For the third sketch in my new 365 day urban sketching challenge I’m having another go at sketching Toulouse’s Musée des Augustins. I pushed the second attempt at this scene yesterday, but not dramatically enough because I just winged it. So today, I tweaked the photo on my phone to really accentuate the angle of the buildings.

My Pencil Sketch

I sketched in all the big shapes and some of the details. And today I upped my game to an A5 sketchbook, instead of the A6 one I used for the previous two versions. Using a bigger sketchbook means you can fit a lot more detail into the key elements without the scene feeling too busy or overworked.

Another change I made to create a more dynamic sketch, was to zoom in on the buildings more, and eliminated some of the foreground foliage area. I think this helps to make the tower more of a focal point.

USk Day 3 Watercolour

There’s a definite benefit to sketching the same scene for the third time. I’ve become familiar with a lot of the smaller details, which means it was easier to render them gesturally to give an impression of the shape, rather than trying to create them precisely.

I was also more confident about adding extra windows, or moving their location to improve the composition.

Colour Palette

I took some creative licence with the building colour. I mixed Potter’s Pink and Opera Rose/Pink together to really convey the idea of Toulouse being “the pink city”. This colour combination is the complimentary colour to the green foliage, and I think it creates a really harmonious sketch.

Painting the Shadows

Instead of using my diluted grey watercolour ink to put the building on the right in shadow, I added some green to my pink mix to desaturate the colour. I could probably have done another glaze over the top again, but I like the light and airy feel of this scene, and I didn’t want to ruin it.

Painting the Shadows

To keep the sky in harmony with the rest of the foliage, and compliment the pink building, I added a touch of the foliage green paint that was left over, into some Phthalo Blue (gs). It’s edging close to a pale turquoise, and I like it, but I wish I’d left a little more white in the sky around the edge of the building.

I think this is my last attempt at this building for now, but plan on revisiting it again sometime next year – possibly at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Toulouse. I have a feeling this building will be on the agenda because it’s such a beautiful combination of urban and nature. If it’s not on the USk agenda, I may have to go rouge and sketch it anyway.

Materials for Sketch 3

• Landscape A5 Hahnemühle Cold Pressed 200gsm watercolour book
• Hongdian m2 Fountain Pen
• Grey Meerkat Octopus waterproof ink – fountain pen
• W&N Professional and DS Watercolours

Think I’ve had enough of this scene …. until I go to Toulouse!