Don't pay the Ferryman

A rainy day in Dublin. I did find shelter across the way from my subject, quite a few steps above the view. I did two thumbnails to figure out what I wanted to include in my sketch. There is a famous bridge to the right of the Ferryman pub, but after trying a thumbnail with it, I thought it would dominate the view too much. And the story I wanted to tell is the contrast between old and new in Dublin. Unfortunately, so many old buildings are being pulled down and replaced by bland offices and hotels. But in some cases, the old warehouses are still standing, reminding us that Dublin used to be a busy industrial harbour city.

I didn't quite stick to two colours in my main sketch, but this is very restrained for me all the same. No sunshine, no shadows, but I feel I managed to give a sense of the volume by using the shadows in the building under construction.

And then I went to the Starbucks that you can see in my sketch. It was very quiet. It's not a busy area at the weekend. I did a sketch with pen and two markers and enjoyed a matcha latte (or was it a hot chocolate? I vaguely remember they were out of matcha).

And then, one final quick sketch in the Ferryman, sketching the sketchers and the view they were looking at. A productive day. It was good to be back!