Newbury, Berkshire (skyline)

Urban panoramas are a bit tricky. You've got to get all the roofs to line up and be the right size, and sometimes you run out of paper on the right hand side.. (especially if you are right handed).

But Newbury has a wonderful skyline. Some fascinating roofs: ancient, modern and inbetween.

I was standing on the top floor of a multistorey car park, awaiting my family's return from an extra bit of shopping, so I knew I didn't have long. Having run out of paper before including the church, it was a relief to find that I had time to do a separate drawing, and a bonus to be able to add the pen clarifications below the first drawing, which was made in 6B graphite stick.

Thatcham... from a couple of car parks

From Waitrose's car park
(Japanese calligraphy pen and blue gel pen)

From The Swan's car park
(Derwent Graphik Line Painters)

I had cause to be in Thatcham for just over an hour this afternoon. Not long, but long enough to buy some oddments from Waitrose, grab a free coffee and sketch the backs of some of the premises on the town's markeplace from the corner of the supermarket car park. (The view from my car was less than inspiring, so I stood outside and ignored the other shoppers almost as much as they ignored me).

And I had some time left over, so I drove to the outskirts and parked in a pub car park for ten minutes. I didn't dare go further out of town in case I got caught the wrong side of the level crossing; I had to be somewhere in Thatcham promptly! The canal was invisible, the hills nearly so; but there were plenty of trees and the footbridge over the railway mad an interesting focal point.

St. Mary's, Melton Mowbray, from Edgerton Lodge Gardens

This is a view of the town I grew up in. From a photograph taken in February 2013, on a return visit. I used a fuller palette for this sunlit winter scene.

Acrylic ink and watercolour on 300 g/m² fine grain / cold pressed (NOT) watercolour pad, 18 x 24 cm