Tag Archives: tour

Speed Sketching in the New Town and the Portrait Gallery

Dublin StreetI am very pleased to announce new dates for my popular speed sketching workshops, this time in the New Town with Arienas Collective, a new creative hub in the heart of Edinburgh.

Join us as we explore Edinburgh’s New Town and Portrait Gallery with sketchbook in hand, using ink and watercolour to record our city tour.

For the first time we will take watercolours with us which will enable us to capture more of what we see and more time out drawing before we return to our New Town base for a cuppa.

You will take home your favourite drawing in a frame plus a number of other personal pieces documenting your journey, creating a lovely package of self made art as well as an improved confidence in your own ability.

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This workshop will run as both a full and half day introductory class to speed sketching, and also as a half day advanced course where we will make a montage of a particular location using your sketches. It is also available as a private group booking for up to 10 people.

Please see the link below for more details and to book through Arienas Collective. I look forward to meeting and sketching with you soon.

More details and to book your place on the New Town speed sketching class click here.

 

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Rabbie’s Trail Burners launch a new tour and a convertible coach

RabbiesBusCafeI’ve long said locals should take a tour bus around their city now and again to appreciate what they have, and now there’s a brand new Edinburgh City Tour to try.

Rabbie’s Trail Burners have been running small tour groups since 1993 and are famed for delivering small (max 16 people), personal tours around the UK.

Today they launched a brand new Edinburgh City Tour highlighting the sights and attractions of their home town. The 85 minute trip departs hourly from Waverley Bridge between 9am and 7pm, and costs £20 for adult, £10 for a child.

So whether a local or a visitor, take a tour around Edinburgh and take in all that makes the city great!

My sketch above shows Rabbie’s new convertible bus in front of their cafe on Waterloo place, which was where I drew this weeks WhereArtI quiz from. See that sketch HERE.

Today’s sketch is drawn in black ink with a watercolour wash.

 

Edinburgh City Tour on Rabbie’s website

Sketching the secrets of the Royal Mile

MercatTour110416_3LocationsOn the 23rd April I will be pairing up with Mercat Tours to provide a Sketching and Storytelling Tour of the Royal Mile.

In preparation for this dream collaboration I tagged along on the Secrets Of The Royal Mile tour this week, and made a few sketches along the way. The above sketch includes three locations: The Mercat Cross (top), Borthwick’s Close and Tweeddale Court.

The Royal Mile is where I began Edinburgh Sketcher, inspired by the tall narrow buildings, winding cobbled closes and rough knobbly walls that people have brushed along for hundreds of years.

I am thrilled to be combining Edinburgh’s history and my passion for drawing, so come sketching with me and Hannah, our Mercat guide – you will find out some fascinating and very funny Scottish history, and learn some speed sketching skills to enable you to to capture your visit as a piece of art.

All abilities are welcome, sketching is all about enjoying your surroundings, relaxing into the moment and noticing the beauty that is all around us. Sketching by the Mile from Mercat Tours will take place on Saturday 23 April at 10am. The tour has a very limited group size so booking in advance at the link below is recommended to avoid disappointment.

These sketches are all made with fine liner black pens and watercolour, which we will be using on the tour. 

 

Sketching by the Mile on Mercat Tours website
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An upcoming sketch and history tour at Canongate Kirk

CanongateKirk_gateAfter the success of my in residence Sketch Workshops at Lauriston Castle join me for my next class, which is combined with a history tour and will take place within the grounds of Canongate Kirk on Saturday 5th September.

Together with The Friends Of The Canongate Kirk charity you will learn about the residents of the Royal Mile’s Canongate Kirk, which dates back to the 17th Century. Plus learn speed sketching skills and pen and ink drawing techniques that will build confidence and enable you to create your own pieces of art on location.

 

The tour runs form 3-5pm on Saturday 5th September and is £20 per adult with children under 16 years of age just £5. For more information and to book your place on the one off limited tour call Laura at TFOTCK on 07783 293594

 

I look forward to seeing you there!

 

The Friends Of The Canongate Kirk on facebook

 

Happy little camper

MakeWorks_vanbwHave you seen this tartan camper? It recently travelled the length and breadth of Scotland in search of creative Scots. 

This is ‘Rhubarb’ the happy camper van which took the Make Works team on a three month tour of Scotland, searching out the factories, foundries, workshops and studios that help make the country such a creative powerhouse.

 

I’ll tell you more once the sketch is coloured in….

 

A trip to Loch Ness; Sketches from the NessBus

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Yesterday I travelled to Loch Ness and back on board the NessBus, and these are my rough sketches from a great day out.

 

We left Edinburgh just after 8am and in the following 12 hours packed in an unbelievable amount of sights, sounds and history from this wonderful country.

As we pootled around Scotland in a wee orange bus our guide for the day told of battles both recent and ancient, of uprisings and massacres, of Clan origins and place name meanings.

The fact I felt the time had flown by even though we had covered a staggering 350 miles was testament to how we were looked after and kept busy with a packed itinerary. That and the fact a dram or two was had at the afternoon distillery tour!

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These are my quick sketches from the day. I am going to create a bigger illustration using elements of these and photographs I took on the tour.

I wouldn’t usually show workings at this stage but I thought it might be interesting for you to see my rough work from the day, before the final sketch is completed.