by Chris | Feb 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
This was drawn whilst out with the Birmingham Urban Sketchers group, at the Chinese New Year celebrations in February 2019. It was cold and people were still setting up as it was early. If you look hard you can just see another sketchers sitting behind the tub with greenery on top! Moving on I squeezed behind the crowds watching musical performances on the sound stage and enjoying the sight of three small children on their Dad’s shoulders decided to have a go at the drawing, keeping the composition a vertical slice to see what happened. I don’t know how it’s going to look until it’s done but I liked doing this one! We all met up later on at The Victoria on Station Street, a very dark building within a shadowy backstreet. It was bitingly cold but this was an irresistible view and three others were having a go at the same time which made it a much more enjoyable experience. Especially when we all compare sketchbooks over a beer at the end of the day. And on the way home I can’t resist one last drawing. Platform 12b which takes me back to Malvern Link at the end of a fun day with a great bunch of other hardy sketchers!...
by Chris | Feb 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
This is one of my favourite views of the town of Great Malvern, looking across the rooftops of Malvern Priory and the Priory Gatehouse. The warmth of the stone and the variety of architectural styles combine to an elegant whole that is typical of the town. I worked this up from photographs taken but also from a sketch I did some time earlier on the spot. Here is the sketch...
by Chris | Mar 28, 2018 | Uncategorized
CADIZ AND JEREZ Sketching trip 8th -15th May 2016 A travelogue as written up in my sketchbooks alongside my sketches during the trip. CADIZ Monday 9th May 16 My arrival in Cadiz has been characterised by sudden and violent thunderstorms, a deluge of biblical proportions, and then clearing to bright sunshine towards the end of the day. This causes problems for even a seasoned outdoor sketcher such as I am. So as my first morning was heavy rain showing no signs of improvement I found a recessed doorway in the Cathedral and managed to draw and aint the scene before me, in which is the Church of Santiago. If the watercolour sketch looks a bit messy and wet – well that’s how it was! Even in the Cathedral Square one can taste the sea breeze, the air is fresh and I think Cadiz is always windy. Just behind the Cathedral the Atlantic Ocean licks the shore and there is a lovely scene before me. Making the most of sunshine I draw the scene but don’t notice a fresh storm creeping up. A few drops, and then a deluge! I pack up hurriedly but am soaked through and then it’s all gone again in minuts. But with a dark sky behind the domes of the Cathedral I like the drama and tried to convey it in my watercolour. It’s a messy sketch but I was buffeted by the elements and the Gods were toying with me! Strictly speaking the paper this is drawn on is not watercolour paper but it’s doing me well. (Fabriano Accademia drawing paper) The end...
