Tag Archives: beach

Daily Sketch

Run free

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Family fun on the beach

Inspired by a friends timeline photo of their son on the beach, I just loved the composition and feeling of fun and freedom in the image.

Ink pen on a watercolour pad with a little colour added for the sky. Simple. I loved the photo, it took me back to playing on the beach, balancing along a log and running free! 

I put the sketch in a mount and sent it to the parent. I love looking back at sketches like this of my two when they were little, I find sketches hold more of a memory than a photo in some ways. More of a rounded experience memory.

If you would like one of you photos sketched like this then get in touch at contact@edinburghsketcher.com

Daily Sketch

Escaped to the sunshine

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A family break in beautiful and very hot Mallorca.

Our second time on Mallorca as a family and the friendly relaxed vibe hit us as soon as we arrived on the island.

We have friends there and in the past family and so know the island well and I recommend it for a family destination with something for all ages and tastes. We hired a car for a few days, stayed in Port De Pollenca and here are a few of my sketches from the trip.

Port De Pollensa Square, nice and quite here before the weekly market took over with fresh flowers, fruit and leather fashions.

Sketching from the sun lounger and shadows on the hotel

Another one by the pool, this time in ink and this started with the parasol and just stretched out from there.

This church ‘Esglesia Del Calvari’ was at the top of a 365 stone staircase in the old town of Pollenca. A stunning place with views to match, I can hear the cicadas or tree crickets just looking at this sketch.

And here is one of James on the beach building castles. I did go and help once I had finished my sketch!

And finally a lovely palm tree 🙂

Daily Sketch

Stormy clouds Over Granton Breakwater

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Threatening skies over Wardie Bay yesterday afternoon. I don’t think the wet weather is done just yet.

Amazing downpours in Edinburgh the last few days with devastating results for many businesses and homes being flooded, so I do hope you are all doing well.

Last night the waters were calm along the Granton breakwater when my family and I took an evening stroll. The skies were saying more rain is coming. Hopefully it blows past and the worst is over. I heard over half a months rainfall fell in just 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Good for the garden though I suppose, and the ducks 😉

This sketch is available as a print here:
Stormy Skies print on Etsy

Daily Sketch

A trip to Elie in Fife

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On Sunday the family and I took a trip over the bridge into Fife and a drive along the coast took us to Elie.

A fabulous place, beautiful and so pretty with a couple of idyllic sandy bays to explore.

It was a little colder and a little cloudier than our visit a couple of weeks ago but still so beautiful. We swam in the bay ( with our new wet suits on) and explored the rock pools before having a delicious lunch at The Ship Inn, Elie, which has this idyllic view of the bay.

I can’t wait to return, but need a kayak to take back with me. Hi

#visitscotland#visitfife#thatsfife#eliebeach#fifelife#triptotheseaside

Daily Sketch

Seaside Fish and chips

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A weekend trip to the sea side and although it was a bit windy we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed some fish and chips looking out to Bass Rock.

Being Coeliac I cannot usually have a fish in batter as not all chippys serve a gluten free option. So it was a welcome surprise to see that the Rocketeer Restaurant in North Berwick did and I highly recommend their light and crispy batter.

The Sketcher family were in East Lothian for the day and decided to visit North Berwick for a walk along the beach and some lunch. How nice it is again to be able to travel further and eat out. Simple things that were once taken for granted, before the pandemic and lock down of 2020.

I look forward to heading out again along the coast and finding more relish foods along the way!

The Rocketeer Restaurant website

This sketch was drawn with a pencil and then watercolour added over the top.

Daily Sketch

Wardie Bay

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A family walk down the front at Granton and the small beach which lies between the break water and Granton Harbour.

I live just up the hill from here and have often wanted to sketch the colourful houses which line the curved road, looking out to the Forth.

This drawing I drew during the lock down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and so took a photo and worked on it form home.

You can see a timelapse of me sketching the piece below, and if you would like to buy a print or the original then get in touch. Prints start at £18 and the original which measures approx 240mm x 180mm is £45.

A speeded up version of my sketch being created
Daily Sketch

Highlighting the plastic tide beneath the Forth Bridges

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Ferryscraig BeachClean 2On Saturday 2nd June I took part in a beach clean on Ferrycraigs Beach in North Queensferry, recently named the worst in the UK for nurdle pollution.

Nurdles are small pieces of plastic which are the raw material used in the manufacture of plastic products. Spills and mishandling by industry can mean nurdles end up in the sea and wash up on our beaches.

Many nurdles are also consumed by marine animals and seabirds who mistake them for food, and it isn’t hard to see why after seeing how small, colourful and abundant on our beaches. Scotland has 10% of Europe’s coastline, and 61% of the UK waters meaning in Scotland we will feel the impact of marine pollution more than others.

Ferryscraig BeachClean 1

When we first arrived at Ferrycraigs I was astounded by the beauty of the location, nestled between the Forth Road Bridge and New Queensferry Crossing the instinct is to look up at these awe inspiring gigantic structures towering above us and the stunning views across the Firth of Forth.

However when I did look down I was equally shocked by the amount of plastic washed up on this small beach. I initially mistook the nurdles for the sand they had mixed with, then realised the ground was covered in them.

Organised by Adventures Around Scotland travel blogger Susanne Arbuckle and Catherine Gemmell, the Scottish Conservation Officer for the Marine Conservation Society UK, our group of 35 volunteers collected 12kg of rubbish in about an hour, including 861 pieces of plastic, which does not include the nurdles as these were too many to count!

Although it sounds a lot to collect it was slightly depressing to see the small dent we had made on the beach but as Susanne states on her website:

 

Small actions make a difference and the more people that carry out small actions, the greater difference it makes.”

 

For more information and to get involved see the links below. Illustrations were made on location with a fineliner and watercolour set.

Adventures Around Scotland website

Marine Conversation Society UK website 

Daily Sketch

Beach sketching in warmer weather, at Elie in Fife

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elie-beachA beautiful curved golden beach awaits in the small fishing village of Elie, in Fife where the Sketcher clan and I took a day trip earlier this month.

Sitting on the sunny side of the Forth we looked out across the water to North Berwick and the Berwick Law, the mound in the distance on my sketch.

We rock pooled, bult sandcastles and moats and collected seashells before grabbing a bag of chips in Queensferry on the way home. Summer time bliss to close out the season 🙂

Sketch drawn on location with ink and watercolour

My Elie sketch is available as an original 200x150mm watercolour for £50 or via my online shop as a print in two sizes. 150×100 = £18 or 297x210mm = £32. Prices do not include postage.

Daily Sketch

Painting Portobello in April showers

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PortobelloBeach_noprintToday I visited Portobello promenade, a great place to take a stroll along the seaside and feel the sand under your feet.

Unsettled is a good word for the weather, glorious sunshine against dark skies followed by brief showers of cold rain. I sketched from the beach between showers to create this piece which includes drops of rain and grains of sand.

This piece is drawn on 220gsm paper with black ink and watercolour. It measures 250x160mm and is this months never to be printed original sketch, for sale for £150 in a mount or £175 in a frame. 

Contact me at contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com to purchase this one off sketch, first come first served. 

Below are a couple of photos from the beach.

 

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Daily Sketch

Street sketching with Zoo Arts Extra in North Edinburgh and a visit to ‘Brick Beach’ in Granton

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ZooArts_BeachWalkRecently I took part in a beach walk with children and young adults from the North Edinburgh Arts group, ‘Zoo Arts Extra’.

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We visited Granton’s ‘brick’ beach, so called because of all the corroded red bricks found along the coast line. Before we set off we watched some slides of environmental artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Tony Plant to inspire us.

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On the way we passed through Granton’s new housing development, past the Gas Works and the board walk water area where 2 swans have made a nest.

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Once on the beach we set up camp for the day, arranging a circle of bricks and quickly getting a small fire going. Below are some of the photos from the day, as we made various works of art: balancing stones, forts, spirals and circles using drift wood and shells.

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We had a great time and the children really got into and expe#ressed themselves with their creations. The rock climbing and toasted marshmallows were also a big hit!!

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Click HERE to see a stop motion video on the Zoo Arts Extra Facebook page. I made the animation with Declan, Joshua and Dylan with the above spiral of bricks on the beach, and my camera phone.

 

Take a look at the links below for more photos and information about the day.

Zoo Arts Exra Facebook page

North Edinburgh Arts website