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.
After a break away it was good to be back on the streets of Edinburgh today.
This morning I had a little more time to myself after the kids returned to school so drove through town taking in all the falling leaves and low sun shadows of the cities fine buildings.
I parked up on London Road to capture this view towards the top of Easter road, with the London Road Church seen on the left. The orange and yellow leaves were falling from left to right and the sky in the distance changed from white to grey and then a slither of blue shone through.
Above shows the street I sketched and below a square crop of the painting which I like the look of. Maybe a print for the shop?
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.Â
There’s a wonderful show of colour currently in Edinburgh, as Autumn waves a magic wand over all our trees.
Everyone should take a walk through the beautiful colours of the Meadows park just now as October runs into November and the Edinburgh central park runs from green through bright yellows to vibrant oranges and deep dark reds.
I tried to capture a few of these colours this afternoon with my watercolours, but to be honest similarly to taking a photograph, the reproduction is a poor relation to the real thing.
Last night I took part in some live sketching online, for 60 minutes during #EdinHour on twitter I posted several photographs of my sketch as it came to life.
As the people at EdinHour explain; ‘#hours are mass chat sessions on twitter on a given subject, virtually always on a regular basis such as ‘the first Friday of each Month at 8pm’. They are operated through a specific hashtag ending in ‘hour’.’
So #EdinHour is all about Edinburgh and each month there is a different subject and list of questions to start the conversation off. Last nights was all about Autumn. I thought it would be fun to draw a sketch within the hour to show my process in stages which a viewer of the final piece would not usually see.
Thankfully I completed the drawing, although I could of done more to it, in the time and the experiment was a success. My final sketch of leaves which I drew from a photo I had taken this week in the Botanics is above. Photos from the different stages, including the initial photo are below.
I hope it gives you a little more insight into the sketching process. I also decided to give away the print to one lucky #EdinHour tweeter last night and that person is Jane Carnall @EyeEdinburgh
The next #EdinHour is on December 10th from 9-10pm. Log on to twitter and join in the conversation.
Today I added colour to this tree, which stands tall in Queen’s Park, Edinburgh and has such a beautiful shape to it.
Yesterday I posted the black and white pen drawing and today this is the colour version. I scanned in the mono sketch and added the colour digitally on the laptop. I love the strong colours you can get this way and the layers you can build up, and take away.
The pen drawing got a be response on line, the simple line drawing appeals, and I think it worked against the autumn leaves which I photographed it on. You can see that photo below.
Hello. This is a close up of a commission I have almost finished, I’ll post the whole thing once it’s delivered but though I’d show you this wee bit.
Yesterday I must of spent a good 20 minutes inking in all the tiny ivy leaves on this wall. It was extremely calming and therapeutic. Especially as it was on my lunch break after a particularly stressful morning in the office.
Grab some pens and paper people, it’s cheaper than therapy 🙂
A walk along the streets of Granton today, on the North side of Edinburgh. I had to stop and capture this beautiful carpet of colour in front of me. The autumn leaves are covering most of the pavements in the city just now and it makes for a wonderful, if sometimes slippy walk into town.
Stunning colours falling from the trees recently, the hues of the leaves are particularly bright and strong this year. I can’t think of a better city center place to see this than in the Meadows park.
I was there sketching this scene yesterday, armed with an ink pen and some watercolours. Get out there and soak up the colours before they all turn to mush 🙂
The Sketcher family had a great afternoon playing in the leaves at the Botanics yesterday. The twins are toddling around now and were loving running through the leaves and rolling about. So good there’s a dog free place to play for them, safe they aren’t going to roll in any muck.
We brought some of the leaves back and they made collages for Granny.
We got the leaves out again this morning, now dried out and crispy – and a lot messier to play with!
Black fineliner sketch with a watercolour wash. Available to buy as an original or one of 100 numbered prints.
Sketches, news and family life in Scotland's capital city.
The beauty of Edinburgh’s green spaces are currently transforming into a wonderful colour show to rival anything our festivals can offer.
There’s a wonderful show of colour currently in Edinburgh, as Autumn waves a magic wand over all our trees.
Last night I took part in some live sketching online, for 60 minutes during #EdinHour on twitter I posted several photographs of my sketch as it came to life.
Today I added colour to this tree, which stands tall in Queen’s Park, Edinburgh and has such a beautiful shape to it.
Hello. This is a close up of a commission I have almost finished, I’ll post the whole thing once it’s delivered but though I’d show you this wee bit. 
A walk along the streets of Granton today, on the North side of Edinburgh. I had to stop and capture this beautiful carpet of colour in front of me. The autumn leaves are covering most of the pavements in the city just now and it makes for a wonderful, if sometimes slippy walk into town. 
Stunning colours falling from the trees recently, the hues of the leaves are particularly bright and strong this year. I can’t think of a better city center place to see this than in the Meadows park.
The Sketcher family had a great afternoon playing in the leaves at the Botanics yesterday. The twins are toddling around now and were loving running through the leaves and rolling about. So good there’s a dog free place to play for them, safe they aren’t going to roll in any muck.