Three couples at the cafe. added a block of colour behind one of the couples.
Posted in Art Room

Adding Blocks of Colour as a Background on People Sketches

Thanks to some inspiration from urban sketcher Roger Klaassen, I’ve been evaluating his people sketches where he’s included blocks of colour behind his figures, and then experimenting with this technique of adding blocks of colour to my urban sketches to see how they can be improved by the background method.

Group of people in ink and watercolour
Posted in Art Room

Planning a Sketchbook Layout of Overlapping People

Using a sketchbook page full of overlapping people from a cafe during a recent urban sketching outing, I’ve analysed the different ways to improve the composition and layout of the sketch using thumbnail sketches. Experimenting with different layouts by adjusting focal point, increasing negative space, and creating a dynamic shape on the page, and making sure to leave space for a title.

Urban Sketches of people at Kings Cross Station in London. Used a limited palette of lime green. Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe Great Britain London

Urban Sketching People at the Railway Station and on the Train (Day 79 and 80)

Day 79 and 80 of sketching people. Urban Sketching people during my train journeys around the UK. I sketched at Kings Cross, Doncaster, and Hull, on the train, and at the cafe. Experimented with some limited palette compositions.

Urban sketching people on the Easyjet flight from Faro to Gatwick London. Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch. Sketching the queue for the toilet.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe Faro Portugal

Urban Sketching People at the Airport and on the Plane (Day 75)

Day 75 of sketching people. Urban Sketching people in the departures long of Faro Airport, and on the plane from the front row – so lots of toilet queue sketches. Experimenting with different compositions using an outlined oblong shape in the background to tie people and objects together on an A6 page layout.

Cafe sketching at the Museum Cafe in Ayamonte. Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch. Groups of people.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Ayamonte Europe Spain

Urban Sketching Day out to Ayamonte Spain to Sketch the Town and it’s People (Day 69)

Day 69 of sketching people. Traveled to Ayamonte Spain for a day of urban sketching. I sketched people at the cafe, a few buildings and an iconic statue in the square in old town. My watercolour pencils saved the day, and I used this day trip to experiment with page layout ideas and using spot colour for areas of focal point.

Two gents at the cafe in similar check shirts. Urban Sketch. Ink and Watercolour Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Cabanas de Tavira Europe Portugal

Quick Urban Sketches at the Cafe (Day 68)

Day 68 of sketching people. Urban Sketching at a local cafe at the end of the street. Combining people sitting in different parts of the cafe together at a table, and experimenting with compositions for a reportage post.

Urban Sketch of a couple at the cafe in hats, on a sketch page with a picture of a scone, and a little bit of conversation observation. Ink and Watercolour Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Quick Urban Sketch of People at the Cafe (Day 65)

Day 65 of sketching people. Not much time today, but enough time for a quick coffee at a local cafe and a quick sketch, about being in a foreign country but still able to order scones and clotted cream. This was an experiment in reportage and page composition.

Photo Booth sketch in ink and watercolour of a man at an adjacent table in Bar 66.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Urban Sketching People at the Cafe and my new custom sized Sketchbooks (Day 57 part 1 of 2)

Day 57 of sketching people. A visit to a local bar in Cabanas to sketch in the sunshine to sketch groups of people, to practice compositions with a group of people. And also try out a new sketchbook format in the shape of a photo booth strip of images.

Sketchbook page of ink and watercolour people and a tree and pair of glasses
Posted in Art Room Portugal

Page Layout Experimentation for Urban Sketching People

Some ideas and inspiration for creating interesting sketchbook page layouts when urban sketching people.