Cafe People

Sketching people in cafes is one of my favourite things to do….a good coffee, read the newspaper then find someone else doing the same and sketch them very quickly without them noticing. I draw directly in ink without pencil under-drawing for two reasons….Firstly because an under-drawing adds extra time (which I don’t have)….. Secondly because drawing directly with ink forces me to look really closely to the subject before putting ink on the page….with waterproof ink I’m totally committed to each line (I do make mistakes but they are either incorporated into the final picture or simply ignored – life is not perfect either). Before putting pen to paper I decide on the story I want to tell and develop a mental image of how I want the final sketch to look – the composition on the page – what will be included / how much / where to place things for maximum effect. I usually start drawing a person with the nearest eye and draw out from there, looking for connecting and intersecting lines – assessing the geometry of the face (drawing is a really about triangulation). The drawing on this probably took about 15 minutes, with about 20 minutes for watercolour – adding paint into already wet washes to get graded colour. As for the choice of subject (or victim!)…. anyone who has just sat down with a full cup (so I know they will be there for a little while). Interesting faces and expressions (some people get involved with the news articles and make lots of facial expressions when reading). The guy below had a lovely soft white beard and thinning hair on top that I wanted to try to capture…..

Sculptures by the Sea Cottesloe 2018

Kailis Fish Market Leederville

Popped into Kailis Fish Market in Leederville and sketched some of the lovely fish on display, all stacked up in ice chips. The staff were great letting me sketch and kept looking over to see how the sketch was going. Only 4 colours needed for this – Quin Gold, Permanent Rose, Cobalt Blue and Hansa Yellow Medium. Holcroft sketch and draw diary (A6) with Pentel waterbrushes, TWSBI Eco fountain pen and De Atramentis Document Black ink.

Green’s Cafe Leederville

Sketching with the Urban Sketchers Perth at Green’s Cafe in Leederville yesterday together with UK sketcher/illustrator Lynne Chapman and Sydney sketcher Liz Steel. Green’s cafe always has great music and atmosphere, the colourful lampshades hanging down from the ceiling (plastic waste paper baskets) were really fun. The women in the background were very deep in conversation.