A slightly tired lemon from the fridge, with some zest sliced off for a cake. Note the tiny red bug accidentally squashed between the pages.
Blue and brown Pigma pens, water-brush with Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A6 – 20 minutes
And another lemon sketch, from 2 years ago. It looks like my ellipse drawing hasn’t improved…
Fountain pen with Lexington Grey ink, watercolour, white correction pen, A6 – 25 minutes
A quiet street near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul on a hot summer Sunday morning, a pool of dappled shade slowly moving across the tarmac. I love the strong contrast produced by gouache on coloured paper, very useful for (relatively) quick sketches that include the sky.
Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5 – 20 minutes
And below are two more quick Istanbul sketches using white Uni Posca pens on the same paper; swallows flying around the eaves of a block of flats, and tourists waiting outside Hagia Sophia.
White Uni Posca pen, Lexington grey water-brush, gouache, A5 – 15 mins
White Uni Posca pen, Lexington grey water-brush, A5 – 10 mins
Electric kettle, mug, tea-infuser, and a hazy reflection of me sketching while the tea brews. This was done a few weeks ago, when I was starting to appreciate the versatility of pencil, and the way it allows lines to shade into form.
Pencil, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, white Uni Posca pen, A5 – 20 minutes
Double page montage from a day visiting London. A tired underground train passenger, Didcot power station seen on the return train to Bath, and a contour drawing of chairs back home. The brown wash on the sketches is black tea, added while enjoying a refreshing cuppa at the end of the day.
1mm Pigma pen, Lexington grey brush, black tea, A5 – 25 mins
The cooling towers of Didcot power station are a striking landmark on the London to Bath train route. Here’s an earlier sketch of them from the Summer, complete with oily stains from a salad.
Water-brush with Lexington grey, white Uni Posca pen, gouache, A5 – 20 minutes
Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, A6 – 10 minutes
I was watching a Word War Two history documentary and was struck by a very high contrast photo of a group of men. I copied nine of the faces using ink-brush, noticing the way that the nose is suggested by the gap between the eye sockets and the shadow below. Knowing that these men were all Nazi collaborators inevitably alters the way I read their faces and expressions…
Some more from @Bristol. Two sketches overlapping on one page creating an odd couple; a gorilla skeleton and a large model of Morph, a 1970’s children’s animation classic from Aardman. Each sketch took about 10 minutes, and that’s a paint accident, not blood, on the gorillaz skull.
Pencil, brown Pigma pen, Lexington grey water-brush, watercolour, A5 – 20 minutes
Here’s me seen by the @Bristol thermal imaging cameras, looking wonderfully skull-like thanks to a cold nose and glasses! 
The massive main landing gear of an airliner, sketched at @Bristol. The wheels are about 5 foot high and it has an ‘articulating bogie unit’, hmmm… I spent 5 minutes marking the key lines in pencil to get the perspective right, but didn’t have time to draw all the intricate wires, cables, pistons, etc; should have done some greebling.
Pencil, fountain pen and water-brush with Lexington grey ink, white Lumocolor pencil, watercolour, A5 – 30 minutes
My commitment to daily drawing is regularly tested late evening. ‘It’s 10pm, I haven’t managed a sketch yet, what could I draw?’ Favourite models include a glass of water, my left hand, a model skull, or figures on TV; this time it was my glasses.
(I love the way pencil compliments Lexington grey ink, producing a soft monochrome)
‘B’ pencil, water brush with Lexington grey ink, A6 – 5 minutes
Night-time view up Walcot Street while waiting for a burger at Schwartz Bros, a Bath institution. It took about 3 minutes to draw the lines on location, and 5 more at home to add the ink wash and yellow highlights from memory.
1mm Pigma pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, watercolour, A6 – 10 minutes
My sketching’s mostly fuelled by Lexington grey, a wonderful ink made by Noodlers in the USA. I use it in almost every sketch I do as it’s rapidly waterproof, but also safe for fountain pens. It works well with water-colour washes, and you can use it diluted to quickly build very stable layers of tone and shade. I carry 3 water brushes loaded with the ink in different dilutions in my sketching kit. It’s a slightly smokey grey, warmish but neutral enough to work alongside all colours.
It’s always been hard to buy in Europe, so many thanks to the Sketching Forum for news of a UK supplier (last time I looked they had 27 bottles left… now down to 8 as of 10/1/14). I’ve stocked up with a couple of bottles and drew them, in Lexington grey ink, alongside my original big bottle from the US.
Fountain pen and water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, A6 – 20 minutes
Here’s a couple more similar Lexington sketches; boots and a teapot.
Fountain pen and water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, A6 – 15 minutes each
Mostly drawing 