Hove Roof Tops

Yesterday, I went to Brighton with my children. But I parked in Hove (actually), as part of a plan that was largely scuppered by a derailment outside Brighton station.

This is the view from the top of the multistorey car park in Hove.

Langrishing

Langrish (sepia ink)

My car broke down on the A272 yesterday. It developed a coolant leak...

Two Random Sketches

Trees in Molotow marker;daffodils in coloured pencil.

St. Uny's, Lelant

The final resting place of Peter Lanyon, the St. Ives artist.

Quick sketches using Rotring ArtPen.

Hot Cross Buns

Derwent Drawing pencil

East Pool Agar Limited

It was a little damp and chilly yesterday, but we were also following an Easter Egg trail, so there wasn't much time for sketching...

Newbury Racecourse

...Station. Drawn while waiting for the steam train. Complete with soon-to-be-demolished, tallest-building-in-Newbury, derelict-and-dangerous, interesting-industrial-relict Sterling Cables.

The Mayflower at Newbury Racecourse

Newbury Racecourse has a railway station that is often used by mainline steam trains to take on water (it's not a busy station, and it has a convenient siding). Rose and I managed to be there while the Cathedrals Express, pulled by the Mayflower, was taking on water en route to Exeter this morning. This is my sketch from the platform on the other line.

It's a bit of a mish-mash, my sketch - there's Rotring ArtPen Indian ink, indigo calligraphy ink delivered via the Sailor pen, and Derwent Drawing pencils.

Partial Eclipse of the mist

 Yesterday, Britain experienced a partial eclipse of the sun. Well, I say "experienced", but it was something of a damp squib, really, where I was.

I went up onto the hills, thinking that - should the mist clear - it might be a good vew point. It was... for sketching hills shrouded in mist...

I only knew when the partial eclipse was happening because I looked at my watch. There weren't any other signs that I was aware of)..

The Guildhall Steps

As lunchtime approaches, the steps of Portsmouth's Guildhall seem to get more popular. These people didn't sit as still as Charlie, but they were a sight easier to capture than the brisk, busy, pedestrians and riders of mobility scooters who were gone almost before I'd scribbled a head or a leg...

The first three sketches were done with the Rotring ArtPen. I then retreated to the car (parked by the Guildhall) and switched to mechanical pencil for this slightly larger sketch:

Charlie

Statue of Charles Dickens outside Portsmouth Guildhall. The author was born in the city. My drawing: Rotring ArtPen in A6 book.

Portmouth Historic Dockyards

HMS Warrior with the Spinnaker tower hinted at behind it

I took my children to Portsmouth today, and we visited the Historic Dockyards. There was a great deal to see, learn, and sketch there - I am delighted that our ticket is valid for a whole year!

All sketches are ~A6 and are done in ink, usng either the Rotring ArtPen (black ink) or the Japanese calligraphy pen (indigo ink).

I did a lot of speed sketching, especially on the Harbour tour (by catamaran), which had the advantage, on this chilly day, of being undercover and warm...

The following is a selection from my sketchbook.

The "Lipstick", sketched during the boat's stop at Gunwharf Quays

Three small sketches of leisure craft in Portsmouth Harbour, from the Harbour Tour boat

Children cannot resist the lure of the screen... in the Mary Rose museum

Some of the Mary Rose's preserved timbers

Some of the Mary Rose's visitors, near the end of the route through the museum

Preparatory Sketch - Clasp

This sketch is an idea for a painting. I have, in fact, started work on the painting, which is to be an acrylic on 40 x 40 cm box canvas.

Back so soon? The Devil's Den and Fyfield Down, in company

The Den, in Conté, on orange paper

Wiltshire was calling me, and I paid it heed...

Today, I went back to the Devil's  Den, this time with my friend, Rose.The weather was much kinder today, and we both got quite a few sketches made. We started at the Den itself, and then walked around and through the "Grey Wethers" sarsen fields.

The Den, from the same position, in Indigo ink

My first two sketches were made while I sat on the ground. I wanted a low viewpoint to emphasise the drama of the monument against the sky. By the time that I had completed two sketches, my legs were going to sleep, so I thought it best to stand up and find another viewpoint:

The Den, from the side, in oil pastel

Early sightings of the sarsen field were impressive:

 Fyfield Down, Conté

... as were the rolling downs themselves.

Line drawing (walk-and-draw), Uniball

The Devil's Den, Fyfield Down, Wiltshire

The weather was very changeable on Fyfield Down yesterday. One moment the sky was blue and the light was sharply unreal; the next, it was dull and raining. Or hailing.

It might not have been ideal conditions for paper, let alone the preponderance of watersoluble media that I had with me... the first sketch (top left), in Graphitint (tinted water-soluble graphite pencils) was effectively rained-off. I went to shelter in the lee of the dolmen, and drew the second sketch from there, also in Graphitint. I added ink lines to both sketches from the shelter of the stones.

Then the weather cleared and I thought I would try a watercolour. It rained. The results (including the effect of closing the front cover of the book on the soggy painting) are shown below left.

I added more watercolour and acrylic ink at home (above right), but I'm not really all that happy with it - not least because of the "more watercolour" bit. Watercolour is a medium in which less is more, and overworking it is generally a recipe for disaster!

I did try watercolour again today, from a photograph that I took yesterday.

Edit (April 2018) -
See also:

• Back so soon? The Devil's Den and Fyfield Down, in company
• More Lino
• Devil's Den

Predictable Use of Highlighter

These drawings were made on the move - walking, not cycling! - during a short family walk/cycle. They are mainly done (in my current A6 book) using liquid ink rollerball pens; the orange of my son's hi-vis vest was added at home with a highlighter.

The sketch opposite my cycling son is a fairly impressionistic version of the "tree-tunnel" footpath that we were following at one point.

Avebury in February

A busy day today, including a visit to the framer's, a conciliatory hot chocolate for my children who were obliged to accompany me, and a jaunt to Avebury to meet friends. It mostly didn't rain while we were in Avebury itself - or at least, I don't think it did. We did spend quite a bit of time in the pub over our lunch.

The sketches were all made before lunch, and were all done in indigo ink with the Japanese calligraphy pen that I mentioned (and illustrated) in "Little Extras".

St. Mark and St. Luke, Avington

Church vertebrae? - 6B Graphite stick

A sketching expedition in the rain; an intriguing little 12th century Norman church. Made for each other

Over the Hills to the Pub (and back)

This is the first sketch in my new pocket-sized sketchbook (approximately A5). It was done without pausing - we were on our way to the pub for lunch, and we didn't want to be late!

 I did get to pause briefly for this one as we waited for our bicycling children to, er, push their bikes up the steep bit...

And there was leisure a-plenty at the pub.

But we had to walk home, and the sun was setting, so I was still drawing on the hoof...

These three people were not the best subject for a walk-and-draw, but they looked interesting silhouetted against the sky.

St. Mary's, Kingsclere - some detail sketches

Two rather quick sketches of parts of the splendid church of St. Mary's in Kingsclere. Both executed with the Japanese calligraphy pen.