Colourful, today’s usk challenge.

Posted on May 3, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Colours, Drawing, Fun, Photo, Picture, Staffordshire, Urban sketch day 15, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

Today’s challenge was to draw something colourful. My eyes fell on an owl sculpture by a blacksmith who works at a Forge at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent. She’s called Charis Jones and her company is called Sculpted Steel.

Behind the owl is a plate that my hubby painted at the Gladstone pottery museum in Longton.

I started by drawing the outlines in black ink. I then filled in the colours with permanent ink markers and a few coloured pencils.

The colours are not all accurate, but as the brief was colourful I added some to the books and cds in the background while trying not to overdo it.

I’ve included a reference photo to give you an idea of what I was working from.

Day fourteen USK challenge.. Pets

Posted on May 2, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white cat, Cat sketch, Challenge, Drawing, Life, Pet, Pet drawing, Sleeping, Sleeping cat, Staffordshire, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent4 Comments

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I drew this at about 3.30am but waited to post till now. This is my fourteenth urban sketchers Stoke-on-Trent drawing.

I have tried to draw the darker areas with heavier pen strokes. The lighter ones I’ve drawn with the same pen, but trying not to put as much pressure on. I used a unipin ink pen 0.8 size nib. On an A5 sheet of cartridge paper.

The stripey thing he is lying on is a knitted cushion in the shape of an owl. It’s my cats favourite sleeping spot as it’s over the gap between the chair arms of our two arm chairs, so he gets the chance to sleep between the two of us when we are there. He’s lying there now. Dozing…

Another drawing

Posted on May 1, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Glass, Life, Pattern, Sketching, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Today’s #uskstoke challenge, day 13, Friday, back gate / door. As I don’t have a back gate these are reflections and distortions in the window of my back door. I hope you can see my hands and the black sketchbook reflected in the frosted glass. (it it frosted or patterned?). Anyway it’s quite difficult to draw your hands while you are drawing. They tend to move about, so this is more of an impression.

Some of the colour is outside, some inside. I think the patch of red and orange above my hands might be my face? I know the sketchbook is too small, bit it was difficult to see where the book ended and my cardigan started….

The oak tree in the kitchen.

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Fun, Gardening, Greens, Kitchen, Oak tree, Plane, Sketching, Stoke-on-Trent Urban sketchers2 Comments

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The oak tree in the kitchen… Hubby planted an acorn in with a Christmas cactus plant on the kitchen windowsill. The cat in the drawing is a big doorstop that we have put on the window sill.. Must find somewhere to plant the tree before it gets too big…. I have a friend who owns some land in the countryside. When this is all over I’m going to give her this little sapling together with some baby walnut trees.

This was for day 12 of the Stoke-on-Trent Urban sketchers new challenge. Lots more to go!

Vehicle

Posted on April 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Daily challenge, Drawing, Sketches, Staffordshire, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent6 Comments

I drew this today. Its part of the urban sketchers Stoke-on-Trent challenge day eleven. I think most people drew their cars outside their houses. Few are moving anywhere. Batteries will be going flat. Spark plugs are dry, oil has settled in the bottom of the engine.

The tree shaped marks on the drawing are the pattern on my net curtains. Well you can’t have people walking past and looking in, can you?

Bread making, USK S-O-T challenge.

Posted on April 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Baking, Black and white, Bread, Cooking, Drawing, Food, Ink pen, Kitchen, Oats, Rye flour, Sketch, Sketching, Staffordshire, Urban sketchers Stoke on trentLeave a comment

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Making not made! I found some rye flour and half a pack of yeast in the cupboard. Hubby and I both worked on it. Really tough to knead. We added porridge oats because it was too squidgy and I’d run out of flour. It’s taking time to rise but hopefully it will be OK… X

Update, cooked OK its a bit doughy in the middle. Not bad. Had some hot with butter.

I did the drawing as today’s challenge was something you’ve made for the urban sketchers new challenge. It’s black ink pen in my A5 cartridge paper sketchbook.

Task I hate….

Posted on April 27, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Charcoal sketch, Drawing, Life, Staffordshire, Task I hate, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent, Washing upLeave a comment

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Urban sketchers, day 9. We were asked to draw a task we hate. Well I hate washing up. Mainly because I have dermatitis on my hands. I can’t wear gloves because I’m allergic. The water gets too hot even with the thermostat at its lowest (very efficient boiler). The sink is too small and leaks. The sides are too shallow so we get tidal waves if my hubby washes. Then I have to dry the surrounding six foot and the floor! The draining board is a bit small too. The microwave side gets soaked when he puts stuff on the drainer. Which is why I do the task most often, even though hating it!

Sketch is in an a5 sketchpad, cartridge paper, using charcoal pencil.

A task I love

Posted on April 26, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Fun, Garden, Gardening, Hanging baskets, Love, Planting, Plants, Sketching, Staffordshire, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent2 Comments

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Urban sketchers Stoke-on-Trent new challenge, a task you love.

I am trying to plant up hanging baskets, but I only have a few plug plants, and a bit of compost to put them in.

Luckily some of my plants overwintered and are regrowing, so I have a few fushia plants, a lobelia, and some trailing plants with pale purple flowers that is in this basket. I’ve put a few begonias in the pot hanging below it.

I put one basket under another to get a tiered effect. Usually these are full of plants, now I’ve done two with tumbler tomatoes which you put in baskets and as they grow they hang down for picking.

Yes these are tasks I love. X

Trafalgar Square

Posted on April 25, 2020April 27, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art. Drawing, Digital drawing, Life, London, Pencil sketch, Sketching, Trafalgar Square, Urban sketchers Stoke on trentLeave a comment

Today for our virtual sketching visit we drew Trafalgar square in London.

Every weekend Stoke-on-Trent Urban Sketchers chooses a venue to draw from and this week was a view of Trafalgar Square with the National gallery and one of the famous lions in the foreground. The image was taken from Google maps and each sketcher drew it or another view of it. There were about ten artists drawing and sketching or using ink pens, some of them were using watercolours too. At the end we had a throw down (a digital view of all the drawings). An enjoyable couple of hours.

Digital urban sketch

Posted on April 25, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Artrage, Artrage oils, Drawing, Footwear, New challenge, Shoes, Sketching, Urban sketchers Stoke on trent2 Comments

Today’s challenge for usk Stoke was to draw my favourite footwear.

I don’t own many pairs of shoes. I’ve got these banana yellow ones, but I haven’t worn them in yet.

This drawing was done on an app called ArtRage. I got the pro version last year as a birthday present.

The drawing is difficult because the colours mix on screen and it’s a bit like painting in liquid butter with a stick, as I was using a stylus. I found getting the size of pens, pencils, or brushes hard, as the size goes from very small, to smallish!

Anyway after faffing about for a while I managed to get a reasonable representation.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: #uskstoke