Celebrating the Art of Line Drawing

As one of the longest months come to an end celebrate by awakening your own creativity.
With the promise of longer days and some sunshine beckons, take the opportunity to go outside and look for creative inspiration.
More and more of us are recognising the importance of moving away from scrolling through other people’s lives and looking for the opportunity to be more mindful and creative and one of the easiest to achieve and satisfying is picking up a pencil or pen and starting to draw.
At work if you look around in meetings people are often doodling, it’s one of the most instinctive actions from our earliest age, put a crayon, pen or pencil into a toddler’s hand and they will draw.
Sadly as we get older and there is less opportunity we lose our ability to undertake this simple task but in the two books we review below there is much encouragement and wonderful examples of how to find our creative souls once more.

Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques – Steps, Subjects & Prompts – David Morales H.
Description:
The ultimate technique-led guide to the graphic, expressive art of pen and ink: perfect for artists and illustrators!
Colombian-born architect and artist David Morales provides easy-to-follow advice and inspiring instruction in this indispensable guide to pen and ink:

• Discover how to hold your pen to create different types of line;
• Add a range of key strokes, from hatching and stippling to scribbling;
• Understand value, tone and contrast like never before;
• Learn to critically observe and successfully compose your subjects, from still life and buildings to people;
• Learn through doing, with a variety of exercises ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours long.

Whether you’re just starting out in this bold, exciting medium, or you’re already an intermediate artist, illustrator or designer, this book contains pearls of wisdom that will teach and inspire you – and even experienced artists will appreciate David’s ‘asides’ on common mistakes and how to avoid them.

The book also contains David’s handy prompts for starting your own drawings; insider tips; dozens of techniques, each explained with simple illustrations; exercises to improve your skills; and, finally, three different categories of templates to copy or take inspiration from: nature, still life or urban.

https://www.searchpress.com/book/9781800922631/pen-and-ink-drawing-techniques

Review
What we love about this inspiring book is the comprehensive amount of content.

This book as absolutely packed with really helpful advice and examples.

Whether you are just taking your first steps into exploring the art of drawing or you are very experienced, you will find something of very real value inside the covers.

As David mentions in his Introduction,

‘This book not only seeks to teach you the basic tools of ink drawing, but also to inspire you to explore, to create, and to find your own voice in this fascinating artistic universe.’

The content covers everything from tools and techniques, how to hold your pen, different types of lines, strokes, tones, textures, adding colour, and how to combine the techniques.

Once your creative juices are flowing, David then prepares you to start your creative journey by encouraging you to observe, how to create compositions and where to look for inspiration.

In his Let’s Draw section, there are wonderfully practical examples of short-timed and longer exercises, followed by templates from nature and still life and urban examples

As part of a journey into discovering the art of pen and ink drawing this book is a most wonderful companion! Highly Recommended!

Line & Wash in the Urban Landscape – Sketching with watercolour & ink – Neil Whitehead
Description:
Capture the energy and architecture of the places you love using expressive line and wash. Learn to sketch in a loose, rhythmic style and use vibrant watercolours to create unique urban masterpieces.
Whether you are a complete beginner looking to take the plunge into drawing outdoors, or a more experienced urban sketcher looking to loosen up your style and use watercolour paints in a whole new way, renowned urban landscape artist Neil Whitehead will help you to bring your favourite places to life on paper.
Packed with inspirational paintings, plein air demonstrations, practical exercises to help you loosen up and let go, plus lots of handy tips, Line & Wash in the Urban Landscape is a comprehensive, visually inspiring guide to this popular art form.
Urban sketching communities and groups are on the rise worldwide, so there’s never been a better time to get outdoors and sketch!

https://www.searchpress.com/book/9781800921955/line-wash-in-the-urban-landscape

Review
What we love about Neil’s approach is the way he combines line drawing with colour, bringing a freedom of expression and creativity and illustrating how to infuse drawings with energy and imagination.

As Neil explains,

‘Urban scenes under examination will contain hundreds of colours, the sky, the street signs, the road, the cars, the people and so much more’

There are many examples of how to achieve this, but now is the perfect time to look for your own examples, particularly as we move into spring and blossom begins to appear, brightening our urban streets.

The content includes:
• What you need to get started: all the necessary tools and equipment
• Choosing a scene and working outdoors: how to choose a location and then select an area of interest
• Capturing character: sketching fast, simplifying and working with freedom
• Continuous line drawing and prioritising rhythm over perfection
• Using watercolour for drama, depth and energy
• Understanding composition and perspective
• Working from reference pictures: for when you can’t get outside.

Full of examples and ongoing encouragement, this delightful book is all the inspiration you need to go outside and start building your own portfolio of beautiful creations! Highly Recommended!

Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques – Steps, Subjects & Prompts – David Morales H.

Line & Wash in the Urban Landscape – Sketching with watercolour & ink – Neil Whitehead

Both books are published by Search Press