Category Archives: technique

Back to front with gouache

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Ed Mostly

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 Amerigo Gazaway, gouache and ink drawing, gouache sketches, Maru Godas, Schmincke gouache, sketching palette, urban sketching, white sketching pens | 10 Comments

Sharing

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Ed Mostly

A lovely aspect of the Urban Sketchers community is members’ enthusiasm for freely sharing top-tips and information; about kit, techniques, locations, approaches etc. This spirit of generosity was particularly evident at the symposium I attended, and continued after it ended … Continue reading →

Posted in International Symposium, Manchester Symposium, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged The Exciters, urban sketching approaches, urban sketching symposium workshops, urban sketching techniques | 6 Comments

“…through the square window”

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Ed Mostly

Apologies for the lack of recent blog posts; we’ve welcomed a Schnoodle puppy into our home and posting on Facebook better suits my sleep-deprived attention span… But I have managed to make a new batch of sketchbooks; they’re still bound … Continue reading →

Posted in bamboo dip pen, Bath, comparisons, line drawing, sketchbooks, square, street scene, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged bamboo dip pen sketches, human visual field, sketching formats, sketching in Bath, square sketchbooks, The Who, urban sketching | 9 Comments

Compare and contrast…

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Ed Mostly

I love the way urban sketching explicitly celebrates the different ways we respond to a location. Here’s an example from Monday when I had the opportunity to sketch in Bath with Gary Yeung (a member of the USK Hong Kong … Continue reading →

Posted in bamboo dip pen, Bath, comparisons, pencil, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged Bath sketching, Gary Yeung, sketching in Bath Abbey, sketchtesting.co.uk, The Suzan, urban sketching, urban sketching techniques | 3 Comments

My eyes! My eyes!

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Ed Mostly

A GIF-tastic round-up of some recent sketches, mostly of Bath, showing how water-colour works with drawings done in bamboo dip-pen and coloured ink. I love the way that the coloured ink lines can fade back into the sketch or be brought forward, … Continue reading →

Posted in bamboo dip pen, Bath, boats, coloured ink, figures, GIF, inks, kit, technique, urban, urban sketching, watercolour sketch | Tagged bamboo dip pen, bamboo dip pen sketches, coloured ink sketches, De Atramentis inks, Frank Black, urban sketching | 8 Comments

Improving a bamboo dip pen

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Ed Mostly

My current favourite mark-maker is a bamboo dip pen. I love the free-flowing lines that can wander around the page, and it’s great for ‘blind drawing’ of foliage, clouds etc. It delivers big juicy lines that can merge into forms if you … Continue reading →

Posted in bamboo dip pen, blind drawing, dip pen, kit, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged bamboo dip pen, bamboo dip pen reservoir, bamboo dip pen sketches, improving a bamboo dip pen, urban sketching kit | 21 Comments

Muji pocket palette

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Ed Mostly

Here’s my new homemade pocket palette. It cost about £8 and two hours to make, weighs almost nothing (53 grams or less than 2 ozs, including paint…) and has lots of room for pigments and mixing. It’s small enough to be part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bath, kit, palettes, technique, urban, urban sketching | Tagged home-made palette, mini watercolour palette, Muji card-case palette, pocket palette, urban sketching, urban sketching kit, urban sketching palette | 10 Comments

Concertina sketchbooks

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Ed Mostly

I’ve tried using concertina/accordion-fold sketchbooks in the past, but found them very awkward to use when out and about. They’re usually spineless (like this Seawhite version and my homemade one below) with no hinge between the covers, so you can’t use a … Continue reading →

Posted in concertina sketchbooks, kit, sketchbooks, technique, urban sketching | Tagged accordion fold sketchbooks, concertina sketchbook for urban sketching, making concertina sketchbooks, panoramic sketchbook, simple sketchbook instructions, sketchbook construction, urban sketchbook, urban sketching, urban sketching kit | 18 Comments

Apples and beets

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Ed Mostly

More domestic than urban, some quick pencil and watercolour sketches from the late night kitchen, trying to break my over-reliance on dilute Lexington grey for tone/shadow! Although the grey ink wash is very fast and effective for quick shadows, it can make … Continue reading →

Posted in coloured paper, domestic, food, fruit, kit, kitchen, Lexington grey, pencil, technique, watercolour sketch | Tagged 5B Grafwood pencil, observational drawing, pencil sketches of fruit, sketches of apples, sketching fruit, The Shadows, watercolour sketches of fruit | Leave a comment

Wood bound sketch-books

Posted on June 18, 2016 by Ed Mostly

A practical post today, revealing the depths of tinkering and making that sketching has led me to. So please enjoy my ten-step recipe for making plywood covered sketchbooks that are perfect for urban sketching. The key to their suitability is the binding, … Continue reading →