Sub_urban Sketching: Draw the roof first

I have been trying all year to post to this blog more regularly… but I am determined to do so from now on….(yah! really! I hear you say!)  I have also found than now I live and work in the heart of Sydney suburbia that I have been somewhat uninspired architecturally. I thrive on being in city centres- being surrounded by big / important buildings and the pulse of the city streets. I have had great plans of posts that I want to do here on important aspects of sketching architecture… but 'planned posts' rarely seem to happen! I am a 'respond to the moment' kinda girl. So lets make some sketching architecture moments!

So anyway… a new idea this week… I am going start drawing the buildings of the exciting north western Sydney suburbs that I live in and at the same time share tips as I come across various issues. They will be fairly random and conversational… but I hope that if I do it regularly it will develop into a real series and motivate me to become a little more systematic. I am very keen to have you ask questions that I can answer the next time I am out sketching. Lets start a dialogue about what you kind hard….

Todays tip: I like to draw the roofscape first!

Getting roof angles right can be tricky so I like to draw them first and look at them as shapes as much as possible. I might apply some basic perspective (more of this on the next post!)  but just try to draw what I see. I then project the walls down from that…

(and yes, I was sketching in my car - in a parked position of course!)

Now I am sure I have not explained that fully… so fire away with questions and I will expand on it with my next post!

Wet in wet and no lines

There is no doubt that the impact of my trip to Singapore over Xmas/New Year has been huge on  my art. I am working wetter and have been weaned off my inklines... but this sketch is almost one step further. I did do a few very basic setup lines in a lavender pencil but then just went for it with my paint. I was painting the lines. I could have done this entire sketch without any lines (oh! just ignore the fact that I used a watercolour pencil for the fence)

I am currently using a Stillman & Birn Beta book - it is very very nice  thick watercolour paper but the sizing on the paper means that the paint sits on the surface of the paper longer than I am used it. Combined with the fact that I was working quite wet this afternoon meant that I was really working wet in wet. I did have a momentary thought early on that I should slow down and wait for hte paint to dry,  but I quickly abandoned that idea...deciding instead to go with the flow (literally!) I was sitting in my car, half way home from the gym and not wanting to get caught in the traffic....there is always many reasons that I give myself for going fast!

What is really interesting about this exercise is how the hard edges of the building have still been expressed despite the bleeds left right and centre.I am really enjoying breaking away from my previous addiction to lines. At heart I am an architect, so that obsession will never go away.... but it is so much fun to explore new stuff!

Sketching complicated roof forms

This was a very challenging roof to draw! But rather than stressing about getting the perspective perfect, I am starting to be confident that my loose linework and paint can sometimes hide the wonkiness. The question is how much wonkiness can you get away with?

I like to drive around suburban blocks looking for houses that catch my eye. Sketching from the comfort and security of my car!

Many hideously overscaled new houses...so this one stood out this afternoon and it also fits in with the USK AUS monthly theme of Roofscapes. Yes.... we have decided to have our own monthly theme...for more details visit our flickr or facebook.
www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-Sketchers-Australia/29145153...
www.flickr.com/groups/uskaustralia/

I think I will try some more complicated roofscapes in the next few weeks.