Category Archives: trains

London calling #1

The first of three posts collecting sketches from a recent trip to London, all drawn with a Duke Confucius Fude pen, some onto pre-stained pages, with various washes/colours etc Fellow passengers waiting on the opposite station platform…Myself in the window … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, Duke Confucius, fude pen, London, people watching, trains, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

All aboard…

Waiting at Bath Spa station (you can just see the ghost of a train I tried to draw that left too soon, its windows running across the centre of the sketch)… ..and en route to Shropshire. This fellow passenger was … Continue reading

Posted in Duke Confucius, fude pen, journeys, monochrome, trains, urban, urban sketching, Wales | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Analogue and digital in London

Sketches from a trip to London, including trying out a new entry level iPad with Apple Pencil for drawing (I’m using Paper by 53 as the sketching app; it’s very basic in options so not too distracting with choices, but … Continue reading

Posted in bamboo dip pen, iPad sketches, London, museum, trains, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Landscapes at 80mph

Six small gouache/opaque-watercolour sketches from a train heading South along the England/Wales border; each about the size of a credit card. The view was changing all the time but the sky was (relatively) consistent minute by minute, so this was … Continue reading

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Wet Welsh weekend

Instead of walking along the Mendips (sketched here, and here) last weekend we went walking in Crickhowell, South Wales, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Here’s a quick sketch from the ruined castle shortly after we arrived, rain threatening… … Continue reading

Posted in gouache, graveyard, journeys, pencil, trains, urban, urban sketching, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

En Route

Two wide-angle train carriage views, one heading North to Manchester for the Symposium, and the other heading home. Both were done in a concertina sketchbook, and stretched across the table while I sketched. I asked the passengers if they were … Continue reading

Posted in concertina sketchbooks, dip pen, figures, journeys, Manchester Symposium, panorama, trains, travel, urban, urban sketching | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Back in the city

“Hey, I am just a city boy, I’m really not the country kind, I miss the city streets and the neon lights. See the train comin’ round the bend…” The first sketch is a passenger on a train back to the city (Bath, not … Continue reading

Posted in Bath, cafe, figures, hands, line drawing, people watching, trains, urban sketching, waiting | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 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

26 more Japanese commuters

More quick sketches from Japan, this time a collection of commuters at Kyoto main station around 10pm. I was sketching from one of the many high balconies (see below), pleased to catch a couple of salarymen in the middle of a … Continue reading

Posted in coloured paper, from life, inks, Japan, journeys, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, night, people, trains, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tokyo commuters

I spent last week on a study trip to Japan,  a great opportunity generously supported by the Japan Foundation. The schedule was hectic and very full, but it helped to hone my speed-sketching skills, straight to ink using a simple fountain-pen and water-brush kit. So … Continue reading

Posted in brush pen, collections, coloured ink, from life, inks, Japan, kit, line drawing, monochrome, people, trains, travel, urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment