Cappuccino and a muffin.

Posted on May 9, 2025 Posted in Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white drawing, cappuccino, Coffee, muffin, Pen and ink, SketchingLeave a comment

I do like drawing in my little sketchbook. It’s getting full of pictures and poems and some short stories.

This morning a friend took me out so we had a cappuccino and a muffin. It was lovely to have a chat. I decided to draw what was on the table so here’s the result. I like crosshatching to add shape and shade to make it more 3 dimensional.

We were talking to the waitress and and she saw my sketches. She said that she used to be good at art and sometimes shows her children how to do things. I suggested she get a little sketchbook to start drawing in again, I hope she does.

Today’s #bandofsketchers sketch

Posted on October 20, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Black and white, Drawing, Hand, Life, Pen and ink, Prompt, Sketch6 Comments

Today’s prompt for #bandofsketchers was a drawing of a body part, so I chose to draw my hand, drawing the sketch! I’ve seen other drawings where a person has drawn their hand and a sketch pad balanced on their crossed legs. Adding the shadow of my pen and my hand on the sketchbook to try and indicate this is a sketch, also not completing the line at the base of the box. When I do a sketch like this I have to try and think logically about how it works, what it’s meant to indicate and whether I need to include all the details or if I can leave some more sketchy.

tired out

Posted on September 27, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Drawing, Illness, Pen and ink, people walking, Sketching, Thinking, Tired4 Comments

That’s not what I’ve been doing this last week, in fact almost the exact opposite! I think I have realised what has been wrong with me. A bout of tonsillitis. It’s tired me out, I feel washed out and slightly dizzy. Today I actually left the house and did some shopping. I needed to get some watercolour paper and new drawing pens. I’ve been meaning to do it for a week. I had to get my hubby to come along to help me carry things and ended up spending far too much on some plants for the winter months in the garden. I also haven’t done much of my college work and can see it spiralling away from me. Will I catch up? seriously I need to be better now. I cant afford to get too behind with the course work.

life! sometimes it sucks.

Doodles

Posted on July 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and red, Black Red and white, Blogging, Cartoons, Design, Drawings, Pen and ink, Sketches, Teapot, Website, WordPressLeave a comment

_20200413_171401

I did these a few months ago. The designs had to include red and black. I was going to send them off to a website but I forgot, got to involved in other things and lost track of time, so by the time I did remember it was too late. Adding more white to both images helped I think because you can see the images more clearly. I’ve always thought two cats would make a good yin yang symbol, and the teapot? Because we live in the heart of the potteries.

Souvenir

Posted on June 16, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white, Colour, Drawing, Knitting, Life, Pattern, Pen and ink, Picture, Sketching, Souvenir, Thai doll, Urban sketchers challenge, Urban sketchers Stoke on trentLeave a comment

_20200616_180530

Texture and pattern. Today’s Urban sketchers challenge was drawing a souvenir so I drew a Thai woman and baby doll that my friend gave me. As I’m doing textures and symbols on my illustration course I decided to try out different marks to show the knitting on the cushion underneath the doll.

I have been doing a lot of pen and ink drawings lately, not using pencil or charcoal much. Maybe I should try some other techniques?

Portrait artist competition

Posted on May 10, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Drawing, Forty minute sketch, Pen and ink, Portrait, Portrait artist competition, Quick drawing, SketchLeave a comment

Screenshot_20200511-004450 15891545707004118524440789135510

The Sky portrait artist of the year competition is on. Its not something I would do, but I did a quick forty minute sketch of the sitter, Rankin, to see how I could do. Working with a 0.5 unipin ink pen. Not too bad a likeness. I think I’ve got his nose too long and his eyes are a bit small…. But it’s good to practice.

Age

Posted on April 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white drawing, Design, Doodle, Face, Fun, Life, Pen and ink, Sketch2 Comments

I was playing with a similar face to the previous one, and wanted a change of style and mark making. More patterned, lines, dots and dashes. Trying to get a feeling of age. The grey areas were done by wetting a brush and running it over the papers surface. Spreading the black ink gently into the shadows.

Age seemed an appropriate title.

Drawing faces

Posted on April 29, 2020April 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Cartridge paper, Cross hatching, Drawing, Face, Life, Pen and ink, Renaissance, Sketch2 Comments

Last night I was watching a programme about the European renaissance. You know, one of those ones where you get a glimpse of paintings for a few seconds, before they are on to the next face or body. Impossible to draw a face from there.

One revelation was that the Greek and Roman statues would have had painted patterns and faces coloured when they were first carved. As the centuries between then and the renaissance passed, the colours would have faded or washed away. The response of sculptors like Michaelangelo was to carve their figures out of bright white carrera marble. Because what they were seeing coming out of the ground was sculptures that had lost their paint.

That is why I drew patterns and shade on this drawing, it’s an imagined figure. If I had some good colouring pencils I might colour it in… I will look.

At Art Lunch, February.

Posted on February 4, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Art lunch, Cup and saucer, Drawing, Friends, Fun, Pen and ink, TeapotLeave a comment

Art lunches are happening once a month now. While I was there I drew a couple of visitors, my teacup and the tiny teapot that went with it, and also the view out of the kitchen of my friends house.

Art lunch is the opportunity for local artists and creative people to get together and talk about their art and network, or maybe just chat and relax.

Had a lovely time. X

New tablet

Posted on October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white, Drawing, Fun, Learning, One inch challenge, Pen and ink, TabletLeave a comment

15716773727161289863068617477063

This isn’t the tablet but a drawing of the screen. I installed lots of software today. What a mess! I have different passwords for each app. It confused me! Had to reset some. I wanted to do lots of stuff today but I’ve spent four hours just learning how to use it.

Anyway the photo is for day 21 of the 1″ inch challenge for October.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Pen and ink