Tag Archives: ink

Where the bicycles meet

Fine lines and sketchy scribbles on Jeffrey Street.

My first sketch of Edinburgh in the new year is this view of bicycles on Jeffrey Street. I was there visiting my latest collaborating stockist, Hot Toddy who have a cafe and give great whisky tasting tours to locals and visitors to the city.

I have noticed this view before, I love the lines cross crossing through the picture and the depth that the bikes plus the Balmoral in the background give to my sketch.

I sketched with my favoured Uni Pin Fineliners and then added a quick watercolour wash to give a little colour to the famous hotel in the distance.

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you continue to follow my sketching journey through 2024. Mark 🙂

Autumnal Walks

Wonderful colours under my feet.

Finally got chance to add some colour to this ink sketch of my boots on a walk around Edinburgh.

I had posted the photo a couple of weeks ago as I just loved the autumn colours and perspective from my morning wintry walk. I also posted the sketch below as I added the ink, taking my time to add plenty of detail with cross hatching.

The more I looked at the photo the more colours I saw, like the blue in the boots reflected form the stormy skies above.

Now with colour I thought this would look great as a print, and as I sketched it in my A5 pad then it will easily blow up to fill an A3 sheet. I am going to print a couple and see how they look, if you would like a signed version then follow the link below to my etsy page.

See this print in my Etsy Shop

Views across to Fife

A favourite place for a summers evening walk, The Old Chain Pier has great views across the Forth.

I live just along a bit from here and its a nice half hour wander with a pint at the end, and those views are amazing. Seals are often seen from the window seats and they also have outdoor seating overlooking the bay between Granton and Newhaven.

The Old Chain Pier website.

A Sunny Hawthornvale

Click to zoom in

A bright and sunny sketch of one of my favourite streets.

Hawthornvale, which runs down from Newhaven Road to Lindsay Road and the fab little cafe, the Haven which sits opposite the Chancellot Mill.

We nearly bought a flat here once, they have wonderful views especially the ones that have windows on both sides. I did draw a nice commission once of the view from one of the flats. I will see if I can find it and post it below.

I noticed today the street has had double yellow lines painted down the right hand side, which now means as you can see there are no cars parked along the pavement.

There is also a strange pavement/road thing at the top which I didn’t quite understand and to me looks a little dangerous for pedestrians.

Spring has sprung

Pops of colour which mean spring, and then summer are on their way.

A clear sign It was a beautiful march morning here in Edinburgh today. Sun shining and a blue sky but bitterly cold. There was a feel of spring being just around the corner though, and that lifted my spirits.

Daffodils are springing up all over and their strong yellow colour is also a happy sign for me. This one I picked and sketched quickly before putting it in a vase of water.

The line work can make my drawings a little dark which is why I maybe over did the saturated colours. I might try again before the season is over.

Half hour sketching

There is always time for a quick sketch. My boy James is at music class on this sunny Saturday morning and I though I’d wait in the warm car, engine off, and make a little sketch from the George Watson’s car park.

After posting this on social media I soon realised I was not alone in having this view on a weekend as plenty of parents recognised this situation. I love that James loves his music and although its a morning drive across town for 30 minutes of instruction I feel he gets a lot out of this confidence wise.

And maybe one day he’ll be playing the pipes on the high street 🙂

August workshop sketching

This week I have had a couple of workshops with Arienas Collective in the New Town.

It is great welcoming visitors to the city and on Sunday I was introducing a sketcher from New Mexico to Circus Lane, their first time seeing this iconic Edinburgh street.

I just love the curve of the cobbles as the pretty houses turn away into the distance. It is the perfect place to end my perspectives workshop.

It was a beautifully sunny day on Sunday, I do admit were a little creative with the sky for this one though 😉