Posts in category "sketches"

Rijeka city clock tower

Today I went downtown to a bar that's overlooking city's main street, Korzo, to draw some buildings from the bird's view. I chose the tower because it fit my new Moleskine watercolor sketchbook nicely (yes I know another sketchbook!). I sketched it with a pencil to get the proportions right (though it still looks wonky), went over the lines with a fine-liner, colored it with watercolor and added some black accents with a brush pen. It took me well over an hour to do this, I'm very slow..

The wind was blowing and it was freezing cold up there on the balcony, my hands were shaking toward the end so I couldn't work on fine details.
The waiter was very amused and then went to show the finished drawing to his boss, and invited me to come again to draw: "We have some nice buildings on the other side too!" - he was very nice and beside a little chatting didn't nag me too much, but I still suffer from performance anxiety and freak out a little when people watch me draw. But I guess you can't avoid attracting attention when drawing outside.
Here's a snapshot of my sketchbook with my sketching tools and the tower (shadows are a bit different because the Sun moved quickly):

Small statue sketches

More quick sketches in my small teNeues sketchbook, with a black watercolor pencil and a waterbrush.

The statue of a woman is made of stone, and this sketch took about 10 minutes. The second is a statue of Ivan Zajc cast in bronze, it took around 5 minutes and doesn't look very good because I was sitting far away and my eyesight is terrible.

Small city sketches

Here are a few really, really quick sketches (2-5 minutes) I did yesterady and today in my small teNeues sketchbook, with a black watercolor pencil and a waterbrush.

Scenes from my neighbourhood and some guy in a bus in front of me on first picture, on the second one the interior of a club I went to last night, and the third is a view in the center of my city, Rijeka.
And here are some fragments from my big Moleskine sketchbook done with a brush pen and watercolor pencil + waterbrush. The bird statue and grotesque wall ornament are referenced from a book about Art Nouveau architecture in Rijeka.

You may see a calligraphy test too which doesn't look very good, and the brush pen strokes look faded, which is why I was very disappointed with this sketchbook.

Sketchbook addict strikes again

Seriously, I have to stop buying art supplies faster than I can use them. I gave in and bought a Moleskine. Le gasp! It's a large (that's what they call it, I think of it as medium-sized) sketchbook with red covers. I would have gotten black if they had it in the store, I think this one screams for attention too much.
The reason I bought it is that I wanted a larger sketchbook with smooth pages for inking - my Lega-lega one has tooth and it doesn't work well with a brush pen. I'm not crazy about the yellow tone of pages though - I like a neutral off-white of my other sketchbooks a lot more.
Anyway, I did one sketch in it so far, some more flowers from the book I mentioned.

Pentel pocket brush pen, Koh-i-Noor watercolor pencils, Pentel Aquash waterbrush.

I mispelled the plant name. It's zantedeschia.

EDIT: Turns out this Moleskine sketchbook is pretty terrible for inking. It soaks up ink in a very weird way, so everything looks faded and un-uniform. Definitely *not* for calligraphy! My quest for the perfect sketchbook continues.

Dry stone wall sketch

On my way home from work I sat down on a rock in a park and started sketching, totally unplanned. There were people with dogs there, but few passed by me, although when they did I felt them staring for a while. I just tried my best to ignore them, I hate when people watch me drawing.
Anyway this is a sketch with my pocket Pentel brush pen. Still learning how to control it properly. It's capable of producing hair thin lines, but only if you're veeeery careful. And I'm like Mrs. Precise Hand yet I still mess up.

I love pure black ink drawings, but this scene really lacks depth (or it is because I'm not that good yet), so I colored it at home with watercolor pencils, using a waterbrush.

Done in my small sketchbook.