Festival time and a new bag design
The Edinburgh International Festival begins today and the city is buzz with excitement. I fought through the crowds to sketch a show at the Festival Theatre.
It is August once again and love it or hate it the festival has arrived and the city is crammed with excited tourists and even more excited performers as a million and one shows commence seemingly all at once.
I blagged my way into a preview of Please Right Back at the Festival Theatre and absolutely loved the mix of dream like hand crafted animations on huge screens and great acting on stage superbly timed movement and direction which had me hooked from the opening scene.
I scribbled away as actors seamlessly combined with the animation behind to have me believe they were in the world of carton creations. The story tells of a father who becomes separated from his family and how creativity and imagination used in letters between the father and his children help them through the trauma.
There is so much to see in Edinburgh right now but I hope to get back to see how this one ends, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a fast paced visually stimulating story shown in such a unique way.
Read more about Please Right Back which runs until Sunday 11th August here.
Local designs for neighbourhood totes.
I have been working on a number of sketches around Stockbridge for a new range of localised postcards and giftcards. I like to focus on the everyday views that might go unnoticed or often taken for granted when we are rushing about but which often people who live there have great affection for.
I am still working on the 8 sketches which I will narrow down to a set of 6 and may well ask you for your advice in the next newsletter. But for now I wanted to show you a bit of my process and how a sketch can be used in many ways.
This sketch is the view down North West Circus Place past the market and towards the Water of Leith. The original sketch may we go to be a gift card but I wanted to also use it as a possible tote bag. I thought it would be good to simplify the drawing and wanted to create a painterly simple style and so made this painting below with ink and a small brush.
I liked the painty style but wanted more detail in the centre so photographed the sketch and using my iPad I added detail to the buildings in the centre and faded out the thickness off the lines from the centre focal point. I also added market tents to the left to help make it more recognisable as Stockbridge.
And here is the finished piece mocked up on a tote bag. The sky is added on the computer and so I could change that to a sunset orange perhaps. Let me know what you think. Would you buy one of these for around £10, or would you like one of your neighbourhood?
All the best, Mark ES
Love this! And it's fantastic to see your process too. I'd love one of the canal by Harrison Park, either where the boathouse is or the view looking towards Polwarth Parish Church. Definitely worth a tenner!