunshine
Back to the silvery grey light of England after a week of golden sunshine in Cordoba, Spain. I’ll scan and post the sketches over the next few weeks, including many attempts to capture the Holy Week parades (tall pointy hats, huge … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, Cordoba, from life, holiday, journeys, Lexington grey, monument, people, street scene, travel, trees, urban, watercolour sketch
Tagged Afternoon shade, Cordoba, Cordoba sketches, Cordoba street scene sketch, Court of Oranges, Mezquita, Mezquita bell tower sketch, Palm trees sketch, The Legends, urban sketching
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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 Bath Abbey, Bronze age skull, dog at feet of knight, drawing of skull, Edwin Starr, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, memorials, Prince Albert, Robert Recorde, sketching in churches, sketching statues, St Mary's Tenby, statue of dog, tombs, urban sketching
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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 1st World War memorial, Armistice Day, bas relief memorial, Edward Tennant, John Singer Sargent, Officer died on the Somme, Remembrance, Salisbury Cathedral, sketch of a sculpture, Talking Heads, young officer
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The Shrubbery
Looking down The Shrubbery, a steep path near our home in Bath. You have to squint a bit for it to work, and that’s a conservatory half-way up the house on the left, built on a balcony. (I blended dilute Winsor … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, buildings, from life, inks, kit, monument, urban, waterbrush
Tagged city view, complementary colours, Primal Scream, roof tops, steep path, The Shrubbery, Winsor and Newton inks
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Mosques at night
I was in Istanbul during Ramadan which meant the streets, squares and mosques were busy till late at night, with families breaking their day’s fast and socialising. I could wander around the centre of the old town as part of … Continue reading
Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, line drawing, monument, night, urban, white marker pen
Tagged architecture, Atik Ali Pasha, Blue mosque, Dobie Gray, minaret, mosques, night time, Ramadan, Suleymaniye
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Venetian cadavers
More cheery sculptures from Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice (see previous post), this time on the Giovanni Pesaro monument. These two figures are slightly hidden in the shadows, looking like coy zombies emerging from the shower. Pilot V7 pen and … Continue reading
Posted in death, Frari, monochrome, monument, sculpture, skeleton, Venice
Tagged death, Frari, monochrome, sculpture, Venice, zombie
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Not Casanova
One of the many extravagant and dramatic monuments in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. This one’s for the sculptor Canova (not Casanova, another famous Venetian) and his heart’s buried here. The monument is a large plain pyramid and the … Continue reading
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