Mostly drawing

Topkapi #2

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Water-brush, dilute Lexington grey ink, watercolour, gouache, A5 – 30 minutes

Back in the Harem section of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, this time looking through to the Black Eunuch’s Courtyard, with direct sun on the columns beyond. One of the times when a tiny tube of gold gouache was useful. The guard watched me sketching while guided tours streamed past, and then asked me to draw him. Here he is…

…and here’s another Istanbulu who wanted me to draw him, this time while I was sketching this. Both seemed pleased with the results, signing and photographing them. I recommend keeping these sort of portraits very simple and slightly flattering…

Posted in buildings, coloured paper, from life, grisaille, inks, Istanbul, Lexington grey, museum, people, sketching, travel, urban | Tagged Andy Williams and Pearl Bailey, Black Eunuchs courtyard, decorative tiles, gateway, gold gouache, grey ink, Lexington grey ink, passers by, portraits, Topkapi | Leave a comment

Topkapi #1

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Two sketches done a year apart in the ‘twin kiosk’ rooms in the Harem section of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. The first was done in 2012 focussing on the decorative tiles and trying to get the perspective right. The second was done last summer, and I tried to show the brilliance of the high stained glass windows. I had to really darken the room to get the relative contrast right, but at the expense of any other detail in the room. I’ll try to return and combine the best of both in a third sketch… (Or maybe someone clever could combine them through photoshop? Jim?)

UPDATE: Jim (sketchtesting.co.uk) is very clever and has combined them, below. Ta!

Lexington grey fountain pen, watercolour, A5 – 45 mins

Marker pen with Carbon ink, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, white Gelly Roll pen, watercolour, A5 – 30 minutes

Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, marker pen, travel, urban, white marker pen | Tagged Booka Shade, decorative tiles, Harem rooms, Jim, sketchtesting.co.uk, stained glass, Topkapi, twin kiosk rooms, white gelly roll pen | 2 Comments

Hyacinth revisitted

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Bamboo dip-pen pen and water-brush, dilute Lexington grey ink, watercolour, A4 – 20 minutes each

Once the hyacinth that I drew a few weeks ago was in full bloom the fragrance/smell became too much, so it went outside. It survived the recent storms intact, and as the smell’s subsided it’s back on my desk. I drew it using a bamboo dip-pen (more lovely thick grey lines), added some shading, and finally a colour wash a few days later. I think I prefer the uncoloured version…

Posted in botany, dip pen, flowers, from life, grisaille, inks, Lexington grey, line drawing, monochrome | Tagged bamboo dip pen, blue flower, Dick van Dyke, flowering bulb, grey ink, hyacinth, Lexington grey ink, long green leaves | 1 Comment

Rear windows

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Ed Mostly

1mm Pigma pen reloaded with Lexington grey, Lexington grey water-brush, white Gelly Roll pen, watercolour, A6 – 50 minutes

Revisiting Marlborough buildings, this time the higgledy-piggledy back, on an overcast afternoon. You can pick out some of the symmetry and order that characterises the front facade, but over two hundred years of weathering, extensions, improvements, new drain-pipes, and replaced windows has created a beautifully chaotic view. The effect is strengthened by the offset column of windows on the left of each house, lighting the many staircases needed to get up and down the seven stories.

Since starting sketching three years ago, my ideal pen/mark-maker and ink has continually changed; jet-black fine-liners, broad fountain pens, dip-pens, coloured fibre-tips, marker pens, pencils and grey brush-pens. It’s partly because I love buying and trying new pens…

But I think these changes also reflect my interest in the balance between line and form; how to delineate objects without overpowering the shading and colouring that give them substance. My latest favourite is a Pigma 1mm felt-tip refilled with Lexington grey ink, giving a broad grey line that blends well with ink-wash shading and colour washes.

Posted in Bath, buildings, from life, kit, Lexington grey, line drawing, sketching, urban, watercolour sketch | Tagged chaotic building, Georgian facade, Lexington, line and form, Marlborough Buildings, Moody Blues, refilled Pigma pen, white gelly roll pen, windows | 2 Comments

Roll with it

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Ed Mostly

White Gelly Roll pen, Lexington grey water-brush, White Uni Posca brush pen, A6 – 5 minutes

A quick minimalist sketch of two rolls of tissue, one slightly squashed at the top. Less is more?

Posted in brush pen, coloured paper, from life, Lexington grey, line drawing, marker pen, monochrome, objects, white marker pen | Tagged Althea and Donna, kitchen roll, minimalist, The Jesus and Mary Chain, toilet roll, Uni Posca brush pen, white gelly roll pen, white lines | 1 Comment

Saucy

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Ed Mostly

More foul weather so some domestic sketching in the kitchen; oils, spices and condiments on a recessed shelf, and all-sorts on a work-top. I used a broad fountain pen for the line, but loaded with dilute grey ink so it doesn’t dominate. I enjoyed drawing the collection of different jars and bottles, mistakes on individual items get lost in the overall effect…

kitchen1

kitchen2

Both pictures done using Lamy Safari ‘B’ nib and water-brush with dilute Lexington grey, watercolour, A6 – 15 minutes

Posted in collections, food, from life, home, Lexington grey, line drawing, objects | Tagged bottles, broad line, condiments, Jona Lewie, kitchen, pepper grinder, shelf | 3 Comments

Marlborough light

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Marlborough1

1mm Pigma pen, white and blue Uni Posca brush markers, Lexington grey water-brush, dilute blue and brown ink for roof and chimneys, A5 – 30 mins line drawing on location, 20 mins adding ink washes and colour at home

Wet and windy weather has meant my sketching hasn’t been very urban recently, mostly domestic and interior… During a sunny spell I walked down to Marlborough Buildings, built in the mid Eighteenth century, reputedly as a wind-break for the adjacent Royal Crescent (here’s the location in Google Streetview). I’ve drawn the typically symmetrical Bath-stone street facade, but like most of the grand terraces and crescents in Bath the most interesting view is really at the back. Here centuries of additions and extensions have created a beautifully chaotic scene, seven stories high in places. Next time I’ll sketch the rear view, seen in the 1970’s in the photograph below.

(Photo from Bath In Time)

Posted in Bath, buildings, coloured paper, from life, inks, Lexington grey, urban, white marker pen | Tagged Bath in Time, Bath stone, facade, Gerry Rafferty, Marlborough Buildings, royal crescent, streeview, symmetry, wind break | 3 Comments

Night vision

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Sketching at night presents some extra challenges; cold hands, low light, and increased self-consciousness (“What’s he up to…?”). So these two were done fast by the light of street lamps; the first while waiting for a bus in Larkhall (Streetview link), and the second on the way home from an evening at The Star.

White Gelly Roll pen, white Uni Posca brush pen, Lexington grey water-brush, A6 – 10 minutes

Pencil, Lexington grey water-brush, A6 – 5 minutes

Posted in Bath, buildings, from life, inks, Lexington grey, monochrome, night, pencil, urban, waiting | Tagged Larkhall, night sketching, Sesame Street, Stevie Wonder, street lamps, The Star Inn, Uni Posca brush pen, white gelly roll pen | 2 Comments

Book binding

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Jan_0011

1mm Pigma pen, Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A5 – 25 minutes

Time to make a new batch of A6 sketchbooks, ‘reloading’ some very cheap Derwent journals (I’ve run out of empty Moleskines). At this stage in the process the 4 folios of paper that make up a book have been stitched together with dental floss, and are being pressed while a strip of cloth (or ‘mull’) is glued onto the spine. I use two G-clamps and pieces of thick plywood as a home-made mini book-press.

Below is the final result, five sketchbooks loaded with Fabriano 90lb HP and occasional coloured paper, which should last me until Autumn. For more on sketchbook binding see this separate section of the blog. Bookbinding can look labour intensive, but it’s fairly straight forward, very satisfying and you end up with a sketchbook you couldn’t buy – you choose the paper, the binding, the size etc. – for very little money.

P1240970

Posted in coloured paper, from life, kit, Lexington grey, objects | Tagged book binding, Derwent journal, Fabriano Artistico 200gm, folio, G-clamps, glueing a mull, Moleskines, reloading, sketchbook, The Turtles | 4 Comments

Cursive

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Ed Mostly

Jan_0004 Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, tea, A5 – 15 minutes

I copied this from the inside of an Egyptian mummy at Bristol City Museum. The whole inner surface of the case was covered with beautifully relaxed and flowing cursive hieroglyphs, prayers for the dead person it once held. The brushwork was still wonderfully fresh after 3,900 years. (I used black tea to add a light wash when I got home.)