Category Archives: pencil

Madeiran market

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Ed Mostly

Just back from Madeira, a beautiful sub-tropical Portuguese island, 360 miles west of Morocco. Many sketches to share, starting with the main fruit and flower market in Funchal, the capital. I used an acetate grid to mark out key lines, then sketched fairly loosely in … Continue reading →

Posted in buildings, fruit, holiday, Madeira, markets, pencil, people, travel, urban, urban sketching | Tagged Brother Bones, Funchal market, pencil sketch of market, sketch of Funchal market, sketching in Madeira, urban sketching, yellow umbrellas | 5 Comments

Perfect View

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Ed Mostly

Read from top left to bottom right, six quick pencil and ink-wash sketches on grey paper (white sky and colour added at home) made while walking up Perfect View, dodging occasional passing cars and dog-walkers. The road looks rural, but is in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, brush pen, comparisons, figures, journeys, Lexington grey, pencil, sequential, street scene, urban, urban sketching | Tagged dilute ink wash shadows, ink brush sketching, James Newton Howard, Lexington grey, Perfect View Bath, sequential sketch, sketch of walking up raod, sketching in Bath, streetview, urban sketching | 4 Comments

Yet more…

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Ed Mostly

Another seven selfies, in pen, pencil and brush-pen, with the usual self-portrait expressions (aloof, bored, angry, vacant, odd). All done fairly fast as it was late, and sleep beckoned… Both friends and family say there’s little resemblance to me in any of … Continue reading →

Posted in brush pen, collections, eye, faces, ink brush, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, pencil, self-portrait | Tagged brush-pen sketching, ink-brush sketches of faces, LCD Soundsystem, monochrome sketching, sketch selfies, sketching self-portraits | 6 Comments

Pencil landscapes

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Ed Mostly

As a break from ink-brush propaganda here are some pencil landscapes from the Summer. The first is on a lane in Lancashire during a light rain shower, the second and third on the Galloway coast (clouds over the distant Isle … Continue reading →

Posted in blind drawing, clouds, Galloway, landscape, line drawing, pencil, sea, technique | Tagged Blind Boys of Alabama, blind drawing foliage, gum arabic as fixative, pencil landscape sketches, sketch of birds on a wire, sketch of sky at dusk, sketches of Galloway coast, sketching in pencil | 6 Comments

Shoreline

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Ed Mostly

A couple of sketches from the peaceful Galloway coast, both done with pencil for line, dilute ink for shading, and water-colour wash for soft colour. First some smooth pebbles at low tide, and then a very still sea at flood-tide, with … Continue reading →

Posted in beach, clouds, Galloway, holiday, pencil, rural, sea, waves | Tagged flood-tide, Isle of Man, pencil sketches, sketch of beach pebbles, sketch of calm sea, sketching by the sea, sketching in Galloway, The Who | Leave a comment

Car Parklife

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Ed Mostly

I think a key part of urban sketching is depicting the stuff of everyday life, no matter how banal. So here are three quick views from the car while parked at motorway services during the trip to Scotland and back. That’s it, nothing to add! … Continue reading →

Posted in cars, coloured ink, coloured paper, holiday, journeys, Lexington grey, pencil, travel, urban sketching, vehicles, waiting | Tagged drawing cars, fountain pen sketches, line drawings of cars, motorway services, sketches from a car, sketches of car parks, sketching the banal, sketching while waiting, sketching with ink and pencil, Talking Heads, urban sketching | 3 Comments

Daily Sketch-kit updated…

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Ed Mostly

There are a few changes since the last update (pencils!), all explained on this page here. One of the key aspects of sketching is having a range of simple and familiar resources, always accessible. My daily carry is pocket-sized, but has … Continue reading →

Posted in brush pen, coloured paper, inks, kit, Lexington grey, marker pen, pencil, sketching, technique, watercolour sketch, white pen | Tagged daily sketch kit, every day carry sketching, home-made palette, inks for urban sketching, Muji card-case palette, pens for sketching, portable urban sketching kit, tiny water-colour palette, water-brush filled with ink | 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

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 →