City Barbers
To the right of where I was standing there is a new glass, dark brick and steel building by RMJM architects. The rest of my view is old Glasgow: the shearing shed that is city barbers with all its sports memorabilia, the graffiti and the glazed white brick of the Glaswegian rear elevation. I like […]
come fly with me
Happy New Year Urban Sketchers! This should be a fun and sketchtastic year. To round off 2010 I subjected myself to a couple of ten-hour-plus ordeals called ‘flying across the Atlantic’. I hate flying, I’m not a fan of airports, I hate the stress of ever-decreasing baggage allowances, I hate those little plastic pots of […]
Igreja de Sta Maria do Castelo, Lourinhã
In Lourinhã, this beautiful church is almost out of town, but it used to be the city itself. Now this is where marriages are celebrated.
The three horse race
It has been a very modern election – American even – what with the TV debates. The lamp-posters, not allowed until the final week, potentially tell us a lot about the parties: the Lib-Dems do not appear on this lamp-post, perhaps sabotaged? Other sites suggested they had the highest ladders. The Greens have a simple […]
The Tyne
Northumberland is just into England and has Hadrian’s old Roman border running it’s width. We visited Hexham on Sunday – an old market town with traditional brick buildings and the odd flash of Sandstone – I drew this pub because of its odd proportions. After Hexham we drove into the Toon (Newcastle) where I got […]
Carnival Season
I only had 10 minutes or so to sketch, so J. dropped me off opposite the carnival with my journal and a purple pen–I drew FAST. Color was added later, creatively–
lock stock
The pollen count is high, so I’ve been keeping sketching outside to a minimum lately. which is frystrating. So I braved the itchy eyes and cycled down to 3rd Street where I drew the locksmith’s. That’s the key. I was going to call this post ‘Lock Stock and Two Runny Nostrils’ but decided against it. […]
Orkney
We’re not in Kirkwall 5 hours but I’m awake. I stumble about in my pants trying to find light switches and a glass for water. Eventually I go outside and switch the lights off. I’m a bit disorientated and stand gazing at the distant horizon. After a minute or so I make out an odd […]
The source of the smell
The west side of Edinburgh always has a thick, hoppy smell about it and the source is only a mile from my house – Caledonian Brewery. When I was a kid we used to drive to my Gran’s and the smell would lie thick in my nostrils as we hit the city limits. I now […]
Advocates Close
The north-facing closes (lanes) that hang off the High Street frame their views beautifully. In the centre-distance, you can even see another county across the water. And so why Edinburgh is a very appealing place to be.