New sketchkit additions!

Revving up for Birmingham, I found myself needing to supplement my sketchkit a bit, as I really wanted to make the most of sketching time when there, NOT running around for extra supplies in a strange city!
So while in Edinburgh on a somewhat frenetic list of business errands yesterday, I investigated the excellent Greyfriars Arts , and found myself with TWO excellent and unexpected additions to my range, at not too great an expense!
First of all I searched for a new pocket sketchbook, and I found these delightful Hahnemule notebooks  - REALLY looking forward to trying them out - ever so slim and convenient, and with a great range jolly but customisable covers, too!
Then, finding myself running short of replacement cartridges for my Pentel pocket brushpen, I now found a 'larger version', the Pentel black 'Colour Brush Pen', but note from the ever-reliable Parka Blogs  that what I in fact now have is a non-waterproof black brushpen - even better for me, as I've been intending to experiment with non - waterproof ink!

David Curtis Colour Palette

Draft gouache for painting "High Stile Range from Lanthwaite Green"

When at long last I was able to join the Edinburgh Group of Urban Sketchers on a wonderful mid -week outing to Dean Village, I found I was being asked about the colours I was using.....

Definitely time to put something in writing, so here goes....

I notice that it was five years ago that I did this study in preparation for an important commission- certainly it was the first time I had really seriously attempted to use this particular colour range!
I came across David Curtis's lovely work when browsing in a flea market, coming across his really superb book "A Light Touch"
Not only is David a tremendous painter, preferring to work mainly Plein Air, but in his books and films he is particularly generous with information and advice.  You can get some idea , perhaps, from this clip ... I for one am indebted to him for completely transforming my painting approach, up until then based largely on guesswork and trial and error (mostly the latter!).

Here is the limited range of colours he uses, and which I now use as a standard (I've got these as watercolours, oils,gouache and aquarelle, as well as watercolour brushpens and neocolour crayons)
Naples Yellow           Cadmium Orange      Titanium White
 Lemon Yellow          Cobalt Violet             Burnt Sienna
Raw Sienna                Viridian                     Cerulean Blue
Cadmium Red (light)  Ultramarine

If you want to know more - get the book, I implore you!

Lessons in Urban Sketching this week, as I try to catch up on various activities!
Using the Camper Van as a base, we are attempting a bit of a seasonal round-trip, hoping the weather doesn't hit us too hard, though we have packed plenty of thermal clothing!
Dashing for a bus after we came off the motorway, I managed to leave some favourite bits of my sketching kit behind in the van (carefully stashed in a separate bag for ease of access!), so was obliged to improvise!

 I was supposed to be joining a group of sketchers at the Manchester Christmas markets...hence the rush..., so I hurredly found a compromise hardback notebook and a cheap pencil set in a little newsagents and settled for using the blank flyleaves for some sketching - needs must!
Then, baffled by the crowds and rows of cabin stalls in Albert Square, failing to connect with people, and confronted by officialdom to boot, I chickened out and dived into an Italian wine bar down a side street, restoring myself with a glass of wine and finding some enjoyment in drawing stacks of funny hats outside the stall in the street!
I was obliged to improvise and use my standby kit - Kuretake Watercolour Brushpens and my black Pentel brushpen mostly, and I discovered a pocket brushpen (its converter filled with plain water) to use with my little pot of white gouache, although of course I

would have preferred to practice my pen and wash techniques.
Still - useful practice, and I hoped to do better the next day! The bored stallholder wasn't selling many hats, and enquirers were merely whizzing past after a brief admiring look, so not much chance of 'people practice' while drawing!
Still, I was booked in at a hostel in the Northern Quarter, and was optimistic that advertised WiFi facilities would enable me to lay detailed plans !
I'm an experienced hosteller, so discovering that the lift to the fourth floor was for staff only was really the only difficulty I found here.
I could prepare food and make a hot drink (milk supplied - great!) in the self-catering kitchen, AND there was a chill-out room downstairs available 24hours (essential standby in case of snoring room companions!)
Some modern hostels provide curtained individual bunk berths, which provide optimum privacy as well as freedom, as one is much less likely to disturb anyone, and glaring 'top' dormitory lights can be screened out! However, as I was not familiar with this particular hostel, I had with me my own precautionary screening in the shape of a number of long scarves, and it wasn't long before I was comfortably ensconsed in my own personal 'cave'!

The contents of my sketching stool/knapsack came up trumps, for a change...here's the list!
1) Silk kimono/dressing gown - I've had this luxury for years. It's very comfortable, and packs small, and is a necessary in case of nightime trips to shared bathroom facilities! Said bathroom here proved an unexpected delight, furnished with amazing antique Victorian sanitary ware - a real rarity!
2) Night things - the bare minimum, including above-mentioned scarves, a small microfibre travel towel, toothbrush, and a flannel 'pocket' containing my soap, a little Led night light (not many hostels provide individual bed lights), ....oh, and an extension board, often offered for sharing between several dormitory occupants!
3) By far the biggest and heaviest items are a rather ancient and heavy Mac laptop - definitely in need of replacement at the earliest opportunity and a box of inks and paints (unusable without a paintbrush, which of course was in the camper van)

It didn't take me long to make myself some cocoa, plug everything in and retire for the night!

 What a difference a day makes! Internet research (ultra-early free breakfast ingredients, squashy sofas and 'Google Maps'  - I'll stay here again!) helped me to discover that I was within a stone's throw of the wonderful Blyth's Art Shop, where I indulged myself with a new sketch pad (brown paper is brilliant for sketching on, and these pads have super-stiff hard covers) and a Chinese mixed-hair brush. 
Stevenson's Square provided the opportunity to paint some of the Autumn colours I was delighted to discover still remained on the trees, while 'Eastern Bloc' next door provided excellent pecan pie , hot drinks and an outside table to work at!  Bliss!
A passer-by even took a photo of me from above!
I was even able to search out a camera shop for the computer peripheral I needed without too much difficulty , before catching the bus to Alderley Edge where we were camping. Amazingly , this tiny Caravan Club Certificated Location offers WiFi as well as hot water facilities and washing machines!

InkTober!

October 2016 has been my first experience of ‘Inktober’, a Facebook challenge set up to appeal to subscribing artists interested in using ink for producing a total of no less than 31 images – one for every day in the month!

While thoroughly enjoying the process and following the page, I have noticed that many artists use the opportunity to challenge themselves in particular ways. …for me it was just a case of achieving the daily target, as with so many demands on my time at present this has been quite difficult!

Some of my results have been decidedly mixed, when measured by my personal feelings of success, but any artist needs to be his or her own harshest critic in order to progress, so I’m not dismayed by my total achievement during the month!

I haven’t always used the same sketchbook, as any attempt on my part at daily sketching often needs to be a case of sometimes just ensuring that a minimum kit is hurredly thrust into a bag or pockets in order to dash out and make the most of the weather! I don't drive, and this is a decided handicap for a Plein Air painter!

Other times I’ve been able to plan more efficiently and include perhaps a tinted sketchbook, inspired by the lovely work regularly produced by UrbanSketcher Pat Southern-Pearce.

Anyway, here is a small selection from one of my sketchbooks, taken at random, but from samples I happen to be quite pleased with!

   I have found that my Moleskine A6 Watercolour Sketchbook has become a new sketching favourite, and will be most welcome to accompany me whenever I’m able to choose my sketching location armed with a little more than just the contents of my pockets!

Not only is the size a useful one, but the paper is excellent quality, and I found that I really enjoyed using it for some of my inkdrawings, supplemented occasionally with a little colour!

The first one I found was a simple Japanese Anemone drawing, done 'straight in' with my lovely Carbon Platinum fountain pen, in the Watercolour sketchbook mentioned above...no pencil lines, no erasing, no white-painted amendments!  These are the very last blooms of the year, rescued from plants which have considerably brightened a dark north-facing frontage all season!

I just let my pen wander across the page - great fun! 

The next sketch was carried out in Berwick, just after taking some photos of a wonderful sunset.  I'd love to try painting this properly some day, so the next job was to do a careful drawing, and here's the result!
As you can see, renovations are in progress, so lack of curtains probably made my task easier.
This time a few light pencil guidelines were necessary, to ensure I included at least most of the chimney pots, so I now always carry a disposable Papermate mechanical pencil, which I find includes a really nice useful soft eraser on the end, although I always 'clean up' with a battery eraser these days - excellent for achieving a good result without damaging the surface of the paper!
Then I attempted a prolonged sketch from 'Cafe Nero' in Berwick - at present managed by a couple of voluble Italians - a great improvement!

Really quite pleased with this one - lots of pencil drafting necessary, but now I could add black ink and watercolour more confidently...I even managed to indicated some of the High Street shoppers and the Merry Go Round proprietor, although these seem not quite in scale, perhaps?

 Finally, I discovered that rare phenomenon, a comfortable seat in a sunny spot in an ideal sketching location, combined with time to draw - great!!! No matter that the foremost vehicle in Hide Hill, Berwick, became somewhat hybrid, since it changed for a different one as I drew, but such are the hazards of Urban Sketching!

Edinburgh in the warm September sunshine

Cafe sketching!

Well….I thought I had experienced everything with this travelling alone/peripatetic working lark!  But the last 24hours has been quite an experience!

This year I am continuing my ventures into establishing new and improved work practices as well as finding a better work/life balance than has been the case recently!

I work on a very tight budget at the moment, so accommodation solutions need to have the emphasis very definitely on the ‘cheap and cheerful’ side of things.  I’ve lots of experience at finding suitable places where I can both work and relax, as well as being in a convenient location so far as transport, food etc is concerned. The late and much lamented Caledonian Backpackers in Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, ticked all the boxes perfectly for me, but now I have had to start again……

To digress slightly….but it IS relevant to my subject…..last year I embarked on a quest to discover a source for experimenting with traditional fiddle playing . When at school, many many moons ago , I had studied classical violin to a reasonably competent level, sufficient for me to find myself playing 2nd violin in a 3-performance college production of “The Pirates of Penzance”, by Gilbert and Sullivan . But I found this an exhausting experience, and have since found that a slightly smaller instrument suits my frame better!  
I have enjoyed folk session playing in the past when I owned a studio in West Yorkshire, so , to cut a long story short, I now find myself thoroughly enjoying participating in a rapidly expanding fiddle playing group in the Scottish Borders , and am in the process of attempting to fit it into a new work schedule…..!

The logistics are NOT straightforward, as several bus journeys are involved, but I find that by discovering suitable budget accommodation in Edinburgh, I think I can fit everything around a regular Life Drawing  slot, too!  Bingo! (or at least I think this will work!)

So yesterday afternoon found me tramping through Old Town , fiddle and suitcase in tow, painting kit and laptop included, looking for the hostel where I’d booked myself in for a couple of nights…..I hadn’t been to this one before, but it seemed to be conveniently located for being within walking distance of transport and my various other needs….But what a disappointment!   Down a dark and gloomy street...rather grim and terse welcome….dark and gloomy passages...bareness ….nowhere comfortable to sit except my bunk….hmmmm!  Still, I didn’t feel exactly unsafe, so brought ALL my experience into play, draping scarves above my bunk to provide a modicum of privacy and to avoid disturbing others with my bedlight, which I was able to plug into my own extension board, together with my laptop!   At least there was reasonably adequate broadband in the room, and I was able to entertain myself and sleep adequately.

However, I did NOT fancy staying in this particular establishment a second night, and instead had booked myself a bed online at the Budget Backpackers on Cowgate...just along the road as it happens!  
WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  Smiling welcome even very early in the morning, and use of nearly ALL facilities , even though not yet checked in!   I was able to store all my stuff VERY securely, buy an excellent breakfast, and am as I write very happily ensconced in a corner of the excellent chillout room….I might even get some work done today!

Preparing my sketch kit for the day's work

Note the (nearly) unique bag!

  This hostel is well located , just by the Grassmarket, so is very convenient for shops and eateries etc.  There’s lots of sketching material around here, both inside and out, so WATCH THIS SPACE!

Handy seats for the sketcher in the Grassmarket!

One does take just a teency weency bit of a risk when choosing an independently run hostel online, and I know where I WON’T be staying again next time, but I’m delighted to have found the jackpot so soon!

Watercolour Challenges

King William IV pub, Pimlico

 

 

 

 

Determined to celebrate World Watercolour Month in a practical way, and finding myself visiting London for the first time in many , many moons, I dug out an old folding palette  and once there, dashed out to spend my last penny on some tube paints in my usual range of colours.  Really enjoyed the session, sitting outside the pub on a sunny day!

Beginning as part of a constant personal challenge to develop my work further, I was now beginning to enjoy the added discipline of drawing with a fountain pen, encouraged by Suhita Shirodkar  and Marc Taro Holmes  in their Craftsy classes!
I had hit on the idea of using a light grey ink in one of my fountain pens, particularly as this results in pencil-like lines, less insistent than black, and which I can add to or modify later with a different colour ink or paint.
I am now finding that I almost NEVER start drawing with a pencil when sketching, enjoying the added discipline of the pen and the ‘feel’ of the steel nib contacting the crisp surface of the paper!

Manchester Sketchkit

This summer has been a fast and furious one, hence my blog silence...many apologies to interested parties!

Heading for the 2016 International USK Symposium  in Manchester the following week, some of us photographed and/or drew our sketchkit. ‘Urban Sketching’ is all about drawing and painting on location, so the challenge is to organise and minimise the kit as efficiently as possible!

This was my first rough draft, on a handmade ‘concertina’ sketch booklet, but my pens didn’t like the paper, which was a fairly soft and absorbent watercolour paper...so I didn’t linger on that one!

My next attempt, this time broaching a tinted paper sketchbook, was much better, and I enjoyed doing this one!

As I had decided to spend July rediscovering watercolour for myself, responding to a Facebook challenge, this is the listI began to come up with! The list below describes the items in my picture, and isn’t my complete kit, as some items are carried in a belt pouch or my pockets!  The aim however is to make the whole thing as portable as possible.

1. Folding watercolour palette, featuring empty ‘wells’ into which to squeeze tube paint.
2.  Short ‘rigger’ brush, fitting inside palette
3.  Piston-filled brushpen, containing clear water
4. Uniball ‘Eye’ fine rollerball pen (for emergency use only) - I prefer the Japanese fine Platinum Carbon drawing pen (ink bottle pictured above) for drawing, but always try to carry backup in the form of spares and refills etc where possible. The pen I carry in my belt-pouch, which will feature in another article.
5. Short clear plastic ruler - I never use one for drawing, but it’s a useful thing to carry ‘on the road’!
6. The little wallet pictured underneath the palette here is made of a canvas-like material, and wraps neatly around my folded palette, a small plain A6 Moleskine Reporter’s Notebook, and a small pencil tin containing half a dozen little synthetic brushes!
7. The pencil-case contains the bottom bit of an old milk bottle (much lighter than a glass jar for water!), some tissues, a small jar of white opaque qouache paint, AND spare tubes of paint in my preferred range!
8. Also pictured are two ink bottles - both have good sealing lids (if in doubt I decant ink into leakproof Nalgene bottles) , containing Platinum Carbon ink and a beautiful blue-grey fountain pen ink which I use for drawing!

Belt Pouch Sketch Kit

My belt pouch!

Well I’ve been promising myself a chance to list the contents of my belt pouch ...one of the best purchases I’ve ever made!

I’ve drawn and pictured this excellent item on my Facebook page, but just see the list of stuff it can hold for me to have ready to hand when working in the field...really amazing! As you might be able to see in the photograph, the pouch sports two generous zipped compartments, plus bands and slots added at front and back to hold yet more useful things!

So - starting from the back of the pouch, and working forwards through the various sections of the pouch, here is a list of the items it is holding today:

1. Disposable craft knife
2. Packet of Cartridge refills for Pentel Brushpen
3. Jakar Battery eraser
4. Two Papermate disposable mechanical pencils (with small attached erasers)
5. Three ‘Derwent’ water soluble drawing graphite pencils, in Light Wash, Medium wash, Dark wash.
6. Nine Kuretake ‘CleanColor’ watercolour brushpens, in Light Violet, Brown, Blue, Light Blue, Emerald Green, Lemon Yellow, Ochre, Orange,Light Grey, Red.
7. Ten ‘Aquarelle’ water-soluble coloured pencils, in Sanguine, Indian Red, Scarlet, Empire Green, Light Ochre, Cinnamon, Ultramarine, Naples Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Sky Blue. (These colours may vary very slightly, according to the range of single colours available when I need to make a replacement).
8. Mitsubishi ‘Posca ‘ Fibre tip markers in white and black.
9. Two piston-filled fountain pens, pre-filled with brown and grey drawing ink
10. Small penknife
11. Bent-nib calligraphy pen
12. Pentel brushpen
13. Platinum Carbon fountain pen
14. ‘Signo’ rollerball white gel pen
15. Black biro

The above, combined with a large jacket pocket containing a tiny leakproof container, such as a film canister or ‘Nalgene’ bottle, pre filled with clean water, and/or a brushpen, with converter pre-filled with clear water, plus a tiny ‘pill’ box or tin, for sharpenings, and a small pocket plain Moleskine journalist’s notebook, are easy to pick up in a hurry, and provide all I need if travelling light, or trying to draw somewhere such as the Natural History Museum in Manchester, which doesn’t allow painting, as such, on the premises, but are very helpful and encouraging to anyone who wants to draw the wonderful exhibits!
So…..getting on to about forty items in all - Phew !