Blackrock

More indoor/outdoor sketching. You get to know all the good cafés with big windows! The Frascati centre is undergoing a big revamp, and so is the Blackrock shopping centre. I love cranes.

Sometimes the first sketch doesn't work out, sometimes it's the second! I should just have eaten the food first!

Dublin Sketchers at the Olivier Cornet Gallery

It's always a pleasure to sketch at the Olivier Cornet Gallery. First, the art is interesting and thought-provoking. Then, the stock room is an Alladin's cave. And of course, Olivier always makes us feel welcome. So I was delighted we were sketching there recently. You will find everyone else's sketches on the Dublin Sketchers website.

You've got another 10 days to see the Drawing on Don Quixote exhibition. Don't miss it.

Me, I like to spend time in the stock room, as evidenced by this photo Olivier took of me!

I started with a line drawing with a few grey accents. I love the jumble of sculptures, wood and even the resident Anthurium.

Then I went upstairs to the blue room, and I just painted the chairs!

Dublin Castle

More from my Moleskine sketchbook tales of woes. I'm getting so frustrated with this paper, I'm half tempted to abandon this sketchbook altogether.

We were at Dublin Castle, and I sketched both indoors and outdoors. And normally, I just get into the zone and throw paint at the page or do a line drawing with a fountain pen (Lamy Safari, Lamy Joy, Sailor Fude - I've been using them with no problem in another book). But this time, I really couldn't get into the flow - the fountain pen nibs were scratchy on the page and the watercolour went all blotchy on me. Like the paper was piling. Plus the paper buckles even with a light wash!

It was one of the most frustrating sketch outings I have ever had! Despite the gorgeous location, the access to beautiful indoors views and the fact that the weather was warm enough for a while to sketch outdoors.

I've been sketching in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook for years, and it was the perfect book for me. Which made life easy. I didn't have to even think about what book to take with me. It was always there. But I'm now going to have to make a change. I'm reading lots of sketchbook reviews. I'm testing other sketchbooks I have. And I'm also wondering - is it just this one that's bad, and the next one will be fine? But I talked to another sketcher yesterday, and they're experiencing exactly the same problem. And I've come across a review on Amazon where the person has shared photos - same thing. So I'm just going to have to cut my losses, finish this book as quickly as I can. And then move on!

Just to give you an idea of the flow problems I was encountering - I actually abandoned this sketch because I was so frustrated with the scratchiness of the fountain pen nib on the paper. That is so unlike me to abandon a sketch. I'm known for getting in the zone and sketching with abandon, always happy no matter what, just enjoying the process. When bad paper is getting in the way of that, it's definitely time for change!

In the end, I added shadows with an Ecoline marker after I got home, and then it wasn't so bad. So maybe that's what I might use it for, value studies, thumbnails. But not for glorious colours and fun lines!

Café sketching

Sometimes, I just have to keep going, even when things are not working out. I had started sketching this beautiful building on Grafton Street with a fountain pen, and what I believed to be waterproof ink. But when I started adding watercolour, my whole drawing dissolved under my eyes. I got very frustrated at first. I was ready to pack up and go home. But my sketching time has become so precious lately that I took a deep breath and decided to keep going. I was in a bookshop café, Dubray Books on Grafton Street. Great views, great toasted scones. And also great toasted sandwiches! And great books of course. So I thought I needed to give a sense of where I was. I started to sketch some of the other customers, and then added the books with Ecoline markers. I wasn't going to risk any more watercolour on that page! And that drawing became like a meditation - I was completely in the moment. Nothing else mattered.

I still had a bit of time, so I painted the windows across the way. I kept it too abstract for it to be an urban sketch, really. But it doesn't matter. I was all about the doing, not the result. Although I am finding the paper very frustrating. I've been using Moleskine watercolour sketchbook for years and always loved them. But this one, my first in the portrait format, I don't know what it is, it's like the paper is scratchy! I must check if other people are experiencing the same problem.

And here is my toasted sandwich:

CHQ

January and February are not easy months to sketch outdoors. I'm not great at indoors scenes - definitely need more practise in that - so I looked for a warm outdoor spot when we sketched at the CHQ, and I found a heated terrace. Yeah for sketching. Nay for the climate. I was conflicted, but I had a nice view, a hot chocolate and cake, so I quickly settled into it, starting with a direct watercolour of the buildings across the water. It started to rain, and it was too windy for the café to bring down the awning, so there are a few pockmarks on my page, but that's all right. I then sketched the two guys across the way. It wasn't the most satisfying afternoon. I feel I'm regressing.

Also I'm struggling a bit with the paper in this Moleskine sketchbook. I've had several Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks before, and the paper quality has always been consistent - easy to draw on with a fountain pen and perfect for mixing watercolour on the page. But this one, I don't know. It's scratchy. It's like the surface is rougher. Not great for pen. And the paint just doesn't mix right on it. I don't know. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe I need a holiday in the sun? I'm fed up with winter already!

Merrion Square and National Gallery

I wasn't really in the humour for the National Gallery. I know it's winter, and it's time for indoor locations, and the National Gallery is beautiful, but the sun was shining, and I didn't want to spend all my time indoors sketching paintings, or just looking at paintings. Don't get me wrong, I like to go into art galleries and look at art. But when I'm sketching, I'm sketching. 

So I felt so lucky when I walked through Merrion Square and saw two guys practising their tightrope walking skills. They were happy to be sketched and they were very relaxed, chatting away as they practised their skills. The hardest bit seems to be actually getting on the rope - each had their own technique, but in both cases, it involves going from sitting on the rope to pushing yourself up using only the strength of your legs - hard on the knees and glutes I imagine. 

Once the sun had moved behind the row of Georgian houses, I decided to go into the gallery. There is a spot I know where you have a fantastic view of Lincoln place and Lincoln's Inn. I couldn't use watercolours, due to the proximity of paintings on the walls nearby, so I just drew with a very light pen, observing the proportions and relationships between the various elements. It didn't look like much. And I was a bit frustrated with it, I have to admit. But when I added colour and extra pen lines at home, I was happy with how the spread turned out. The windows on the right-hand page are from the buildings nearby.

At that point, I was ready to go outdoors again, and I just sat outside the gallery on Merry Square - the sky was interesting, as was the bare tree. I decided to only hint at the building itself. It was a quick sketch. Despite my little cushion, it was cold out there!

Time for meeting everyone in the Gingerman pub. They still had their Christmas decorations on. So I couldn't resist that. This is a few weeks back of course. I do expect they have taken the decorations down by now!

The Vaults

Well, I've decided to dedicate this sketchbook to Climate Change. I am trying to change things in my life to do my bit for a better, safer, world. I've significantly reduced the amount of meat I eat. I use public transport or walk whenever possible. I reduce the amount of packaging by buying from the Minimal Waste Grocery or similar shops (there's one that's just opened in Dundrum). I don't buy products with palm oil (I had to survive Christmas without Marks&Spencer's Belgian biscuits and Belgian chocolate truffles - you have no idea!!!). I sign petitions. I will talk to our politicians when they arrive on our doorstep for the upcoming election. I still feel it's not half enough. But it's something.

So, for every page or every sketch, I will find information or a quote about climate change, even though it's got nothing to do with the sketch itself. But there is nothing more important than climate action right now (not in 10 years or 20 years' time - that will be too late - actually, according to the quote here, right now is too late, which is no surprise when you hear about the fires in Australia and the flooding in Jakarta)

I really enjoyed sketching this - we were talking about how to free up a sketch and the answer, to me anyway, is direct watercolour - no pencil, no pen, just the brush! I wish every sketch worked out like this one!

"The former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres has said that we have until 2020 to avoid temperature thresholds leading to runaway, irreversible climate change."
Jonathan Safran Foer
'We are the Weather - Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast'

I really wish that 2020 was a typo!

Rathmines church from the canal

Normally, we stop sketching over the Christmas holidays, but this year, I really needed to get out, and the dates worked out and the weather obliged, so we managed to fit in an extra Dublin Sketchers outing! We went to the canal near Rathmines bridge and Portobello. Yes, it got cold after a while, but the light was amazing and it was so worth it!

And I'm really starting to like the portrait format in my Moleskine sketchbook. On the first sketch, I had to split the view into three sketches, as there was no way I was going to be able to paint the rushes in the foreground without making a mess of the houses. Plus it was three different things that caught my eye really: 1: the dome of Rathmines church, which dominates the whole neighbourhood; 2: the rushes by the canal and their delicate plumes; and 3: the trees lining the canal and the bare branches, which already bear the buds that will pop into leaf in a month or so. Can't wait!

For this second spread, I had to get up and warm up, so I crossed the bridge and I was struck by the golden light, but most of all, by all the brake lights - that road is always so busy! And then it was time for a hot chocolate with all the trimmings!

Dublin Castle with Dublin Sketchers

New Year, new sketchbook. Well. Almost. Give or take a few days.

We hadn't planned to meet and sketch over the Christmas holidays, but the weather was dry, and enough of us were keen to get out there.

The grounds of Dublin Castle are full of interesting views, varied architectural styles (from medieval tower to brutalist offices), and we were lucky that the Terrace Café was open. The said terrace was bathed in sunshine. And the crowds who had turned up for the Christmas Market didn't know of this little café, tucked away behind the locker room for the State Apartments. So we had the place to ourselves, almost, plus the seagulls, who wanted to find out if my watercolour palette was edible. I had it firmly clipped to my board.

The new sketchbook is the Moleskine Watercolour A4 in portrait format. It was a little awkward to hold. Somehow, I had thought it would be easy to stand and hold it. But no. It will take a little while to get used to the layout, but I can see the possibilities already. Looking forward to exploring the options!

PS: don't chat and sketch someone at the same time - you just end up with a runaway nose!

St Michan's

I know I'm always over-ambitious about projects I take on for the year, but, if I didn't, time would just slip away with nothing to show for it. So I've committed to the SketchingNow Buildings run-through with Liz Steel. So far, I've only done one of the exercises, but it was worth it. I did this sketch of St Michan's on a dark rainy day from the cosiness of a café, but the combination of raindrops on the window and the reflection of the strong lighting made it difficult to see. I have to admit I didn't really measure my angles when I was drawing. I was preoccupied with other things, but it turned out all right. Well, a little over 20 degrees of a difference for one of the angles, but the others are only about 10 degrees out, which is not too bad. And I did manage to sketch the cars, despite one of them leaving the parking space, but thankfully replaced almost immediatly by a similar size car!

And by the way, you wouldn't think I was good at maths and physics when I was younger. I had terrible trouble measuring those angles!

Urban Sketchers Dublin Christmas portrait party

I was distracted by family issues, but since there was nothing I could do from here, I decided to go sketching all the same. I didn't do much. But better than staying at home and fretting.

Thomas Street

I'm so grateful for my urban sketcher friends. I don't know how I'd be without them. We meet, we sketch, we chat. And when life is too complicated, they make things simple again. It's just about following the line where it takes you or finding the right shade of green for the ceiling. All it takes is an hour or two and life becomes straightforward again.

Combining sketches on one page

I don't carry my big A4 book with me everywhere, obviously. So when I sketch in a smaller book, it's hard to keep track of when things happened. So I heard somewhere the idea of adding those sketches into the big book. I quite like that!

Café sketching - pros and cons

I've been doing a lot of café sketching lately. Well, it's just the weather, really.

So the pros of café sketching are:
1. It's warm. Although that's not always true. Some of the places I've been to have been less than cosy
2. I get to eat a tasty scone and drink a cuppa. And sketch it too.
3. It's a good opportunity to sketch people. If you time it right, they're likely to be in the one spot for at least ten minutes!

The cons are:
1. Someone sits right in front of the view you were about to sketch and you have to rethink the whole thing. You can't really get up and move to another table if it's busy.
2. The manager asks you to leave as it's getting busy (never mind that you had breakfast AND lunch there already) and they want the table for other, more desirable, customers! Well that's what happened at the Cali Kitchen in Dun Laoghaire last week. They didn't even offer for us to move to a smaller table. They just wanted us gone. Between the 4 of us we'd had at least 4 coffees/teas, 3 scones, 1 soup and 2 eggs and toast. I don't think I'll be back.

Corner of Hume Street and Ely Place

December and still sketching outdoors. That's the contradiction of living in Ireland. Some days are cold, but sunny and dry and not windy and it's actually ok to sketch outside. Other days are mild, wet and windy and feel colder.

It's three years since I've started sketching the destruction and construction work on the old Hume Street Hospital. This time, I sketched it from the corner outside rather than the cosy window sill inside the RHA. Because of my back, I was using a wheelie, and I knew I would have to leave it at the reception desk (they don't even have lockers), and that would defeat the purpose. 

As soon as the sun turned behind the corner, it felt so cold, and I had to abandon my position and go to the café for a warming cup of tea. Maybe it was for the better, stopping me from overworking my sketch

I was glad I had a second sketchbook in my wheelie, as the direct watercolour cups took forever to dry (even indoors). So I decided to practise cars. I couldn't finish the one in the forefront, as a man sat right in front of me. Again, maybe that was for the best.
Lots of cars clamped in the area, as it's disk parking even on a Sunday in that little cul-de-sac, whereas it's Monday to Saturday just around the corner.

Fleet street corner

Books Upstairs has a café on the second floor, with great views of Trinity, D'Olier Street and the corner of Fleet Street. A beautiful window seat area. So a few of us settled there for an hour of sketching.  The tea was fine, the scone ok. But then we were told that the manager was wondering how many of us would be sketching. They were concerned that we would take over the place and leave no room for other customers. Of which there were absolutely none at that time!! And we were consuming, tea, coffee, scones, more if they'd had a wider choice! So we won't be back in a hurry! A pity, given the gorgeous view! The scone was all right.

Café sketching

Some days, I just don't have the energy for sketching outdoors - it wasn't even particularly cold, but my back was still at me and I just wanted to relax. So I headed to Candy Café at the top of Parnell Square and relaxed. Not the most exciting scone, but an interesting indoor view, and a nice mug of tea. I was using my mini-palette, so I decided to sketch it too.

Newmarket

Sometimes, the more I sketch, the better I get. Sometimes, not so much. I wasn't really thinking much when I started drawing the view of the construction site at Newmarket, and the whole thing fell apart the more layers I added. Maybe a case where working in layers with an iPad would have saved the sketch? I have to admit I haven't tried sketching with an iPad - but the more I hear about it, and the more my back gives me trouble, the more I'm tempted! Not that it would have saved this sketch, which was really a problem with a lack of focus at the very start, rather than a problem with the execution. Or maybe it's both! The soup was nice, though!

77 Francis Street

I don't know how professional artists cope with pets in the house! Cats in particular want to be at the centre of attention (he's sitting in my lap as I type this - I had planned to paint for a bit, but I don't have the heart to disturb his cosy sleep!). 

With the colder, and wetter, weather, we're retreating to cafés a lot these days. On this occasion, a few of us got a good window seat in Two Pups on Francis Street. I could have brought Timber! But he would definitely have been a distraction from the sketching! So after doing a little direct watercolour  of my tea and banana bread, I sketched the lovely building across the way, and the new hotel in the street behind it. I worked paint first, then pen, then white gel pen. Happy with the result!

Marsh's Library

Although my back was in bits, I went to Marsh's Library to sketch with Dublin Sketchers. What a beautiful location! Such a feeling of mystery, the smell of old books, and cold air. It was so cold, I had to go and get a hot chocolate and a slice of cake in Two Pups, just round the corner!
As my back was crippling me, I brought minimum supplies - just three colours, Hansa Yellow Medium, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, and Ultramarine Blue.  A challenge for me, but in a good way!