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
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.
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.)
My parents’ terrier, Queenie, came to stay for a couple of days during Christmas. She was an interesting subject to draw, especially her back legs, but easier to sketch when resting in her basket…
Lexington grey water-brush and pen, white Uni Posca brush pen, A7 – 10 minutes
2B pencil, A5 – 15 minutes
Another sketch done while walking, this time behind family members on a Christmas holiday walk. The light ink-wash was added back home.
Pencil, Lexington grey water-brush, A7 – 2 minutes
I was given a Hyacinth bulb, potted in a tiny bucket with moss, before Christmas (thanks Daisy!) and started sketching it. I eventually captured two weeks growth in four pictures, a very primitive time-lapse sequence. In the last sketch the flowers were growing so fast that they’d moved again by the time I finished the picture…
Fountain pen and water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, gouache, A7-A4 – approximately 20 to 30 minutes each
Storms are battering the coast and flood warnings are in place across the UK after a very wet and windy Christmas. This was the sky above Bath at dusk yesterday, some of the clouds shedding rain as they pass.
Lexington grey water-brush, white Gelly Roll pen, watercolour, A6 – 30 minutes
And here’s the same sky seen from the back of the Guildhall in town, about an hour earlier, before the clouds rolled in…
Lexington grey water-brush, gouache, A6 – 20 minutes
1mm Pigma pen, Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A4 – 50 minutes
Sat by my daughter, feet up, looking out to sea from a cottage above Manorbier beach in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. Beach-combing treasures, a camera, binoculars, and holiday reading on the windowsill. A midwinter reminder of last summer. (I had to use a ruler again for this one…)
After a Christmas hiatus on the blog here are some old toys, mostly Matchbox and Whizzwheels, chipped and worn after years of play in the 70’s. Drawing these was good practise for full-size vehicles around town, especially getting those tricky wheel ellipses angled right… (My 150th post since starting the blog a year ago!)
1mm Pigma pen, Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A5 – About 10 minutes per vehicle
A quick monochrome sketch of a three piece dragon sculpture at the bottom of the garden. I’ve drawn it before, concentrating on the head section, but this time wanted to show the full serpentine body, apparently swimming through the ground.
1mm Pigma pen, Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A6 – 10 minutes
Mostly drawing 