Tag Archives: art

Daily Sketch

Christmas doodles from two weeks with the family

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Christmas Tree detail 2016Christmas is my favourite time of the year and this time I enjoyed two full weeks away from the computer.

Although I couldn’t stop myself from sketching occasionally I did take the fortnight off to spend with family and friends and enjoyed the lack of screen time, returning in the second week of January refreshed and ready to plan my 2017.

Here are my sketchings from the time off, now scanned in and cleaned up for you to see.

I know Christmas already feels a long time ago but these are very happy memories for me, and only 10 months until we do it all again 😉

All the best for 2017 everyone!

Christmas Fireplace 2016Stargazer 2016Quality Street Fudge

Daily Sketch

Surrounded by stunning details inside the Assembly Rooms

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AssemblyRooms_corniceI’ve been trying to capture the beautiful interior flourishes which are all around inside the grand Assembly Rooms on Edinburgh’s George Street.

This is a corner close up from the ball room and will make up one of my six new illustrations which will go on show inside the famous events venue later in the month.

This year marks the Assembly Rooms 230th birthday and the Georgian building in the heart of the New Town is looking splendid after her 2012 refurbishment.

I will be helping celebrate later this year when I run two Sketching Day tours within the venue which you will have the chance to join me on and create your own drawings. More about that to come in the next few days.

The Assembly Rooms website

Daily Sketch

Enjoying the new years sunshine in Edinburgh

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westport_pepperssandwichbarDrawing in the great outdoors in Edinburgh city centre this January.

As 2017 gets started for me I have been in various locations around Edinburgh meeting people and sketching in the glorious sunshine we have been enjoying.

Whilst on route to meetings I have grabbed  a quick 10 minutes to sketch my surroundings as Edinburgh’s beautiful vistas grab my attention. Some which I haven’t seen before, such as this one below from Morrisos Street shows the old Caledonian Distillery, which has been converted to residential buildings. The 300 feet tall chimney stalk was preserved – and is amongst the biggest of Victorian chimneys surviving in Scotland.

The distillery is currently available to see as the ground in between has been cleared temporarily to create space for the new ‘The Haymarket Edinburgh’, a new office, retail and leisure space in the West End set for completion in 2018.

morrisonstreet_construction

The main sketch at the top of the page is from a new find for me, a sandwich bar offering delicious coffee and gluten free rolls, which made for a scrummy bacon roll this morning.

Peppers Sandwich Bar is on Lady Lawson Street and the friendly staff and visitors alike enjoy this lovely view down the West Port towards the Grassmarket.

The Haymarket Edinburgh website

Peppers Sandwich Bar facebook page

 

pepperscombi

Daily Sketch

Get in to the Christmas swing with the help of Five Guys Named Moe

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fiveguysnamedmoe_1As part of this years Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations the hit musical Five Guys Named Moe has taken over Festival Square.

Squeezed within the square inside the famous Spiegletent the show is a riot of colour and energy that jives its way through the crowd with the help of a rotating stage and fantastic energy of the excellent cast.

I loved the way the stage was brought out into the audience. giving you a perfect view where ever you are sitting in the Spiegletent, which is this year at Festival Square. Don’t make the same mistake I did and turn up at St Andrews Square, where the venue was last year.

After a quick jog along Princes Street I was soon relaxed (thanks for the prosecco!) and enjoying the uplifting songs, comedy and energy of this hit show.fiveguysnamedmoe_2

 

There was a great party atmosphere throughout and I would definitely recommend it for an after work get together or family Christmas night out.

Here are my sketches drawn through the show, all in black pen with a watercolour wash. It was a challenge trying to capture all the colour and movement!

fiveguysnamedmoe_4

Edinburgh’s Christmas website.

Five Guys Named Moe information and to book.

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Competition

WhereArtI : 28th November 2016 : Edinburgh

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es_wai281116Can you tell me where in Edinburgh I have sketched today?

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


The prize for November is Afternoon Tea for two with prosecco in the Mercure Hotel on Princes Street during Decemeber, overlooking the wonderful Christmas festivities in Edinburgh city centre. 

Enjoy a perfect selection of culinery delights during your Christmas shopping this year at the ideally situated Mercure Hotel on Edinburgh’s Princes Street.

Click HERE to enter your answer

Usually the answer will be within the Edinburgh boundaries, but on the first Monday of the month the competition is Scotland wide. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feed throughout the day for clues if they are needed.

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

Enter via the link above or email contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com with the subject line ‘WhereArtI 28th November 2016’.

Mercure Hotel website

Competition

WhereArtI : 19th September 2016 : Edinburgh

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es_wai_190916Can you tell me where in Edinburgh I have sketched?

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

The prize for September is one of my Edinburgh mugs. The winner will get to choose one of my three designs which feature my illustrations of Scotland’s beautiful capital city.

mugs750

Click HERE to enter your answer

Usually the answer will be within the Edinburgh boundaries, but on the first Monday of the month the competition is Scotland wide. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feed throughout the day for clues if they are needed.

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

Enter via the link above or email contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com with the subject line ‘WhereArtI 19th September 2016’.
Daily Sketch

Wedding Sketcher

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Capturing your special day in ink and watercolour

Wedding SketcherIt is a privilege to capture such a special day with my watercolours.

As a wedding sketcher I attend the event and move around in the background drawing the details which catch my eye, like the flower arrangements, personal decorations, architectural details and colourful guests!

Slightly nervous at first I always relax into it once the first sketch is done, and soon have a sketch book full of pen and watercolour illustrations which capture the day in an original way.

Key locations or events to sketch during the day can be discussed before hand but I always like to draw the ceremony and venue exterior.

Above are a few of my wedding books which I have printed with all the sketches and some hand written notes for the bride and groom. Originals and prints can also be purchased as part of the tailored service.

A Wedding Sketcher package creates a personal, original memory of your special day, and also can be a perfect present for the bride and groom who have everything!

Leave a message below for more information and I will be in touch, or email me on contact@edinbrughsketcher.com

Competition

WhereArtI : 25 July 2016 : Edinburgh

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ES_WAI250716This week can you tell me where in Edinburgh I am sketching?

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

This months prize is a pair of VIP tickets to Foodies Festival in Edinburgh, on the 5 – 7th August.

Click HERE to enter your answer

Usually the answer will be within the Edinburgh boundaries, but on the first Monday of the month the competition is Scotland wide. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feed throughout the day for clues if needed.

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

Enter via the link above or email contact@www.edinburghsketcher.com with the subject line ‘WhereArtI 25th July 2016’.
Daily Sketch

The Atelier Restaurant in Edinburgh’s West End

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Atelier_starterRecently I popped in at the The Atelier Restaurant for a bite to eat, and a little food sketching.

The 2 AA Rosette Scottish dining restaurant lies on Morrison Street in Edinburgh’s West End, and has a cosy and relaxed atmosphere with a friendly welcome.

I visited with the Sketcher Clan for a week day lunch, they open 12-2.30pm, 5.30-9.30pm Tue-Thu and 12-2.30pm, 5.30-10.30pm Fri and Sat, and the place seemed to be a popular business lunch location.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary ‘Atelier’ means a room or building in which an artist works. This couldn’t be more appropriate for this Edinburgh kitchen.

Atelier: a room or building in which an artist works

We enjoyed 3 courses of beautiful food. Each plate was a work of art, the above starter of ‘Lamb ballotine, buckwheat, fennel, artichoke’ had delicate sauces dabbed around the the plate like one of my sketches.

Not only did they look good but tasted delicious, the Sketcher twins shared a pasta dish of ‘Fregula, peas, asparagus, ricotta’ and when they couldn’t finish it all asked if we could take the rest home.

Our shared dessert of ‘Poached apricot, dark chocolate cremeux, sorbet’ disappeared before I could sketch it to a flurry of silent scooping and synchronised ‘mmmm-ing’.

Below is a sketch from after the event 🙂

Atelier_dessert

Today’s sketches were made with a black fine liner pen and watercolour paint. 

The Atelier Restaurant website

The Atelier are holding an ‘Aura Night’ Italian cuisine evening on Monday 22nd August for one night only from 7pm-10pm, creating a ‘Tasting Menu offering a Journey through great Italian flavours’. Places are £45 per person and reservations are required. To book, please call 0131 6295040

 

Daily Sketch

The Dazzle Ship in Leith, Edinburgh

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DazzleShip

Stunning reflections of the mesmerising Dazzle Ship by Ciara Phillips, in Leith as part of Edinburgh Art Festival 2016.

The contemporary coloured Dazzle Ship docked in Leith (near Ocean Terminal) was designed by the Turner Prize-nominated artist Ciara Phillips and will be available to see until August 28th.

Ciara Phillips’ Every Woman was co-commissioned by Edinburgh Art Festival and 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions and is actually the fourth Dazzle Shipto be commissioned after similar works in London and Liverpool which collectively commemorate the period from 2014 to 2018.

It wasn’t until I got up close to the shear size of the bold strokes of colour that I fell in love with the piece.

These unmissable floating artworks provide a visual connection to the hundreds of Dazzle Ships that crossed the seas during the First World War.

I had passed the ship by car and seen it from a distance but it wasn’t until I got up close to the shear size of the bold strokes of colour that I fell in love with the piece. Go and see it on the Prince of Wales Dock where there is also information panels telling the story of this artwork and more about the history of Dazzle Ships.

You can also get involved by creating your own ‘dazzle’ design on the Dazzle It App, follow the 14-18 Now link below to find out more.

Ciara Phillips

Edinburgh Art Festival website

14-18-Now website

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