Tag Archives: watercolour

Daily Sketch

Calton Hill views over the city

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On Wednesday I was out sketching in the warm spring air, capturing the Edinburgh skyline for an upcoming feature with Edinburgh Evening News.

The morning was overcast but as I started drawing in black ink the sun started to shine across the Dugald Stewart Monument with the Balmoral clock on one side and Edinburgh castle on the other.

I love the view from Calton Hill, the bustling Princes Street below looks so distant but is just minutes walk away, and the numerous spires and domes that dot the skyline remind me of places visited and others waiting to be explored.

I recommend the short climb if visiting Edinburgh even just for the day – the view captures the whole city.

The EEN had a go cam hooked up to film the sketch being created so once the feature is live I will let you know.

Daily Sketch

Cafe portraits

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‘Catching up over a cup of tea’

I was up sketching in the cafe of John Lewis this week, early for a meeting. I love trying to capture people in my sketches, although I find it hard.

It can be tough to communicate the movement, curves, colours and characteristics of a real life person, compared to a non moving straight forward building!!

I do like the resulting portraits though, a moment in time, un-posed and natural. What do you think?

Competition

WhereArtI Edinburgh? – Jan 7th 2019

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Can you locate this week’s sketch?

Can you name this week’s sketched location?

If you know leave your answer in the comment box below. I will pick a random winner from all correct entries on Tuesday morning, and they will go on to the ‘Winners wall’ for the month. At the end of the month one of those on the wall will be picked to receive a prize.

The prize for January is one of my new blue Edinburgh Castle totes. Each cotton tote measures 16×15 inches and is screen printed with one of my early drawings of the castle. 

Leave your answer in the comment box below …

Your comment will not show up until the winner is announced. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feeds for clues if they are needed later today, and I will pick a winner for the Winners Wall tomorrow afternoon.

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

If you would like to buy a blue Edinburgh Castle tote for £7.50 plus postage then email me at contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com for details.



Daily Sketch

A Field Full of Poppies

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My sketch to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One, drawn in black ink with a red watercolour wash.

This 15cm x 15cm drawing I created is now available to buy as either a limited print or the original, with a donation from each sale going to PoppyScotland, a Scottish charity for veterans of the British Armed Forces and their dependants.

The drawing is part imagination, part from many photographs of stunning poppy fields in France. Drawn in black ink fine liner with the red watercolour paint highlighting the striking colour of the flowers. Poppies are used to remember those who have given their lives in battle because they are the flowers which grew on the battlefields after World War One ended.

I have 100 giclee signed prints measuring 15cm x 15cm available for £25 each, with £5 from each sale donated to PoppyScotland. Each print is presented in a mount and clear envelope.

The original (above) is also currently available for £75, with £25 to be donated to PoppyScotland.

You can order the original via my Etsy shop HERE.

 

Daily Sketch

Autumn colours, as best as I could capture them

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The beauty of Edinburgh’s green spaces are currently transforming into a wonderful colour show to rival anything our festivals can offer.

Today I enjoyed a peaceful walk along the cycle paths of North Edinburgh, the old railway lines run beneath the roads of the city providing a traffic free and nature filled way to get from A to B.

This mornings walk was full of colour and as I kicked my way though piles of fallen leaves every now and then I stopped to pick up a particular pretty leaf. I like to sketch the leaves this way each year, taking time to appreciate just how wonderful mother nature is.

Once home I arranged the leaves and created this colourful sketch and although capturing the autumn colours will remain my holy grail of watercolours, I am pleased with this years sketch 😉

This sketch was created in the warmth of my studio, with a Uni Pn 0.3 and watercolour brush/pallet. 

Competition

WhereArtI 8th October 2018

12 Comments

Can you name this Edinburgh location?

If you know click the link below to enter your answer. I will pick a random winner from all correct entries on Tuesday morning, and they will go on to the ‘Winners wall’ for the month. At the end of the month those on the wall will be entered into a draw to receive a prize.

The prize for October is one of my Edinburgh Mugs. Available in Victoria Street, Leith or Edinburgh Castle they are perfect for a Monday morning cuppa!

Leave your answer in the comment box below …

Your comment will not show up until the winner is announced. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feeds for clues if they are needed later today, and I will pick a winner for the Winners Wall tomorrow afternoon.

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

Can’t wait?  Buy an ES mug right now online HERE.

 

Daily Sketch

Hearty fare at La p’tite folie as autumn arrived in Edinburgh

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Last week I was invited to La p’tite folie on Randolf Place for a little sketching and scoffing…

It was a windy autumnal evening when I crossed over from Melville Street to see the beautiful Tudor looking exterior of La p’tite folie on Randolf Place. Welcoming us in to the cosy warm interior we were shown upstairs to our table overlooking the square.

I hadn’t realised autumn had arrived until that windy night and as we watched the amber leaves dancing around the cobbles outside I was glad we had full and lively restaurant to keep us warm. The steak was deliciously juicy and my partners fish beautifully seasoned and perfectly cooked.

The atmosphere was great and looked just like the sketch above, a perfect place for a family meal or special occasion, I felt relaxed and at home – just what you need on a chilly night 😉

La p’tite folie restaurant website. 

 

Daily Sketch

Autumnal West End gift card now available

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To celebrate sketching a window display in Edinburgh’s West End I have created a number of gift cards featuring my design.

When I was asked to draw onto the glass window of Paper Tiger’s Stafford Street shop I jumped at the chance, it is great to see my sketches so big and a challenge to create something new each time that attracts the eye as people pass by.

We created a three dimensional effect by drawing part of the image (a portrait of John Scott Russell – a former resident of the Stafford Street building) directly onto the glass and then creating a background drawing featuring the local area to hang inside, behind the portrait.

The image above shows the finished window which I think works really well. I used posca markers to draw the outline and then poster paints to add the colour.

The background image of the West End features Edinburgh Castle above St Johns Church and St Cuthbert’s Church, which lie on Lothian Road. The sketch is slightly stylised with the hill to the castle exaggerated to give each of these fine buildings their own space.

This sketch is now available as a 140mm square giftcard HERE and also from the Paper Tiger shop on Stafford Street. 

Daily Sketch

Dundas Street shops are full of colour

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I have been meaning to sketch these three shops on Dundas Street for ages, I love the mixture of colours, railings and Georgian architecture.

I must pass by this trio of New Town stores most days, usually whizzing by on the bike or car but this week I passed with time to spare so pulled up to create my sketch.

I thought it would make a great WhereArtI competition sketch, so used that without the shop names HERE.

The lose and random lines of the railings make this sketch for me, they are obviously all not in the correct place but I love the haphazard way I have drawn it. I hope you like it too, actually if you would like a print just leave me a comment. I usually print in two sizes 150x100mm for £24 and 297x210mm for £38. Both of these sizes come with mounts, but if you would like a bespoke size just let me know and I will quote you a price.

You can order prints with free UK delivery HERE through my Etsy shop.

The three shops are:
James Scott Antiques, Colours Gallery, and Archipelago Bakery.

Daily Sketch

Edinburgh’s Cycle Hire Bikes are set to be released across the city

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Edinburgh’s cycle hire bikes will be launched on Monday 17th September and last week I got a chance to take one out for a ride around Leith.

Just Eat Cycles, named after the bike’s  sponsor, will launch with 200 bikes across an initial 19 different docking locations across Edinburgh. But this is just the beginning, as Matt McNulty, urban mobility director at Serco told me there would hopefully be 80 docking stations and 1000 bikes available by Christmas this year.

But how do the bikes handle? As a previously keen cyclist I miss using my bike in Edinburgh, when I had a regular commute I would used the bike most days, so it was great to be back in the saddle.

The first thing I noticed was the upright seating style of the bikes, which makes you much more aware of your surroundings, great for having a look around as a tourist but perhaps not the best for getting from A to B in a hurry.

The bikes feel sturdy although they do not come with a helmet so it is up to you if you take your own (as I did) or go without. The three gear system is simple and straightforward and although I didn’t hit the heights of the Royal Mile I’m sure the bikes will get folk around the city without too much effort.

I love the fact each bike has its own name, mine was ‘Heather’ and here is another sketch of her by the Victoria Bridge.

You can hire the bikes by a single, daily or yearly subscription:

£1.50 for a single trip of up to 1 hour – each 30 minutes thereafter is £1 extra.
£3 for a day subscription, allowing unlimited journeys of up to 1 hour each in a 24 hour period.
For £90 you can sign up for an annual membership, allowing unlimited ‘1 hour’ hires for 365 days.

For more information and for details of how to download the app which you will need to hire the bikes, see the Edinburgh Cycle Hire website below.

Edinburgh Cycle Hire website