The recent sunny spell lasted just long enough for my workshop with the National Trust of Scotland at Falkland Palace. I led a group of eager sketchers around the stunning gardens which look so well looked after. Wonderful shades from bright yellows through all the greens to deep dark reds and burgundies.

We drew distant colourful bushes and close up st…

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Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am. 24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Best of luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

New prints now available in my Etsy shop

Have a browse through my signed prints made from Edinburgh sketches.

Prices for a small quality signed prints start at £25 +postage and each one comes in a card mount and protective sleeve ready to be framed or displayed on a shelf as is. There is also room on the back for a dedication I can hand write before posting.

Visit the Etsy shop below or if there is a sketch you have seen that hasn’t made it into the shop yet the let me know and I will make a print for you.

Edinburgh Sketcher online shop

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Signed prints of my drawings are available through my Etsy shop along with gift vouchers and other Edinburgh Sketcher merchandise.

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am. 24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Only an hour but a world away

A wonderful break in Perthshire, and a well earned rest with family listening to the fire crackle and pop and watching house martins soar above our heads.

‘Look at the swallows, swifts, house martins’ would be our cry as the super flyers darted around, scooping up the insects and making impossible turns look so graceful. It always annoyed me I couldn’t remember their distinguishing features.

So the best way to remember the details for me is to draw it and above are the four birds including the Sand Martin, all or which are currently visiting us from North Africa.

Join me sketching at Falkland Palace this Friday where you could start a sketchbook practice to take away. Looking for the beauty in the everyday.

Find out more and book here

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Signed prints of my drawings are available through my Etsy shop along with gift vouchers and other Edinburgh Sketcher merchandise.

‘Look at the swallows, swifts, house martins’ would be our cry as the super flyers darted around, scooping up the insects and making impossible turns look so graceful. It always annoyed me I couldn’t remember their distinguishing features.

So the best way to remember the details for me is to draw it and above are the four birds including the Sand Martin, all or which are currently visiting us from North Africa.

We enjoyed a delightful break in Perthshire in between Dundee and Perth. We took our bikes and enjoyed some of the many forestry cycle routes and spent the evenings burning wood and watching the birds. Bliss.

Check out the holiday home we booked via the link below, I recommend for a chilled out stay not too far from Edinburgh. Mark, ES

Outfield Farm Cottages on Instagram

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am. 24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Falkland Palace sketching tour on July 24th

Join me around Scotland sketching some of my favourite locations. Start your own travel sketch book to take away. Combining quick architectural details, descriptive notes and landscape views to create a personal souvenir of your visit.

This is my final visit to Falkland Palace this year so don’t miss out starting your very own sketch book in one of Scotland’s finest examples of Renaissance architecture with extensive formal gardens.

Find out more and book here

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Signed prints of my drawings are available through my Etsy shop along with gift vouchers and other Edinburgh Sketcher merchandise.

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Rainbows on Leith

An ink drawing of The Shore in Leith with rainbow watercolours added to mark the Pride march in Edinburgh a couple of years ago.

This rainbow print comes in either 100 x 150mm signed print, or a 210 x 297mm signed print, both come in card mounts and protective sleeves. Find out more and see other city drawing online at me Etsy shop, link below. Mark ES

Shop on Etsy

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Rainbows on Leith

An ink drawing of The Shore in Leith with rainbow watercolours added to mark the Pride march in Edinburgh a couple of years ago.

This rainbow print comes in either 100 x 150mm signed print, or a 210 x 297mm signed print, both come in card mounts and protective sleeves. Find out more and see other city drawing online at me Etsy shop, link below. Mark ES

Shop on Etsy

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Edinburgh Sketching with Arienas Collective

A final chance to join me sketching the New Town before I take a break for the summer.

My workshops are changing this autumn with some new mediums, an increase in time but also price so if you want to catch my final day of workshops until after the break then this Friday the 19th is your chance.

Book via the link below for either the Journalling indoor sketching with multiple materials in the morning or the outdoors walking and sketching new town tour in the afternoon. Mark ES

Book here

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

Edinburgh Sketching with Arienas Collective

A final chance to join me sketching the New Town before I take a break for the summer.

My workshops are changing this autumn with some new mediums, an increase in time but also price so if you want to catch my final day of workshops until after the break then this Friday the 19th is your chance.

Book via the link below for either the Journalling indoor sketching with multiple materials in the morning or the outdoors walking and sketching new town tour in the afternoon. Mark ES

Book here

To receive the weekly WhereArtI quiz via email become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

The Edinburgh Taxi Outing sees taxis taking children with special needs, life limiting conditions and terminal illnesses for a day out. Children (and drivers!) get to squirt water at passers by, indeed I took a great shot to the head while sketching this one!!

There was lots of beeping of horns and laughter from children as the procession drove through the Canongate on its way to Portobello. It’s a great thing to do and long may it continue, well done all involved.

Thank you to the fabulous Edinburgh newsletter Edinburgh Minute who reminded about the taxi convoy this morning. Mark, ES

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck! - Mark ES

Email your answer

A wedding gift commission

(I know I posted this last week but I forgot the sketch above so thought I would try again)

Many of you will know I sketch live at weddings creating unique artworks that capture the energy and fleeting moments of a wonderful day. But I also create detailed landscapes of venues which can be framed and taken on the day as gifts.

Having sketched at weddings for many years I have been to some wonderful locations around Scotland and the north of England. From palaces and castles to farms and hillside bothies. It is a real privilege to get to know the country better through painting.

Buy a voucher

If you are looking for a unique and personal wedding gift then do let me know, and we can discuss details, and I have set up a voucher via Etsy too if you would rather the recipient pick their own photo for me to draw. Mark ES

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below for a chance to win.

Email your answer

A wedding gift commission

Many of you will know I sketch live at weddings creating unique artworks that capture the energy and fleeting moments of a wonderful day. But I also create detailed landscapes of venues which can be framed and taken on the day as gifts.

Having sketched at weddings for many years I have been to some wonderful locations around Scotland and the north of England. From palaces and castles to farms and hillside bothies. It is a real privilege to get to know the country better through painting.

So if you are looking for a unique and personal wedding gift then do let me know, and we can discuss details, and I have set up a voucher via Etsy too if you would rather the recipient pick their own photo for me to draw. Mark ES

Buy a voucher

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I sketch part of the city and you tell me where I am.

24 hours later I pick one correct answer to receive a set of Edinburgh gift cards.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below for a chance to win.

Email your answer

‘Inverleith Commuter’ is complete

Drawn on a 30 x 20 inch canvas with many fine liner pens, this detailed drawing took a quite a while.

It started a couple of years ago after a walk to school with the kids. After wishing them all the best for the day ahead I wondered back through Inverleith Park as the morning sun was shining through branches of the tall trees by the allotments.

It is a wonderful view with Edinburgh castle and the city skyline peeking through every now and again as I walked towards the Botanics. I took many photos and decided to go big. A large canvas can be quite intimidating when used to working on in A5 sketch pads with fine liner pens.

I had the canvas on an easel in my studio and every now and again I would ink in a few trees or blades of grass. The drawing also came along to the Arienas exhibition last spring where you may of seen me working on it. Now complete I had the original photographed and made into a print which is available from my online shop.

Buy a print

And the original ink on canvas piece is currently for sale, email me at contact@edinburghsketcher.com if you would like more information.

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I post a part of the city and you have to tell me where I have been sketching. After 24 hours I will pick one correct answer to receive a set of my Edinburgh location gift cards featuring my inky scribbles from the city.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below and I will pick one correct answer tomorrow to receive some city gift cards.

Email your answer

National Trust for Scotland workshops

Sketch with me at Falkland Place on Friday 22nd May.

I am back for 2026 at the impressive Falkland Palace in the heart of Fife. Sketch in the footsteps of Mary Queen of Scots as we journey around the formal gardens of this fine Renaissance palace, picking out turrets, stonework details and vibrant florals. A perfect palace for a workshop where I will give you confidence drawing with ink and watercolours.

Book a place here

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A close up created in oil pastels, I am trying to keep the marks lose and leave in the big smudges of colour giving an impression of light and shadow on the beautiful petals that are currently all around us in the capital.

This oil pastel drawing measures 6 x 4 inches and is available framed for £165.

Each Monday morning I post a part of the city and you have to tell me where I have been sketching. After 24 hours I will pick one correct answer to receive a set of my Edinburgh location gift cards featuring my inky scribbles from the city.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below and I will pick one correct answer tomorrow to receive some city gift cards.

Email your answer

Sketch Journalling in Edinburgh.

Create a habit of journalling with sketches, blending notes and drawings to appreciate the moment and provide a colourful visual diary to look back on.

On this 3.5 hour workshop I will show you how to capture what you see quickly and lift your sketches off the page using a little watercolour, and share why sketchbook journalling has become such an vital part of my day-to-day life.

Book a place

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I post a part of the city and you have to tell me where I have been sketching. After 24 hours I will pick one correct answer to receive a set of my Edinburgh location gift cards featuring my inky scribbles from the city.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below and I will pick one correct answer tomorrow to receive some city gift cards.

Email your answer

Blossom close up

More floral sketching, this time from a photo taken in the Meadows.

A close up created in oil pastels, I am trying to keep the marks lose and leave in the big smudges of colour giving an impression of light and shadow on the beautiful petals that are currently all around us in the capital.

This oil pastel drawing measures 6 x 4 inches and is available framed for £165.

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now

Each Monday morning I post a part of the city and you have to tell me where I have been sketching. After 24 hours I will pick one correct answer to receive a set of my Edinburgh location gift cards featuring my inky scribbles from the city.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below and I will pick one correct answer tomorrow to receive some city gift cards.

Email your answer

Blossom prints

On a walk though the Meadows with my daughter this weekend we were surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom. I was reminded of times sat beneath the falling petals sketching this annual celebration of colour.

I have a number of blossom prints available in my Etsy shop as signed prints. It is nice to look back through them and remember the years gone by and also remind myself that this colour wash across the city is a sign that summer, and warmer weather is coming once again.

Blossom search in my shop

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Last week I enjoyed a family break on the Isle of Arran. ‘Scotland in miniature’ the island which is off the west coast of Scotland has lovely beaches and stunning mountains to the north.

Catching up with loved ones, taking long walks and delicious meals we had a great time, and of course I mixed in some drawing. This one is of Lochranza Castle which sits by the beach on the north shore.

Letting go of the details I used thick oil pastels to capture the bright colour of the gorse but also the gloomy clouds above. I used masking tape before starting to create the sharp lines around the picture.

Join me Sketching

In my Journalling Workshops with Arienas Collective I now include more materials so we can explore with sketching techniques but also the textures of various materials like charcoal, coloured pencils and pastels. Find out more on my dedicate page below.

In person workshops

Each Monday morning I post a part of the city and you have to tell me where I have been sketching. After 24 hours I will pick one correct answer to receive a set of my Edinburgh location gift cards featuring my inky scribbles from the city.

Email me your answer to contact@edinburghsketcher.com (subject: WhereArtI) or use the button below and I will pick one correct answer tomorrow to receive some city gift cards.

Email your answer

Experimenting with oil pastels.

Last week I enjoyed a family break on the Isle of Arran. ‘Scotland in miniature’ the island which is off the west coast of Scotland has lovely beaches and stunning mountains to the north.

Catching up with loved ones, taking long walks and delicious meals we had a great time, and of course I mixed in some drawing. This one is of Lochranza Castle which sits by the beach on the north shore.

Letting go of the details I used thick oil pastels to capture the bright colour of the gorse but also the gloomy clouds above. I used masking tap before starting to create the sharp lines around the picture.

To receive new posts including the weekly WhereArtI quiz and support my work become a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribe now