why I make a rubbish urban sketcher

Today, for once, I am going to travel light. I'm going monotone so all I need is a black pen. Maybe two.

I'll take one sketchbook. Two black pens, one fine nib fountain pen, one brush pen and the obligatory bulldog clip.

I will need to take refills for the fountain pen. I might take my dip pen, just in case, too. 

Mustn't forget my glasses. But, I'm really impressed with how light I'm travelling. 

I'm thinking, though, that I might as well take one or two fine liners. I'm going to take a paint brush too because I'll probably want to put a wash over whatever it is I draw. Might just take my back up fountain pen and back up brush pen too. That's all though.

But then if I'm taking a paint brush I'll need some water. I'll take a jar with diluted black ink in. Then I could take a water brush with clean water in. Yes, I'll do that. I might take two jars of water with two different inky-water mixes in. And one white pen.

I think what I'll do is take another sketchbook so I have a choice in paper size/format. I don't want to get there and not have the right shaped paper. So that's all I'm going to take. Hold on...

There's no point in taking a dip pen if I haven't got a bottle of ink. One bottle of black ink. That's all I need. I think I'll take my 'Little Reference Book of Noses' too. That's always useful. In fact, it's essential.

Thing is, what if I need a bit of colour? Just a little splash of colour. I regretted it the last time I didn't take any and needed some red. I'll put the ink box in. I could always leave it in the car when I get there. Just because I'm putting it in the car doesn't mean I'll be carrying it all over town. That's a good idea. A good back up plan.

And, if that's the case I might as well take a few bottles of coloured inks. Back up. Sod it I'll take a bag full of them. You never know which colour you'll need.

And that is why I make a rubbish urban sketcher.

the streets are ours

For one reason or another, I seem to have been talking, and thinking, a lot recently about how my work is changing/has changed. And it is/has. It's changed dramatically.

There are a few reasons for that, which, if you're interested, I'll share with you now. If you're not interested please take a look around at some of my pictures.

1. The first reason is that I went on this ink workshop. And I loved it. It felt I'd been reunited with an old love. Way before I ever believed I could be an illustrator, I used to play around with ink. Mainly just cheap fountain pens, but I also bought a whole load of those little bottles of Windsor and Newton inks back in the day too. I'd paint with them, like in this old children's illustration, and loved the intensity. I kind of forgot about all that as time passed. But, it was taking the ink workshop that woke me up to the possibilities all over again. It truly was like coming home.

I should also mention, that just around the same time I inherited a load of old inks - a huge box of bottles of all different kinds from acrylics to Indian ink to luminescents - when an art studio was closing down. Half of them were so old or crusty that there was no way of opening them. I threw all of those away, but what was left, coupled with the W&N ones I'd bought twenty years ago (which incidentally were all still in perfect condition), became my new palette.

2. So now I'm armed with my new weapons, but I'm really stuck. I'm really...well...bored. Bored of what I'm doing. I'm still running my Drink & Draw series which I absolutely adore, so that's giving me lots of practice on the life drawing front, I'm still going out and doing lots of observational drawings, but I'm still stuck. Now, I don't think I even noticed this. Not quite. Not until my next change, but I see it now. And it's not always a bad place to be. In fact there's something quite exciting about being in that place.

Cos change is gonna come.

And, I love that. I love just knowing that.

3. One morning I woke up and just had an incredible urge to draw the Buxton Opera House. This surprised me. It surprised me because the thought of doing that before that point would have bored the pants off me. The place had been drawn and painted by every artist within a fifty mile radius of it over and over again. Quite rightly too, it's really beautiful. REALLY beautiful. But it's been drawn and painted to death. The idea of doing it just felt soooo predictable. So obvious. But this day I got up and I had a need to draw it. So, I did. Then I drew the town hall. Then the Palace Hotel. Then some of the gorgeous flats that overlooked the Opera House.....

And so I drew Buxton (I haven't got around to scanning them yet, so that's another post) until I'd drawn all of Buxton. It is only a small place. But now something was awakening.

4. And then came the Urban Sketchers Symposium, that just so happened to be in the city I work and the city that I see as a spiritual home. Manchester, the city where half of me is from (my mother's half).

Now, I've been a part of an urban sketching group (Yorkshire) for around four or five years, in fact, I now draw with two (Manchester), but I've never felt like much of an urban sketcher. My favourite outings were always the coffees shop ones. I'd always end up drawing details or people. So I always felt a bit of a incidental urban sketcher.

What the Symposium did for me was open my eyes to our amazing city and to share that and show off Manchester with people who love drawing as much as I do. I also discovered so many drawing opportunities. Around every corner there's a little surprise, a little gem, and I intend to draw them all. It was wonderful to share that with other sketchers. I've learnt a lot about the city. And about where I want my work to take me.

So, yeah, my drawing has changed. And for the first time in quite some time I'm loving what I'm doing again. That's a good feeling.

Just go with the flow kids. Don't get hung up or frustrated by your drawing funks. It'll all come around. It'll all come back around.

and now for something completely different

As is standard with me, as soon as I say I'm going to be on top form, posting on my blog daily, I post nothing for weeks. I should just not say anything. Plus, I promised a month of inspirational drawing ideas. Well, I do kind of have one of those for you. Quite unintentionally really.

So, this was yesterday. A small group of us had planned to meet for our friend Karrie Brown's birthday in what was being called a 'Doodle and Afternoon Tea'. A sort of mini sketchcrawl.

After the first destination we had arranged to meet at was closed for 'emergency maintenance' our plans had to change, so we ended up at Staircase House - the oldest town house in Stockport - and while we didn't draw in there we (some of us) raided their dressing up box.

The kind people of the museum even let us take the costumes out on the town. Or specifically to the market. So with three of the group dressed up, in costumes that spanned the ages and messed with history, the rest of us got to draw them in various parts of the market.

It struck us that this is a great idea. Some of us already do urban sketching, and sketchcrawls, and we also do alternative life-drawing - with clothed models - but this brought those two things together.

So, just like above, getting models to pose in-situ was really good fun. And, at moments, also quite surreal.

So, that's my suggestion/idea. Give it a go. If you know anyone nuts enough to walk around in costume, in public places, rope them in. Otherwise hire someone! We intend to do more of this in the future.

I love it when things work out like that. Serendipity, I guess they call it.

Then it was back to afternoon tea and more drawing.

Oh, and here's another idea. Something I try to do lately. I always try to take some different pens and tools out with me on these little jaunts. Whether its a sketchcrawl or life drawing. I take things that I wouldn't normally draw with.

It forces you to use something else apart from your old favourites. Cos if you ain't got it with you you cant use it.

Like yesterday, not a fine liner in sight. I took marker pens (Letraset Aqua-Markers to be specific) and a brush pen. So, I know it's a real old cliché, but my idea for today is to get out of your comfort zone. I did and I'm pretty chuffed with the results.

an open sketchblog

Putting your work out there, in the big wild world (the internet), is a weird thing. A great thing, but it never fails to surprise too. Specifically what people respond to. And don't. You can be really really pleased with something you've created and it'll get a luke warm response and then there are things that you are in two minds about posting/aren't happy with/don't like and they get a huge response. It's amazing. It keeps you on your toes. It makes you realise you can never predict or presume. Apparently these are my 'best nine' from Instagram (@aheavysoul) of 2015. They wouldn't have been on my list but once you've put it out there it's not just your work anymore, it takes on a life of it's own. Thanks for all the Likes, comments, etc, here and on all of the other places I share my work. I appreciate them all. Even the ones for the crappy drawings!

Happy New Year to you all. I intend to fill January with posts, on my blog, to inspire people to draw. To kick start a creative New Year, if you like. Sure, I know that most of you don't need any inspiration to draw - you're as obsessed as I am - but somebody somewhere may just stumble across it and get inspired. Just as I did, around nine years ago, with someone else's blog*. So, you're all invited to my New Year's party (blog). Call by any time.

(*An Open Sketchbook. It was Suzanne Cabrera's An Open Sketchbook)

these cafe days

Tampopo, Manchester

I saw a friend recently, who said "what have you been up to? Just going from café to café?" And, you know, from my drawings, it could look like that is all I do.

I do enjoy drawings in cafes though. They seem to combine all my favourite things; people, food and stuff, whilst being (mostly) warm and dry.

It's particularly useful, too, should you have forgotten to take your sketchbook out with you, if the café has paper place mats. I commend Tampopo for this. I managed to dig out an orange felt tip pen from the bottom of my bag for this one. I believe all cafés should use paper placemats. When I'm Prime Minister I will make it law.

The Plaza, Stockport

 One of my all time favourite cafes is the Plaza in Stockport. This place is an absolute hidden gem in a grey concrete city.

 It was built in 1932 and the café has pretty much stayed unchanged since then. It's like being on set of a Poirot film. Really very beautiful.

Plus, whoever was in charge of casting, has done a great job with the staff. Perfectly drawable café in every way.

Village Green , Eyam

 Then, the other day, we found a new café. I love it when that happens - when you find a new good café. Because, yes, I like a drawable café but the food is just as important.

And this one in Eyam 'plague village' ticked both boxes. I'll be returning. Next time, I'll sit in a different place, for a different view to draw.

Oil Can Café, Hepworth

 And so to today. The last café before Christmas.

But just to prove that I'm not always just sat around a table eating and drawing here's a something I did at work...

Oh.

Merry Christmas folks.

the perfect (drawing) equation

You know when you find one of those places that is just perfect to draw? Perfect for you.

I found one a little while ago.

Actually a drawing buddy found it for me. Illustrator Matthew Midgley found this place, the Carding Shed and Oil Can Café, and he said the first thing he thought, on walking in was "Andrea would love this". And I did.

Why so perfect? Well, it had all the elements of a perfect place for me. And it got me thinking about what was the perfect place to draw (for me) and I came up with this equation;

 perfect drawing place = stuff x vintage (old stuff) + people - cold/rain (nice venue + good coffee + food)

Anyone who has ever urban sketched in the UK, specifically in the North of the UK, will know how important that last bit of the equation is. There always needs to be a Plan B. With a roof and hot drinks. Warning for all the Urban Sketchers descending on Manchester next year.

Anyway the Carding Shed had it all.

It even had bikes. Hanging from the ceiling. Perfect.

What's your perfect equation?