I’m an Urban Sketcher…
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Category Archives: urban sketching
Homework…
I rarely sketch from photos, but the wonderfully encyclopaedic People of the Twenty-First Century by Hans Eijkelboom is a treasure trove of reference images for the urban sketcher. It’s a beautiful catalogue of real people going about their lives, and copying the pictures … Continue reading
Posted in faces, figures, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome, people, sequential, technique, urban sketching
Tagged 'People of the Twenty First Century', Hans Eijkelboom, ink brush sketching, Malcolm Mclaren, practising urban sketching, sketching from photos, sketching people, sketching urban figures, urban sketching
3 Comments
Bird’s eye view
Three sketches from the Urban Sketchers Bristol/South West group visit to Bath last weekend. We spent an hour in the Abbey tower and on the roof, enjoying wonderful views over the city centre, and after lunch sketched in the adjacent square. … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, brush pen, buildings, buskers, church, drawing buildings, figures, ink brush, monochrome, people, rooftops, sketchcrawl, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Bath sketchcrawl, bird's eye view, ink brush sketching, sketch of busker and audience, sketch of rooftop view, sketches from a great height, sketching Bath Abbey, The Drifters, Urban Sketchers Bristol/South West, urban sketching
4 Comments
Fairly fast
I had great fun yesterday at our sketch-crawl on the roof of Bath Abbey, I’ll scan and post pictures soon. In the meantime here are some speedy urban sketches from the last few months, using a variety of materials; the lines and basic shadow patterns were done fast … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, buildings, drawing buildings, ink brush, kit, Lexington grey, technique, urban, urban sketching, vehicles
Tagged Chester buildings sketch, DJ Shadow, fast sketching technique, ink brush sketching, Kirkudbright, sketch of burger van, sketch of pub, sketching in Bath, sketching technique, Tide Inn, urban sketching
4 Comments
Oxford Museums #2
After graveyards and guns I’ll lighten the mood with some cheerier items from the Ashmolean, “the oldest public museum in Britain, and the first purpose-built public museum in the world”, which grew out Tradescant’s Ark, a C17th ‘cabinet of curiosity’. First there’s a … Continue reading
Oxford Museums #1
During a Summer trip to Oxford we spent an afternoon at the best museum in the world. First there’s a Haida ‘Raven Transformation’ mask from British Columbia; the mask is designed for storytelling dances, and opens when the wearer pulls a … Continue reading
Posted in collections, museum, objects, sculpture, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Edding 30, marker pen sketching, Max Richter, Pitt Rivers Museum, Raven transformation mask, sketch of Haida mask, sketches of guns, sketching in museums, sketching in Oxford, Sywell Aerodrome Museum, urban sketching
7 Comments
End of the line?
I love a good memento mori, and this is the most striking one I’ve sketched so far. It’s a decommissioned crematorium oven (!) in the museum at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol, found while on a sketchcrawl there with the Bristol/South … Continue reading
Posted in Bristol, brush pen, cemetery, death, figures, Lexington grey, monochrome, museum, urban sketching
Tagged Arnos vale cemetery, Belle and Sebastian, Bristol South West Urban Sketchers, crematorium oven, fountain pen sketching, graveyard sketching, memento mori, pareidolia, sketches of graveyard statues, urban sketching
10 Comments
Harbour life #2
More sketches from Tenby harbour. First the view from the quayside looking down and across beached boats at low tide, then a similar view from last year for comparison (stronger lines, lower angle, more pigeons…). Then a mix; a guided tour, two teenagers … Continue reading
Posted in beach, boats, collections, drawing buildings, holiday, Lexington grey, line drawing, nautical, sea, Tenby, urban, urban sketching
Tagged air sea rescue helicopter, drawing reflections in water, Fontella Bass, ink brush sketches of water, sketches of boats, sketching harbour scenes, sketching water, Tenby harbour, tenby sketches
5 Comments
Harbour life #1
Four sketches of low tide at Tenby Harbour Beach this Summer. First some boats moored to the harbour wall (white Gelly Roll pen invaluable for the ropes), then small dinghies being taken out for a day’s sailing. The third one is from Castle … Continue reading
Posted in beach, boats, brush pen, buildings, comparisons, holiday, ink brush, nautical, urban, urban sketching, Wales
Tagged boat names, boats at low tide, harbour scene, ink brush sketching, nautical sketches, Rozi Plain, sketching boats, Tenby harbour, Tenby Harbour Beach, twilight sketching
7 Comments
54 people, mostly seated, and 2 dogs
During the Summer holidays I binged on sketching the general public in Bath, my default approach to ‘urban sketching’. I enjoy the seasonal differences: sunglasses, shady hats and bare arms in Summer; compared to high collars, long coats and wooly hats in Winter! … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, brush pen, clothing, comparisons, figures, ink brush, Lexington grey, monochrome, people watching, seasonal, sketchcrawl, technique, urban, urban sketching
Tagged Bath sketch-crawl, drawings of seated figures, ink brush sketching, seasonal differences, sketching figures, sketching in Bath, The Mynabirds, urban sketching, urban sketching technique
3 Comments
Ink-brush buildings
Following on from my experiments in sketching with an ink-filled water-brush I dug out an old Platinum fude brush pen. The nylon brush-tip’s a bit shredded so it’s not very detailed, but the ink flow is hugely better than the very popular Pentel … Continue reading
Posted in Bath, brush pen, buildings, drawing buildings, ink brush, Lexington grey, street scene, urban, urban sketching, vehicles
Tagged Bath streets, fude brush sketches, ink brush sketching, sketches of Bath, sketching street scenes, The Libertines, urban sketching, urban sketching kit, urban sketching technique
8 Comments
Mostly drawing 