Tag Archives: autumn

Autumnal symmetry at the Gyle Shopping Centre

The Gyle - WAI041117 EENLast week I was out at the Gyle shopping centre for a meeting and noticed this avenue of colour which separates the shops from the offices.

In the centre is a small sculpture which I thought to be in the form of a plant but thanks to Canmore online I found our it is called ‘Stacked Spades’ which I rather like. I couldn’t find out who made it though so please let me know if you can.

There are a number of sculptures throughout the 90’s development, and with the added colours from this beech hedge make for some beautiful views in an unexpected location.

Drawing made on location in black ink fineliner and watercolour, in an artgecko sketchbook

The Gyle Shopping Centre website.

Christmas is building, in Princes Street Gardens

Princes St Gardens building ChristmasThis morning whilst walking from the old to new town I noticed Princes Street Gardens is once again busy becoming a Christmas Wonderland.

On a rainy day in Edinburgh with the leaves still changing from green to orange to red is it perhaps hard to imagine the city in it’s Christmas guise, but the season will soon be here.

If you are in town during the next few days you will notice the transformation taking place ahead of the grand opening on the 17th November. Find out more about all the shows and attractions on over the festive period via the link below.

Edinburgh’s Christmas website

Christmas building 2017 Black

WhereArtI 16th October : Autumn Colours in Edinburgh

ES WAI161017Can you tell me where in Edinburgh I have sketched?

If so click the link below to email me your answer. I will pick a random winner from all correct answers on Tuesday morning.

Through October I have 5 pairs of tickets to this years Foodies Festival Christmas event in Edinburgh. Each week the randomly picked winner will receive a pair of tickets. 

Foodies Festival Christmas takes place at the EICC in Edinburgh and tickets allow entrance to one session, either Friday 24th November (17:00 – 21:00), Saturday 25th November (10.00 – 18.00) or Sunday 26th November (10.00 – 18.00). Names will be put on a guest list rather than tickets sent out.

Click HERE to enter your answer

Usually the answer will be within Edinburgh, but on the first Monday of the month the competition is Scotland wide. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feeds for clues if they are needed.

I hope you join us to play along and keep looking up and noticing the details and the beauty in the everyday, you never know where I will be sketching next time!

Enter via the link above or email contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com with the subject line ‘WhereArtI 16th October 2017’.

Foodies Festival Christmas website

EICC website

Stunning autumn colours at Liberton Kirk in Edinbugh

libertonkirkLiberton Kirk in the south of Einburgh city is currently awash with gorgeous red ivy. When I saw a picture online I now I had to visit.

Sketching on a beautiful calm and sunny morning I was reminded what lovely spaces church yards are, perfect green spaces through out the city perfect for a quiet walk through the falling leaves of this special time of year.

Almost the whole front of the kirk is covered in ivy which is currently a glorious reddy orange but take a look on the Liberton Kirk website and you will see images of the kirk in beautiful greens during the summer.

I met a photographer trying to capture the colours on show and a friendly nursery class collecting orange and red leaves in tiny baskets to take in to the warmth and make an autumn picture from.

I must do that this weekend with the Sketcher Twins 🙂

This sketch was made with a 0.5 fine liner and watercolour using a water brush. Drawn on location. 

Liberton Kirk website

libertonphoto

Autumn in the Meadows park, Edinburgh

MeadowsAutumnThere’s a wonderful show of colour currently in Edinburgh, as Autumn waves a magic wand over all our trees.

Everyone should take a walk through the beautiful colours of the Meadows park just now as October runs into November and the Edinburgh central park runs from green through bright yellows to vibrant oranges and deep dark reds.

 

I tried to capture a few of these colours this afternoon with my watercolours, but to be honest similarly to taking a photograph, the reproduction is a poor relation to the real thing.

 

BikeMeadows

Autumn sketching for #EdinHour on twitter

Autumnleaves_edinhourLast night I took part in some live sketching online, for 60 minutes during #EdinHour on twitter I posted several photographs of my sketch as it came to life.

 

As the people at EdinHour explain; ‘#hours are mass chat sessions on twitter on a given subject, virtually always on a regular basis such as ‘the first Friday of each Month at 8pm’. They are operated through a specific hashtag ending in ‘hour’.’

 

So #EdinHour is all about Edinburgh and each month there is a different subject and list of questions to start the conversation off. Last nights was all about Autumn. I thought it would be fun to draw a sketch within the hour to show my process in stages which a viewer of the final piece would not usually see.

 

Thankfully I completed the drawing, although I could of done more to it, in the time and the experiment was a success. My final sketch of leaves which I drew from a photo I had taken this week in the Botanics is above. Photos from the different stages, including the initial photo are below.

 

I hope it gives you a little more insight into the sketching process. I also decided to give away the print to one lucky #EdinHour tweeter last night and that person is Jane Carnall @EyeEdinburgh

 

edinhourleavesedinhour1 edinhour2 edinhour3 edinhour4 edinhour5 edinhour6

 

The next #EdinHour is on December 10th from 9-10pm. Log on to twitter and join in the conversation.

 

#EdinHour website

 

Five trees at the Scottish Parliament

ScottishParliament_TreesI walk through this park outside the Scottish Parliament most days, but today the colours of these five trees stopped me in my tracks.

 

I have tried to capture their beauty in the strong November sunshine with a touch of watercolour, on top of a black ink sketch drawn on location. The concrete seats in the foreground and angled pond to the right make up a beautifully landscaped garden, which today was full of the worlds media waiting on the SNP’s White Paper for Scottish Independence. I was looking the other way 🙂

 

 

  • The Scottish Parliament

 

A beautiful tree, shedding leaves in Queen’s Park

TreeLeaves2This is one of my favourite trees, I have seen it in snow, rain and glorious sunshine.

 

I had no time to colour it this morning, so instead I’ve surrounded it with colour from the ground.

I pass this tree most days and often think I should take a photo of it in all the different seasons. Perhaps a sketch instead, I think it is the perfect shape for a tree. I’ll add colour perhaps digitally and then post them together to show the difference.

 

Autumn colour on Calton Hill

NelsonMonumentAutumn
Autumn is at it’s best just now in Edinburgh, surrounding us with lush greens, rich reds and burnt oranges.

I’ve been carrying a pack of colourful oil pastels around with me for a week or so, since opening the box to find colours ideal to capture the changing season.

Today I headed for the nearby Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile. I was about to sketch a few trees, which were glowing amber against the grey/green of the headstones in the graveyard, when I spotted Nelson’s Monument, surrounded by golden trees on Calton Hill .

 

Here is a photo taken with Calton Hill in the background. The oil pastels spread into and over each other to create a thick surface of colour. Great fun!

 

CaltonHillsmall

 

 

 

Autumn in the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh

AutumnLeavesCones_RBGEToday’s sketch is of a few items I gathered after a lovely walk through the Botanics on Sunday. 

 

Fir cones, pine needles and golden, crunchy leaves. All things which now carpet the RBGE grounds along with busy squirrels, gathering the falling acorns and stashing them out of sight. Head there just now to see the wonderful colours as the low autumn sunshine streams through the few leaves that still hang on the trees.

 

I could spend days, weeks there and not sketch the same scene twice. Hopefully I’ll be back soon. This sketch is drawn in fine liner ink, no pencil. With a water colour wash to finish.

 

  • The Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh