Here is Plumage House, 106 Shepherdess Walk, London N1.
Plumage House, 7″ x 10″
This was a feather factory. According to Spitalfields Life this operated until 1994. The building is now rather shabby, though in a dignified way.
I wonder what will happen to it?
In the drawing, the main colours are Fired Gold Ochre, Buff Titanium, Phthalo Turquoise, and Perylene Maroon, with Mars Yellow and Green Apatite Genuine for the green.
Shepherdess Walk (the main street North-South) and the location of Plumage House.
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This house is in a lovely row of Georgian houses in Shoreditch, London N1
A Townhouse in Stoke Newington, Hackney, N1. 9″ x12″ [SOLD]
The drawing was done for the people who live in the house.
I made the drawing from sketches on location, photographs, and memory. Here is work in progress:
Sailor pen
Inking
Ink done.
Paint: Rosemary Brush series 302 (flat) size 2
Rosemary Brush series 302 (flat) size 2
Preliminary sketch on location (rain on sketch…)
Here is a juxtaposition of the “ink” image with the “colour” image. Move the slider to compare the two. The yellow frame round the ink image is masking tape, which I use to protect the edges of the picture while I am working.
The colours used in this sketch are: Mars Yellow, Buff Titanium, Phthalo Turquoise (W&N), Perylene Maroon, Prussian Blue, Lavender, and Fired Gold Ochre. All colours are Daniel Smith except the Phthalo Turquoise which is Winsor and Newton. The ink is De Atramentis Document Ink Black, which is waterproof, applied with a Sailor fountain pen (pictured). The brushes I used were:
Rosemary Brushes Series 302 size 2, which is a small flat brush, useful for windows,
Rosemary Brushes “Rose of England” series 201 size 12 which is a large synthetic round brush. It goes to a fine point as well, so it’s incredibly useful.
I did the railings and other small details with a Winsor and Newton Series 7 size 2 sable round brush.
The paper is Arches 300gsm cold-pressed (“NOT”) 9″ x 12″ in a block.
Here are some tiny sketches I made as a result of local walks. I have a small sketchbook, about 3½ inches by 5½ inches, the size of a big mobile phone. On my walks, I pause for a minute or so to notice a view, a detail. I make a few marks in the sketchbook, to remind me. Then when I get home, I make the sketch in watercolour, using the marks, and memory. I am trying to train my memory.
Monument on the South East corner of Finsbury Square.
Royal Exchange
“Shop lease available” – many “To Let” signs…
St Joseph, Catholic Church
Quaker meeting house.
So many instructions…
The pub is closed.
COLPAI building under construction, Central St
Near St Luke’s
Old doorway, modern windows.
Here is the sketchbook:
It is from The Vintage Paper Company of Orkney. It was bound by Heather Dewick, @heatherthebookbinder on instagram. The paper is Saunders Waterford 200gsm Cold Pressed.
A nice small size for all occasions:
St Barts Hospital, “Welcome to the Vaccine Hub”
Colours are all Daniel Smith Watercolours. Pen is Sailor Reglus fountain pen with De Atramentis Black document ink (waterproof).
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There are some wonderful railway arches near Waterloo. They are architectural marvels, with striking mathematical curves and uncountable numbers of bricks. Here is a view from underneath one such arch, on Carlisle Lane, looking North towards Waterloo.
Carlisle Lane, looking North. 12″ x 10″ From photo reference, 31st Dec 2020
Map showing location of drawing, (c) Open Street Map contributors. Click to enlarge.
The building on the left of the picture is “Canterbury House” on Royal Street, built 1959-1960. The greenery at the front is part of gardens and allotments, adjacent to Archbishop’s Park.
The white notice below the “No Entry” sign says “Except cycles”.
Here is a close up of the picture. The parts marked with arrows show where I lifted the wet paint off the paper to make a white mark.
The main colours are Phthalo Turquoise, Fired Red Ochre and Mars Yellow, with a bit of Transparent Pyrrol Orange for the traffic sign. This is on a sheet of Jackson’s watercolour paper, 12″ x 10″.
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This is the South Bank of the Thames, near Blackfriars Bridge, seen from the North Bank.
South Bank (1), from photo reference. 2nd Jan 2021. 12″ x10″ sheet.
This was part of my experimentation with Jackson’s watercolour paper. Jacksons Art Supplies sent me a pack of 50 sheets, and asked for an honest review. 50 sheets is a lot of paper, and so I’ve felt able to experiment. I’ve enjoyed using it. Here is another version of the same scene.
South Bank (2), from photo reference. 2nd Jan 2021, 12″ x10″ sheet
Jackson’s also sent a few brushes, one of which was an enormous “Raven” mop brush. This has a soft furry head. It is great fun to use as it holds so much paint.
Here is the Raven brush in action. Although it is huge, it comes to a small point, so I can make little dots, or add a small amount of colour to a wash, as here.
The paper is capable of taking “layers” of paint, as you see here. The grey and the orange overlap without becoming a muddy mess. I was painting indoors, so I could allow each layer to dry, which is important in order to avoid a mush.
Here is work in progress. I taped the paper to a piece of corrugated cardboard from a delivery box. The white strips down the edges are to give me somewhere to try out the colours.
Last year, before the first lockdown, I drew this view in a sketchbook on location:
Here’s the South Bank seen from the Victoria Embankment on the North Bank. Here you see the modern blocks, with the older wharves in front. The low red building towards the right is Oxo Tower Wharf, formerly a factory making OXO cubes, now a place with workshops for jewellers, a restaurant and various cafés. The…
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Here is Cromwell Tower, in the Barbican, with Frobisher Crescent to the right, sketched pre-lockdown, from the Podium.
Cromwell Tower from the Barbican podium, 1st January 2021, 10″x 12″
This was a very cold day, and it started to sleet. That pitted effect you see on the left? That’s not a clever artistic technique, that’s ice crystals dropping on the painting from the sky!
My viewpoint
Pen sketch
Tools
Painting on location
Work in progress.
I finished off the tower indoors. I used Daniel Smith Iridescent Moonstone watercolour paint. See how it catches the light!
Daniel Smith Iridescent Moonstone watercolour paint in action
For the podium tiling I used an experimental effect: scratching. I was in a bit of a hurry (it was really cold) and it was hard to get the angle right as I was holding the painting and standing up. It created an interesting effect, not quite what I intended, but I liked it.
Using a bone implement to make lines in wet watercolour.
Sometimes the lines came out dark, sometimes white.
Scratching technique
This is one of a series of drawings on Jackson’s watercolour sheets: 10″ x 12″ cold-pressed, 300gsm. The bone implement I used for scratching is from the Vintage Paper Company and is a “bone folder”, intended for folding paper. It is good because it is not entirely sharp, and it’s nice to hold.
The colours are Daniel Smith watercolours: Prussian Blue, Perylene Maroon, and Mars Yellow, with a bit of Green Apatite Genuine for the plants, and Iridescent Moonstone mixed in, especially for the tower.
I’ve drawn in and around the Barbican before. Here’s a collection: (click “load more posts” to see more posts of the Barbican.)
From the Tower of London on the North bank of the Thames, you can see the Shard on the South Bank.
The Shard from The Tower, 3rd Jan 2021, 12″ x 10″
Pre-lockdown, I sketched this sitting on a stone bench on the slope to the West of the Tower of London. There were seagulls in the air. Children hurtled down the slope on bicycles, with parents jogging awkwardly behind. Young people threw their arms around each other and photographed themselves.
I worked on my drawing.
The view
Preliminary sketch
Pen and ink
Work in progress
It started to rain. Then it really poured with rain. The children scuttled under the overhanging roof of the visitor centre. The young people laughed and rushed off. I had to pack up very quickly. The seagulls remained.
I had finished the pen and ink. I added the colour at home. I tried out some experimental techniques.
For the cobbles I used the wrapping of a pack of mandarin oranges.
Paint over the netting
When dry, lift off the netting to get an interesting effect
To get the sharp edges of the Shard, I used masking tape.
Lift the tape off
A clean edge
I made this picture on a sheet of Jackson’s 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper, 12″ x 10″, using Daniel Smith and Winsor and Newton watercolours. The colours are Phthalo Turquoise (W&N), Fired Gold Ochre (DS), Perylene Maroon (DS) and Mars Yellow (DS). The cobblestones also have some Iridescent Moonstone (DS), which makes them sparkle. I made the tree with a marvellous new Tree Brush, also from Jackson’s.
Brushes: Jackson’s “Badger” tree brush series 602, and Jackson’s “Raven” brush series 528.
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It was getting dark but I’d been indoors all day. I set off into the gloom with my drawing things.
Looking towards the Barbican from Golden Lane, 5th January 2021, 4:15pm (detail)
It also started raining. Or maybe it was sleet.
I continued my peregrination through the dim streets. I like this time of day. In this weather, it’s not the “violet hour” of Mediterranean sunsets, but more like an Indigo hour, as the colours fade and go into dark smudges. I enjoyed the squares of light, each a little theatre of activity.
Here’s the picture I drew. It was sketched quickly on my walk, with the colour completed at home.
Looking towards the Barbican from Golden Lane, 5th January 2021, 4:15pm
Here are the buildings:
In Wyvern sketchbook, on Arches paper, using Hansa Yellow mid (DS), and Transparent Pyrrol Orange (DS), with Perylene Maroon (DS) and Phthalo Blue Turquoise (W&N) for the sky and the darker greys. Fired Gold Ochre (DS) is in the mix for the Peabody Building.
I have drawn in and around the Barbican before. Here is a collection:
Jane Sketching 