Mostly drawing

The Beetles

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Beetles are the most diverse group of organisms on earth, representing a fifth of all living organisms, and there are over 4,000 species in the UK and Ireland alone. Here are three I’ve met since starting sketching…

The Beetles1

I found this Lesser Stag Beetle on a path near our house last week. It’s nocturnal, which explains its behaviour, or lack of it, as it lay inert throughout the sketching. I’m using pencil at the moment, which works well with a Lexington grey ink wash, giving a fairly seamless transition from line to form.

‘HB’ pencil, water-brush with dilute Lexington grey ink, A6

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Here’s is a tiny sketch of a Bloody-nose Beetle (?) I found on a coastal path earlier this summer. Its feet aren’t that large in life, but it’s beautifully rounded and glossy like a worn bead or pebble.

Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, watercolour, A8?

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And a dead Ground Beetle (carnivorous, eats slugs and snails) I found in the garden last year.

Fountain pen with carbon ink, watercolour, A7

Posted in from life, garden, insects, monochrome, pencil, sketching | Tagged beetles, bloody-nose beetle, Ground beetle, Jonathan Richman, Lesser stag beetle, Mister Rogers Remixed, Penguin Cafe Orchestra | Leave a comment

Enough thumbnails, already…

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Ed Mostly

A last example, for now, of travel thumbnails. This time in a taxi from Istanbul airport to a city centre hotel, where we arrived before I could finish the last frame. The driver was puzzled when I showed him the results at the end of the journey, but pleased when he recognised himself in the rear-view mirror!

Water-brush with dilute Lexington grey ink, white Gelly roll pen, A5

Posted in airport, from life, Istanbul, journeys, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, urban | Tagged city streets, gelly roll, rear view mirror, Rolling Stones, taxi driver, taxi ride, transportation, windscreen view | Leave a comment

Travel thumbnails #3, planes

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Ed Mostly

More travel thumbnails in gouache, this time the view from an airplane flying Istanbul to London. The window shapes and wing-tips are a bit wonky…

All in Black Pigma 1mm pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5

Taxiing down the runway, taking off, and breaking through the clouds over a rainy Istanbul.

Flying over Europe, beautifully lit clouds and their shadows far below.

Crossing the English coastline and approaching Heathrow airport over parched fields and the familiar s-bend of the Thames in central London.

Posted in airplane, airport, from life, gouache, journeys, sketching, sky, thumbnails, travel, urban, weather | Tagged airplane windows, aviation, clouds, gouache, Heathrow, Istanbul, London, sketch, Thames, travel thumbnails, window shapes | 2 Comments

Travel thumbnails #2, trains

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Ed Mostly

You can see so many subjects for a sketch when travelling, but you’re usually moving past too fast for anything detailed… I’ve been trying quick thumbnail sketches when on the move and gouache seems perfect for capturing the basic shapes and colours speeding by. It’s a good test for your dexterity with a portable sketch kit and very good practise for your short-term visual memory!

My first go at these travel thumbnails was from a car a month ago, so here are some from trains, all very small on the page. Airplane thumbnails will follow shortly; planes, trains and automobiles in reverse.

Four rural views near Bath while heading East on the train to London.

Gouache, A6

And four views from the Newport to Chester train, moving through sunshine and rain as I head North. Pre-drawing the window frames helped, along with coloured paper.

Blue Pigma pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A7?

Posted in from life, gouache, journeys, Lexington grey, sky, trains, travel, weather | Tagged landscape, rain, sky, The Guillemots, thumbnail sketches, train windows, transportation, visual memory | 1 Comment

People watching

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Istanbullus sitting, walking, fishing, watching, on the phone, and waiting. Slowly learning to construct figure drawings out of lots and lots of curves.

Fountain pen with carbon ink, Pigma 1mm black pen, water-brush with Lexington Grey ink, A5

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Posted in body, brush pen, from life, Istanbul, line drawing, monochrome, people, sketching, urban, waiting | Tagged curves, figure drawing, fishing, Istanbullus, on the phone, people watching, Richard Hawley, sitting | Leave a comment

Tea please

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Some of the many cups of black tea that I enjoyed in Istanbul, in a variety of media. Good practise for drawing ellipses; it’s very obvious when they’re right or wrong…

tea cups1

Posted in cafe, collections, from life, Istanbul, objects, sketching | Tagged black tea, drawing ellipses, ellipses, Istanbul, tea, tea cups, The Rutles | Leave a comment

Tomb, hydrant, B+B

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Ed Mostly

A final group of sketches from Portugal before I get to grips with scanning all the Istanbul pictures…

The tomb of Luis Vaz de Camoes, Portugal’s greatest poet, in Jeronimos Monastery, Lisbon.

Fountain pen with Carbon ink, water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, A5

One of Lisbon’s very distinctive fire hydrants, standing on the equally ubiquitous chunky mosaic pavement.

Fountain pen with Carbon ink, water-brush with Lexington grey, watercolour, A5

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The lovely Bed and Breakfast we stayed in in Sintra…

Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5

… and the view of Sintra Palace from our bedroom window. (Interesting to compare with Jean-Christophe Defline’s sketch of the Palace and trying to work out where he was standing/floating to get that view!)

Water-brush with Lexington grey ink, water-colour, A5

Posted in buildings, from life, Lisbon, Portugal, sketching, travel, urban, watercolour sketch | Tagged hydrant, Jean-Christophe Defline, Jeronimos, Luis Vaz de Camoes, Palace, Sintra, Spiritualized, tomb | Leave a comment

Mosques at night

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ed Mostly

I was in Istanbul during Ramadan which meant the streets, squares and mosques were busy till late at night, with families breaking their day’s fast and socialising. I could wander around the centre of the old town as part of a festive crowd. The coloured paper and white marker pens worked well for low light sketching.

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The Blue Mosque isn’t, but it is here. It has a beautiful cascade of domes and a lovely arcade running around the main courtyard.

White marker pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5

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The Suleymaniye Mosque, with picnicking groups and a Ramadan message written in bulbs suspended between two of the minarets. The mosque is positioned on a high terrace with great views across the Golden Horn to Galata and beyond.

White marker pen, black 1mm Pigma pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, gouache, A5

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The Atik Ali Pasha Mosque, and older and smaller mosque near the Grand Bazaar, sketched in a hurry, the single minaret and artificially lit trees dramatic against the night sky. The perspective went a bit wonky as I craned my head upwards.

White marker pen, gouache, A5

Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, line drawing, monument, night, urban, white marker pen | Tagged architecture, Atik Ali Pasha, Blue mosque, Dobie Gray, minaret, mosques, night time, Ramadan, Suleymaniye | Leave a comment

Steep street

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Ed Mostly

Looking up a street near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, next to the entrance to the seventeenth century Valide Han or caravanserai on the right. It was a Sunday and most of the shops were closed, with shutters down. The Han was also closed, but although the big gates were locked several traders slipped in and out through the small wicket gate. I sat on the narrow pavement, watching the strong shadows creep across the road and the occasional lost tourist wander past.

I used a mark on the road at eye level (Bassoons! French horns! Beige polo-necks!) as the fixed centre point for all my estimates of distances and angles etc. It took me a while to realise it was a piece of litter and was being moved by the breeze…

Black Pigma 1mm pen, water-brush with Lexington grey ink, and a tiny bit of watercolour, A5

Posted in buildings, from life, Istanbul, Lexington grey, monochrome, sketching, travel, urban | Tagged caravanserai, Grand Bazaar, street scene, Valide Han, Van der Valk, wicket gate | 1 Comment

Jet set

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Ed Mostly

My view on the way to Turkey, about 5 miles high, somewhere over France. I spent 6 days in Istanbul, mostly sketching, which was a great luxury. So lots to scan and post over the coming weeks, including lots of lovely gouache and white and grey marker pens on coloured paper…