Just Drawing

“Kontenklärung” at the “Deutsche Rentenversicherung”

Sep 10, 2015May 23, 2026StuartLeave a comment

Waiting room and queues.
Copic 0.3 metal nib and later at home some watercolour pencils.

The people here seemed to be nervous, nobody standing still for more than 10 seconds, no mobiles in hand … when leaving I noticed there was a sign: no mobiles. But when has that stopped anyone? Were all present just too old for mobiles? That’s why we were here, wasn’t it? Because soon, we will be drawing(!) a pension. Me, I only have to wait another 24 years.
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Today, I had my appointment to help the fund managers clarify my pension fund account at one of Germany’s many pension fund service points (for me it is the “Deutsche Rentenversicherung” and clarifying the account is a “Kontenklärung”).

Chair in Charcoal

Sep 3, 2015Sep 3, 2015StuartLeave a comment

First evening class for me this semester.

Charcoal, twig of willow.

Drawing drapery is hard.

A2 sized newsprint. 90 minutes.

Male Model in the Rain

Sep 1, 2015Sep 2, 2015Stuart2 Comments

Playing with colour and umbrellas today.

Watercolours, nib, waterproof ink.

Tea Room

Jul 13, 2015Aug 29, 2015StuartLeave a comment

Slowly getting back into the drill of sketching in public places.

I actually feel pretty comfortable doing this in cafes now. Just using a cheap drawing tool here (roller-ball pen) on childrens’ drawing paper (DIN A4, 100 sheets cost 2€). Makes a light weight set to carry around.

More Faces with George B. Bridgman

Jul 11, 2015Jul 11, 2015Stuart1 Comment

The few attempts I made at practicing faces again while on holiday … need to do this more often and more deliberately … fight that sloth in me! The practice helps obviously, but not practicing helps all the hard earned skills fade away.

Urban Sketching in Lithuania

Jul 11, 2015Jul 11, 2015StuartLeave a comment

Just back from a 10 day holiday in good old Lithuania.

Visiting relatives, taking in the sites and even a short trip to the Baltic seaside.

Here are the few sketches I managed to get done while there.

(CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES)

1: from out of a Lithuanian Kepyklele (a bakery)
2: in a small restaurant in the “Republic of Uzupis”
3: an exhibition case in Medininkai
4: view from our hotel room in Vilnius
5: at the Beer Library (Alaus Biblioteka)
6: from the veranda of our hotel in Palanga

Preparing for Figure Drawing

Jun 22, 2015Jun 22, 2015Stuart2 Comments

So, I go back to figure drawing classes regularly, starting tomorrow night.

I’m going to continue from where I stopped with the ink class, so I’m planning to use paint brush and India ink on whatever I have at hand. To get into the swing of things, I’ve attempted a few sketches on newsprint tonight. All based on photo references.

Em Höttche, USk part II

Jun 18, 2015Jun 18, 2015StuartLeave a comment

Urban Sketching (USk), part 2.

Back from an afternoon in the fading sun on the top steps of Bonn’s historical Rathaus (town hall).

Looking down upon “Em Höttche” (a “typical” German tavern) and a few bistro, cafes. It was getting cold as the sun finally decided to leave us at 8 pm and the sketching process of my first picture (45 minutes with 2B pencil, kept sharp with a sand paper board) accelerated more and more. In the end, I used the accelerated technique to sketch the view onto the market place in Bonn from the flight of stairs, where JFK, CDG and QE2 have all stood before me (10 minutes, “F” pencil).

Last night at ink

Jun 16, 2015Jun 16, 2015StuartLeave a comment

Today was the last night at my inking course.

I didn’t really get into the swing of things, but came out with this flowing water study. No references were used here. The teacher gives you a few ideas and let’s you make the mistakes for yourself. I’m especially not very fond of the smokestacks in the background.

June 7th, a Sunday drawing

Jun 7, 2015Jun 7, 2015Stuart2 Comments

Spent the morning just drawing what I could see from the couch.

Then in the afternoon a few sketches at the Italian restaurant, in my scrap book with a crappy roller-ball-pen. Also used a bit of spit for the rose, just rubbing over with my finger to smudge the ink. Perhaps I should have tried the Aperol Spritz for that.

In the evening, another 30+ minutes with 1 minute gesture drawings. Nothing to show really, but the daily exercise helps in the long term. 1 minute gestures can begin to get really stressy if I attempt drawing bigger sketches than just thumbnails.