Category Archives: people

Ink brush sketching

Here’s another collection of people in town, this time a monochrome set,  done with a water-brush filled with dilute ink for speed. They were sketched one afternoon while sat outside a cafe in early Spring, hence the scarves and big coats. The last of the … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, body, brush pen, clothing, Feet, figures, inks, Lexington grey, monochrome, people, people watching, street scene, urban, urban sketching, waterbrush | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hands, again

My hands, family member’s hands, stranger’s hands on trains, and hands on porcelain figures. Complicated miniature landscapes of curves, shadows, contours and foreshortenings that make regular appearances in my sketchbooks. As individual and expressive as a face, and always a challenge. No … Continue reading

Posted in body, collections, coloured ink, coloured paper, family, hands, monochrome, people, people watching, self-portrait | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mind the Gap

Spring has sprung and people are out and about, enjoying the extra light and air. Here’s a batch of recent sketches of the public around Bath, mostly in parks. The limited range of colours makes them look oddly like Gap adverts! (the wonderful original track … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, clothing, coloured ink, figures, line drawing, people, people watching, street scene, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Edding 30 marker pen

I’ve used marker pens before, reloaded with different inks, with some  mixed  results. I tried a new one when I went to London last week. The bold lines were great for very fast sketches, and the ink is water-based (so doesn’t ‘bleed through’ the page), fast drying and … Continue reading

Posted in figures, from life, inks, kit, line drawing, London, marker pen, musicians, people, sketching, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

En route

Fellow passengers on the way to Cordoba; waiting at the airport, sleeping on the plane, and passing time on the train. Pencil works well for larger and more detailed portraits, it can be hard for a face to recover from a poorly placed ink-line… (My previous post got … Continue reading

Posted in airplane, airport, coloured paper, faces, from life, holiday, journeys, monochrome, pencil, people, trains, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Near the Easter processions…

Back in Cordoba with people waiting for Easter processions to start, watching them from a balcony, and some band members recovering after hours of playing in the heat! I think drawing groups of figures is my default for ‘urban sketching’; I love picking out … Continue reading

Posted in coloured ink, coloured paper, Cordoba, figures, from life, holiday, line drawing, monochrome, parades, people, street scene, travel, Uncategorized, urban, waiting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Holy Week in Cordoba

Six Semana Santa processions in Cordoba, great practise for drawing spectators! Each one was subtly different, reflecting the brotherhood they represented; the colours of the pointed hoods, the scenes depicted on the floats, the specific music played. But all shared the thick clouds of incense, the … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, Cordoba, figures, from life, holiday, journeys, parades, people, street scene, travel, urban, watching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Cafe life

People watching in cafes, mostly this year in Bath, but the last one’s from Istanbul a couple of years ago when I was using a marker pen. If you can get a good table a cafe’s a great winter sketching location; strong light sources, sheltered, … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, cafe, clothing, coloured ink, coloured paper, figures, from life, Istanbul, Lexington grey, line drawing, marker pen, monochrome, people, urban, waiting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments