Winsor & Newton Artists Journal

It's a bit difficult to find time to keep up with the Every Day in May challenge at the moment! Work is busy with exams just around the corner and I'm still getting ready for the 10k race, now only 11 days away (eek!), which means going out running most nights. So, here is a very quick sketch of my Winsor & Newton artists journal, a present from my DW and a very nice thing to carry about and sketch in. Just for a change, this is done using Noodlers ink and graphitint pencils.

Apple blossom

A busy day at work today, so not much time for drawing, but I'm not going to give up on EDM on the second day, so I found time to do a quick sketch of the apple blossom that is out in our garden at the moment. Actually, this is growing on a small tree that has a lot of meaning for my DW. It is a graft taken from a tree planted by her father not long before he died. It's still only large enough to get a handful of fruit, but it's growing well and has lovely blossom at this time of year. This was done using Inktense pencils.

Australia sketches

These first set of sketches were done in the airport or on the plane. Done on lined paper because I cleverly packed my sketchbooks in my luggage!

Our first stop was in Sydney, but I didn't get much chance to sketch there. I did manage a very quick one of, inevitably, Sydney Opera House. I have to say, it is an amazing building, inside as well as out. We were lucky to hear an amazing performance of Shostakovich's 8th symphony in the lovely concert hall. And I also did a quick sketch of a gum tree!

















More to come soon!

Ink sketches

It's been over a week since I posted. Life's been hectic, mainly because it's the start of a new academic year, with it's seemingly endless number of welcome receptions, induction briefings, and dinners. The college Freshers Dinner can be slightly excruciating, but this year's bunch were fun to chat to. I just wish they would vary the menu; this was my 14th Freshers Dinner, and every year they serve chicken Kiev and profiteroles!



Anyway, mainly inspired by Anita, I've got me a bottle of Noodler's red/black ink. It's a great colour. Are any others worth checking out? These are some sketches from my bedroom. Yes, OK I admit that I sometimes sketch in bed...I'm not sure whether that makes me a very keen sketcher or a very, very lazy one!

Conkers

Continuing with the autumn theme, here is a watercolour sketch of a horse chestnut, or a conker as they are better known in the UK. I haven't seen anyone playing conkers for ages. Do kids still play it? When I was a kid is was a big thing. Everyone had their own method for hardening them!



watercolour sketches conkers

Rosehips

Autumn is definitely in the air these days. The leaves are beginning to turn, there's a bit of a chill in the air in the mornings, and there are hips on the old rose in our garden. Here's a quick watercolour sketch of some of them.




watercolour sketches rosehips autumn

More fruit

Here is the peach with some added colour, using Inktense pencils. I was going to sketch a banana, but then I ate it! Luckily, an empty banana skin is, if anything, more interesting to sketch than a full one. This also uses Inktense pencils and a Copic pen. And just to round off today's post and old-style red telephone box. This is a K6, the most common variation on the original design by G.G. Scott.

EDM #133 - a peach

I've been enjoying our annual street party today. Lots of good food, wine, a band so we could dance in the street. We even had a fly-past! One person in the street has a part share in a single-engined plane and flew over the street during the party!! That's one up for us over our rival streets! As I rest my sore feet (I'm sure they didn't used to get sore from dancing!), I did a quick sketch of a peach for EDM # 133. Now I look at it, I think it would be nice to add some colour, so perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. At the moment, I'm not sure you would know it was a peach...it could be a plum, or a nectarine!

Tech Tags: Copic sketches pen+and+ink peach EDM

EDM #30 -- a chair

This is a chair from my mother's house. It's my attempt at EDM challenge number 30. My parents have had it for many years; I remember sitting on it when I was a child. It was my favourite because you could swing round and round on it!



Rotring+Art+Pen sketches EDM

Boats

I've always had problems drawing boats, so when I was down on the South Coast recently I took the chance to spend some time sketching at Lymington. This is a great place to find boats; there are almost too many to choose from, from large fishing boats to tiny dinghies.



It's one of the most popular sailing centres in the country, located on the sheltered western Solent. I've sailed there a lot in the past, but don't currently have a boat.

These are all very simple boats, though some of them are done from quite tricky (or me!) angles. All done with a Rotring art pen.


boats pen+and+ink Rotring+Art+Pen sketches Lymington

EDM #10 (a hand) and #13 (a telephone)

Continuing with my efforts to get back into the (more or less) daily sketching habit, here are a couple more EDM challenges. The first was a blind contour drawing done with a Rotring art pen, with the wash done later. The mobile phone was done with a a Copic multiliner. More to come soon!

Tech Tags: EDM sketches blind+contour hand mobile+phone Rotring+Art+Pen Copic

EDM #131 -- Spray bottle

Time to get back into the EDM weekly challenge habit after being away so much over the past month or so. This is a spray bottle, which I use to wet my paints and keep the paper wet when I'm working in watercolour. This is done with a Rotring art pen and Pentel water brush.

technorati tags: EDM, 131, Rotring+Art+Pen, Pentel+wate+, brush, sketches, pen+and+ink

New York

We had a great time in New York, getting there two days before the second of my conferences started. We took the Circle Line tour around Manhattan, which was excellent. It's amazing how much of the Upper West Side looks from the river to be rolling, tree-covered hills! We also went up the Empire State Building, went to see a Broadway show, and generally acted the typical tourists! The girls were very excited by the shops, especially given the very favourable exchange rate at the moment. And I enjoyed a trip to Pearl's on Canal Street. Sketching time was again very limited, but here are a couple from an afternoon in Central Park.



New York City, Circle Line, Empire State Building, Central Park, pen and ink, sketches

Sound of Jura

This is a very quick sketch, done at Castle Dounie, which overlooks the Sound of Jura. I didn't have long because my rather impatient family weren't keen on hanging around in the cold wind, despite the stunning views. You can see the entrance to the Gulf of Corryvreckan, which lies between the islands of Jura and Scarba. It is famous for its whirlpool (at the other end of the Gulf), which is created by strong tidal flows and rock pinnacles on the sea bed. George Orwell was once caught in it, and was lucky to survive.

technorati tags: watercolour, sketches, Sound+of+Jura, Gulf+of+Corryvreckan, Argyll, Scotland

Radcliffe Infirmary

Tonight I had the chance to spend about half an hour making a sketch of the fountain at the front of the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. It's an historic site: the hospital opened in 1770, but it closed in January this year, with all its functions moving to a new site in Oxford. The original building is very interesting, but behind it is an ugly sprawl of buildings that have been put up over the years. The site has been taken over by Oxford University, who are going to turn it into teaching and research facilities. They'll have to preserve the original building, but I expect the rest will go.

technorati tags: watercolour, sketch, Radcliffe+Infirmary, Oxford

EDM #76 -- Draw some flowers

I've not had time to do much drawing or painting today, just a quick sketch of some stocks that I bought a couple of weeks ago and are still going strong. This will be my entry for challenge 76. They have a lovely smell, but I haven't yet come up with a way of capturing that in a drawing! This is ink and Derwent Inktense pencils.

I've just been tagged by Robyn, of Have Dogs, Will Travel, so I'll have to start thinking of seven secrets! It's not going to be easy. And, of course, I'll have to find seven new people to tag, so watch out!

technorati tags: pen+and+ink, Inktense, Stocks, drawing, sketches, EDM, every+day+in+may

Busy weekends

I always expect to be able to enjoy some quality time with my paints at the weekend, but it rarely seems to work out that way. This weekend is turning out to be no exception, though with tomorrow being a holiday, perhaps there is still hope! However, I did manage to get out in the garden to do a bit of sketching. Pen, ink and Inktense pencils (which I'm getting to like more and more, by the way).

technorati tags: drawing, sketches, pen+and+ink, inktense, garden

Garden sketches

Tonight I put the dinner on and thought it was such a lovely evening that I would go out and do a bit of sketching in the garden while it was cooking. Unfortunately, I got engrossed in it and...well, let's just say that the local Chinese takeaway got some extra business tonight!

I've admired several other artists' use of Inktense pencils lately, so I thought I'd give them a go. I don't really have much success with coloured pencils, but these colours seemed so vibrant that I couldn't resist. These aren't entirely successful (the best one is the graphite!), but I think it will be worth persevering.

Tech Tags: inktense forgetmenots tulips apple+blossom garden sketches

Fishing

While in Scotland, my nephew was keen to try his hand at trout and salmon fishing, so we went along to the River Deveron for a morning. It's not as well known as some other Scottish fishing rivers, like the Tweed and the Dee, but it is in a lovely location. However, fishing isn't really for me; the guide told us that 99% of fly fishing trips end up with no fish, especially in the spring. So, I figured you have about the same chance of catching a fish if you are sketching on the bank as those that are actually fishing! Here is a quick sketch of my daughter. Oh, and no fish were harmed in the making of this sketch!

Technorati Tags:pen and ink, fly fishing, river deveron
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