Early Morning in Bath, England

A Series of 4 sketches made a couple of weekends ago of in central Bath.

 

South Wing of Bath Abbey, Evening

 

This drawing was made to try and capture the light inside the building reflecting around the nave internally, and compare it to the cold November evening outside. Drawn with a carpenter's pencil, on mounting board, and completed with a few washes back home.

 

Watercolour on Board

 

 

 

 

East Front, Bath Abbey

 

Having trained at Bath, I have drawn this elevation many times. I much prefer trying to get the facade of the abbey off-centre these drawings - perfectly symmetrical is quite tricky to get to work nicely I've found.

 

Watercolour on Board.

 

 

Trim Bridge, Bath

 

I particularly like the lines of the pavements in this view, and the the way in which they step upwards through the arch.

 

York Terrace, Looking down to the Abbey

 

This sketch took longer to draw than the others, and required more concentration. The changes in level and ledges in the street are difficult to join up convincingly, although a little exaggeration helps the picturesqueness of the view. 

 

Carpenter's Pencil on Board

 

8/11/2013

Kon Ombo, Nile Valley, Egypt

 

 

The temple at Kom-Ombo, Egypt. The boat arrived early in the morning and we were on the site for sunrise. The maze of columns and beams when viewed from below were memorable - the reason for selecting this unorthodox view.

 

Watercolour on Mounting Board



 NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Abu Simbel, Egypt

 

A short flight from Aswan in Egypt, South over the desert following the tourist trail, takes one to Abu Simbel, where some enormous stone sculpture, threatened with destruction during the creation of the Aswan Dam, were moved to safety on higher ground.

 

This sketch was made very quickly in one of the few patches of shade, close to the main entrance to the complex. As usual I was out numbered by hundreds of photographers!

 

Watercolour and Pencil on Mounting Board.

 

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

 



Nevsky Prospect, St Petersburg, Russia

 

The original pencil sketch was done in -9 deg one evening in St Petersburg. In that temperature the 10 minutes it took was almost too long without gloves. I then scanned the pencil sketch and coloured the image in photoshop, under the pencil layer in 'multiply' mode, when back home.

The light was added either under or over the drawing layer depending on the effect needed. This was a very satisfying way of getting a solidly coloured sketch quite efficiently. The second view above was done the same way. The fascination with this view was the half-frozen river channel, with snow and ice lying on it.

Pencil and Photoshop.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Battersea Power Station, Turbine Hall, London

A second drawing of Battersea Power Station - this time a view of the main turbine hall.

Watercolour on Mounting Board.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Battersea Power Station, London

This painting was made from sketches and photographs after a quick tour around Battersea Power Station courtesy of Treasury Holdings.

 

The Power Station is a fantastic building - arguably more interesting as a relic than either in its original use, or in its new form as the site is redeveloped in the years to come. 

 

Watercolour on Mounting Board.

 

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

 

Woodland

This quick sketch was drawn on a Wacom Cintiq tablet, as one of the first times I had used it. Having always worked in watercolour, building a drawing from light washes to darker shadows, and finally highlights, drawing straight into the computer, I have found that the computer allows for much more freedom in building a drawing.

However I have found that this freedom can make drawing and colouring more difficult, as the instant choice of any brush size, degree of opacity, texture and colour, when all thrown together, can quickly over-power the image. So I tend to try and restrain the palette, as in this case.

This drawing became the cover of a children's story, set in dis-orientating dense woodland.

PShop and Wacom Cintiq

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Equestrian Statue, Kremlin, Moscow

During a 48hr business trip to Moscow, I was able to visit Red Square & The Kremlin very briefly. This sketch was made at about 2am, after a dinner, in about -5 deg.

The lighting was great, with both a good moon, and a strong spotlights.

Painted in the Winsor & Newton colour - Neutral Tint over a quick pencil sketch, on HP 140lb watercolour paper.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Main Amphitheatre, Leptis Magna, Libya

Whilst working in Libya in 2009, I was able to spend a few hours at Leptis Magna, on the coast of Libya, about 2 hours from Tripoli. The project on which we had been appointed , was the development of a first phase of infrstructure to support a growth in tourism in Eastern Libya.

This site, along with two others in Libya, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and would be a principal attraction to most tourists visiting the country. The site is enormous, and some of the extant remains are stunning - its hard to now how, or where to start drawing them from to get a sense of the scale.

This viewpoint appealed because of the backdrop of the Mediterranean, and the fact that whilst drawing, it was possible to sit in the shade from this position.

Watercolour on Mounting Board

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

The View from the Rockerfeller, NY

A sunny evening enjoying the view from the bar at the top of the Rockerfeller Tower in NY. Having only made it to New York once on a flying visit for work, I did this quick sketch using a Wacom tablet in Photoshop, when i got back, using a very simple pencil sketch with a few notes scribbled on it.

Whilst I could get close to this effect in watercolour and gouache (eventually), from experience it would lack the vibrancy, and range of contrast that drawing in pure colour on a screen has.

I love the fact that images can be produced so quickly using a stylus and tablet - with a full range of colour. I am waiting for a truly usable, portable solution so that its possible to draw in this medium from life, and not from a desk, but I've yet to find it.

Wacom Cintiq and PShop.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Borough Market, London SE1

A drawing of the interior of Borough Market before the alterations that have been recently completed.

The roof was usefully translucent, and the open space between the market pitch cages allowed for a long enough foreground to let the watercolour run freely, and hint at reflections.

The picture relies on the strength of the contrast between the silhouetted entrance to the 'shed' set against the sunlit buildings beyond.

Watercolour on Mounting Board.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Archway, Prague

A second sketch from Prague. Rather ran out of room at the edge of the board on this drawing as I would have preferred more width to fully include the right-hand gatehouse, and more height to better enclose the head of the arch. I also couldn't contrive any greenery in the foreground to balance the ivy-clad wall visible in the distance, which would also have helped.

I find working on the Daler Rowney Mounting Boards very easy - they support themselves to lean on when cut into A4-A5 peices and they are light to carry and don't need stretching. They also come coloured in various cream and stone colours, and have a surface on them not dissimilar to a Hot-Pressed finish on a watercolour paper. The only disadvantage is that the paper surface is not resilient to any rubbing.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Main Square & Cathedral, Prague

This watercolour sketch was drawn in an uncomfortably prominent position within one of the main squares in Prague. A very hot day, the paint was drying very quickly, and I therefore was able to paint on site without having to wait the 30 minutes for the washes to dry.

It was painted over a fast pencil sketch on Daler Rowney Cream COloured Mounting Board.

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Building a Watercolour Perspective

Building a Traditional Watercolour - (5 stages)

 

This sequence of five drawings will hopefully show how a traditional watercolour can be built up. Apologies for the colour variation in the sequence as the photographs were taken in a different light.

 

The drawing is an aerial study of a new extension to a Listed Hospice Building in Clapham, which has since been completed. The purpose of the drawing was to set the new proposed extension into the the established landscape and demonstrate the sympathetic relationship between the new building, and the existing structures.

 

This viewpoint was selected because the green roof in the central part of the wing roof planes could be used to reduce the apparent width of the new element from this viewpoint.

 

Painted on 140lb Bockingford.

 

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

 



Stage (1) - Basic Drawing

Stage (2) - First Washes

Stage (3) - Heavier Washes

Stage (4) - Architectural Detail & Colour Balancing

Stage (5) - Final Details, Shadows & Highlights

Midland Hotel, King's Cross, London

A romanticised drawing of the Midland Hotel, King's Cross, London. This building has been recently refurbished, and is now once again functioning as a hotel.

This was originally a pencil sketch, digitally scanned, and coloured very loosely in photoshop. It was one of 25 images assembled into a children's illustrated story.

Photoshop used in combination with a WACOM Cintiq tablet is a great tool for editing and colouring sketches - the resulting images have the energy of a hand drawing, but the vividness of digital colour. Highlights are much easier than painstakingly adding them to traditional watercolours in gouache.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Aerial View of Northampton

This abstract image was to draw attention to the new life possible in a less active part of the existing town of Northampton as a result of a new pedestrian link proposed to better connect the station to the city centre.

The image was intended to evoke the night lights on the streets from above the town. The street pattern was clearly expressed to allow some chance at orientaton when labelled.

The drawing was made in pencil and light watercolour washes on white paper, and then digitally inverted in photoshop.

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Construction Site by Terence Cuneo

Terence Cuneo was a famous illustrator whose work I'm always delighted to come across. Trained at the Slade, he was renowned for his railway subjects, and was appointed official painter to the Queen in 1953.

There are many examples of his work to be found in various compilations of railway posters of the SE of England. This image particularly appeals - the unorthadox angle gives a lot more interest to a complex subject and a great sense of intrusion.

Have a look at www.terencecuneo.co.uk for more examples of his work.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Door Latch at Goddards, Surrey by Lutyens

A study of a very simple door latch by Lutyens at Goddards, his house hidden in the North Downs at Abinger Hammer, Surrey.

Hosted by The Lutyens Trust, I was given the chance to spend a few days studying and drawing the house whilst staying. This door had an elegant simplicity. The challenge was to find a way in one drawing of illustrating a section, and the two opposite door elevations. I find this quite a pleasing composition.

Pencil on cartridge paper, sketchbook.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Lime Kilns, Staffordshire

Sketches of old and new lime kilns in Staffordshire. The top image shows the remains of the original brickwork lime kilns, whilst the lower image shows a contemporary lime kiln that has been constructed on the same site, pleasingly to assist in the repair and conservation work of the original brickwork structures.

Taken from the SPAB Sketchbooks. Find out more about the SPAB and its work conserving historic buildings at www.spab.org.uk

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Side Aisle, Canterbury Cathedral, UK

Drawn in watercolour, this sketch was made in situ, and then left to dry in the sun outside.

Whilst this approach takes a bit of confidence in getting the lines right first time, there is a nice effect when there is no layer of pencil drawing beneath.

Painted on Cream DR Mounting Board.

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Albury Church, nr Guildford

A drawing of the approach to Albury Church nr Guildford, UK

Taken from a sketchbook from the SPAB Lethaby Scholarship in 2000. Having spent some time recording the building, we then had some time working on the interior with the conservation team.

Pencil on Cream Cartridge Paper.

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Courtyard in the Castle, Tripoli

This drawing was made whilst as a guest of the head of the Libyan Department of Antiquities, Dr Salah in 2011, whilst working in Libya. The castle looks down over Green Square in Tripoli.

A wonderful series of spaces exist within the castle, courtyards, open corridors, gardens and cloisters.

The usual excuses for the unfinished nature of the drawing - limited time, inqusitive reisdents etc.

Drawn on Ivory Daler Rowney Mounting Board.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Abu Dhabi from the shore

This is a recently completed sketch of Abu Dhabi, UAE of the developing cityscape from the sea, with one of the frequent, spectacular storms approaching.

In this case monochrome watercolour using ‘neutral tint’ made for the fastest way of creating the picture before I the weather arrived. The humidity slowed the drying of the water and compensated for temperature making it possible to work outside.

Drawn on Daler Rowney Mounting Board.

NH www.nickhirst.co.uk

Narrow Venetian Street - Calle de Cocco

Further to the most recent post, I was lucky enough to stay for a couple of days in an apartment in the Calle de Cocco in Venice. One of the most fascinatingly narrow streets I have ever stood in, and one of the tallest, narrowest drawings that I have attempted.

The character of the street is dictated by the projections around the windows above, and the sound of the canal at the far end could be heard clearly.

The drawing is taken from a sketchbook (hence the gutter), and is made on 140lb HP Watercolour paper.

NH  www.nickhirst.co.uk

Chancel of a church interior, Venice, Italy

This drawing was made in an empty church very early one morning in Venice.

One theme that I suspect I will keep repeating in these posts is the fascination that I have - that years after having produced a quick sketch, it is easy to recall the sounds, temperature, smell etc of the location where the drawing was made.

There is something about the intensity of concentration required to make the drawing that allows a subconscious recording of the environment by all of the other senses. I find that this is not the case for me with any photographs, no matter how hard I concentrate.

The drawing is made on 140lb HP watercolour paper, within an A5 sketchbook


NH
www.nickhirst.co.uk

Introduction

The purpose of this blog is to share my interest in architectural illustration, and sketching.

I am an architecturally-trained London-based illustrator. I am intending to use this blog to post both examples of my sketches and drawings, generally those less finished (and therefore often more interesting) and to draw attention to some of my favourite artists and painters, whose work I have come across in the last 15 years.

Please let me have your comments, and I hope you discover something new,

Regards,

Nick Hirst
www.nickhirst.co.uk