Two sketches looking West towards the Suleymaniye Mosque from the terrace of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Once I’d drawn the key buildings I added an approximation of the city’s texture all around them (roofs, domes, chimneys, walls etc) not having the time or patience to capture the actual detail. I think this is a bit like ‘greebling’, but different.
Water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, A6
Some sketches of famous finds from Pompeii, recently on show at the British Museum in London. The exhibition contrasted Roman art that celebrated life, with plaster casts that documented agonising deaths. The death-casts are very emotive objects, both expressionist and realistic at the same time, provoking visitor reactions ranging from pity to disgust via fascination. (Pencil was ideal for these loose drawings, feeling out the key lines and shapes within the objects.)
Lots of figures were found in this ‘boxer pose‘, caused by muscles and tendons contracting in the appalling heat.
Hercules ‘relieving himself’ after a heavy night of drinking. One of many ‘bawdy/obscene’ works at the exhibition, including flying phallus wind-chimes and Pan having an intimate encounter with a goat. Parents were having fun explaining these works and the death-casts to their young children…
This death-cast was made out of clear resin, so you could see jewellery and a skeleton within the figure.
Pencil, with dilute Lexington grey ink for ‘the muleteer’s’ shadow, A5
I found these in a cupboard while on holiday. I’m afraid a link to this sketch is unavoidable; homophones abounding.
Uni Posca markers, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, blue and red Pigma pens, A5
Two sketches of waves, from a summer trip to Pembrokeshire, South Wales. The first is from the coastal path high above Manorbier beach looking down on the surfers in the incoming tide. The second is at the water’s edge at Swanlake Bay, with smaller waves lapping over the rocks. The Uni Posca markers are great for strong opaque coloured lines, and very handy for fast sketching. Studying waves can be befuddling and hypnotic, but patterns and rhythms gradually emerge (Danny Gregory has a great post describing this experience).
Uni Posca white marker, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, and watercolour, A5
White, blue and grey Uni Posca marker pens, water-brush with Lexington grey, A5
The remains of another delicious meal at Yen Sushi in Bath. I’m learning how to get an even colour wash by using the water-brush to wet the area first; it’s tricky as you can’t see where you’ve already painted the water…
Blue and brown Pigma pens, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, watercolour, A6
Here’s a couple of pictures from the same restaurant, one posted earlier this year…
A busy afternoon sketching a tiny fraction of the 11,000 animals and 400 species on view at Chester zoo. The baby Asian elephants were charming, the flamingos were like animated brush stokes, and the giraffes were improbable wonders of balance and grace, especially when they ran. I used tea to add tone to the elephant sketches, but I’m not sure if it was Asian or African…
Brown Pigma pen and tea, A5
Blue Pigma pen, water-brush with Lexington grey, water-colour , A5
Brown Pigma pen, water-brush with lexington grey ink, watercolour, A5
A crowded double-page spread from a day trip to Tenby, in South Wales. No time to settle to a finished sketch, so lots of details and impressions instead. I’m looking forward to a longer visit in the future…
There’s the view from an attic window at the ‘Tudor Merchant’s House’, some wall decorations in the same building, a stained-glass wine jug sign for a cafe, a personalised T3NBY number plate, a sketch of a WW1 soldier by Augustus John, a view of the harbour on the Eastern side of the town, and some amusing signs/labels seen around town.
All sorts of pens and inks, and watercolour, A4
I was in Istanbul during Ramadan and every night the old city became a family friendly festival with food stalls, craft markets, groups of picnickers, and free open-air concerts, mostly showcasing traditional music.
I started this sketch before the band arrived and had to add them after the lights went down, they’re the hazy figures haunting the stage. The minarets of the Blue Mosque appear in the background. The chance meeting of two different paper colours in the sketchbook helped to enhance the contrast between stage and audience; serendipity!
White and grey Uni Posca markers, black Pigma 1mm pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A4
I spent a very hot afternoon sketching in the cool shade of the Istanbul Archeology Museum. It houses a wonderfully rich collection created during the Ottoman Empire, when Turkey ruled Egypt and the ancient lands of Mesopotamia, Assyria, etc.
A large brick relief panel from the Ishtar Gate processional avenue, Babylonian, about 600 BCE. It felt strange to be standing within the walls of ancient Byzantium, as Istanbul once was, drawing part of the walls of ancient Babylon.
White Uni Posca marker, gouache, pencil, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, A5
Small clay figures from Mesopotamia, about four thousand years old. They’re described as ‘Old Babylonian Period’ but looked completely timeless to me; contemporary and ancient, alien and familiar at the same time. Top right looks like a character from The Far Side, and bottom right’s wearing a monocle?
Red Pigma pen, water-brush with dilute Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5
More Mesopotamian objects and a few other randoms. (Spot Gandalf indulging in some nude hand-puppetry.) The second attempt at the figure top left, was much improved by concentrating on the individual curves that made up the whole.
Black 1mm Pigma pen, water-brush with dilute Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5
(Last year when I sketched in the museum the guards didn’t want me to draw the objects. I was using pencils, and all around me people were busy taking photos, but in the end I had to speak to the Museum Director to get special permission to continue. The prohibition was never explained. It happened again this year, but I insisted that I already had permission from the Director…)
An ice-cream van next to the Royal Crescent, a tourist hot-spot in Bath. The owners packed up and left before I could draw them leaning out of the window serving customers, reminding me to sketch the people in a scene a.s.a.p as they will move…
‘B’ pencil, water-brush with dilute Winsor and Newton inks and Lexington grey ink, A5
Mostly drawing 