Category Archives: sketching

It’s been a while…

Sorry for the lack of posts, mostly due to end of school year busy-ness and the ease of using Facebook instead; apologies! So here are a few recent sketches, all exploring the fun you can have with the mother/daddy of … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, Duke Confucius, opaque watercolour, park, people watching, sketching, street scene, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Back to front with gouache

Maru Godas’ work and the arrival of sunshine have inspired me to give gouache another chance. I’m enjoying exploring its flexible sketchy possibilities, love the physical presence that opaque colour has on the paper, and it’s speeded up some aspects of … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, drawing buildings, gouache, palettes, pencil, sketching, technique, urban, urban sketching, white marker pen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Seven year sketch

In March 2011 I read my wife’s copy of Danny Gregory’s ‘Creative License’ and started doing a drawing from life every day; this was one of my better decisions… Some days the drawings are tiny brief scraps, my hand on … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, daily drawing, every day matters, sketchbooks, sketching, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Favourite books about sketching?

I’m giving a lecture on the history of books about sketching (not sketch-books!) at the USk Manchester Symposium in July. I’ll be looking at some early examples from the UK, and comparing them with some of the many available today. I … Continue reading

Posted in International Symposium, Manchester Symposium, sketching, urban sketching | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Ink-brush buildings #2

Another sketch of the rear windows of the Circus (older versions below), this time using the Kuretake #40 ink-brush. Ink-brushes are wonderfully suited to drawing soft, curved and organic subjects (people, clothing, foliage, landscapes etc) so I’m seeing how they work with … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, brush pen, buildings, comparisons, drawing buildings, ink brush, Lexington grey, sketching, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Analogue selfies

Um, here goes… thirty self-portraits done over the last few years, usually late evening when I can’t find anything else to sketch to keep up the daily habit… I’m really quite a cheery soul, but the combination of staring into a mirror, and … Continue reading

Posted in body, clothing, comparisons, faces, figures, self-portrait, sketching, watercolour sketch | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

Daily Sketch-kit updated…

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 , , , , , , , , | 2 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

Two wheelers

Enough of cars, here are some scooters, motorbikes and bikes seen around Bath. The curvy scooters are a real joy to sketch, toy-like with tiny tyres and complicated engine parts discretely covered (but the tilted oblique wheels are tricky…). The floating blue bike on the … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, bikes, coloured ink, from life, sketching, street scene, urban, urban sketching, vehicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pulteney Bridge

Sketches of Pulteney Bridge and weir in the centre of Bath. In the first one a river trip’s about to set off, and a red sight-seeing bus has just crossed the bridge; the tourist season is waking up. The close-up of the weir is from 2013 when I … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, buildings, Lexington grey, river, River Avon, sketching, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments