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

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

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

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

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