Observatory

I took advantage of the beautiful weather and 30 minutes of waiting time and drew the old observatory of the ETH Zürich: The building was completed in 1864, and used as an observatory until 1980. I discovered the building some years ago, and always liked it, finally got to draw it!

Pencil 3B

actually, its Schmelzbergstrasse 25

Nightsketching

I met up with other sketchers at 19:30 in the evening at the hardbrücke, while it rained heavily. So i searched for a dry place to sit and started with scratchboard. I haven't used since years, and this was a good occasion to try it out again. For the second one i went back to my old beloved white paper, and used a black and red marker. It was fun, but cold, and after this two sketches we went to the next bar and warmed ourself up.

15.11.14, Bhf Hardbrücke, A5

Gloria

halleluja: i've some time to draw. i got up one hour earlier than i had to for university and went to sketch a wonderful house. It's a bit shaby, but it has its charm, and probably a wonderful view over the city, since its high up over the city without any buildings right in front. The next day i went to do the colors on a wonderful sunny morning. It's quite cold already though, i couldn't sit there for more than 45 minutes...
the second one is just a quick one, about 10 minutes, as i could sit in the lectureroom anymore...

fineliner, schmincke watercolors, pencil 2B,
28./29.10.14
Zürich

Gloriastrasse 54

an old lady walked by, and asked me what i'm drawing. I showed her my drawing (she liked it) and then she said: "oh that old building. it should be torn down!" - it would be a shame!

Zürichbergstrasse 29

i really like old building and draw them a lot - and i always draw the graffitis on it too! My friends always ask, why i won't leave them out. But i think that they belong to them - one could also ask as well, why i draw the the company's name on the window. But thats how they look, and i stay true to the facts!

Oh and if you want to read my 24 hours Comic, look here: 24h Comic

sketchcrawl

I had so much fun yesterday at the sketchcrawl - we were sketching in the quarter Enge. together with a bunch of sketchers i first went to the Chruch Enge, a place i wanted to sketch for a long time. We then met at the Hafen Enge to eat and sketch and finally went back to the Kantonsschule Enge, to see what all the others sketched!

sketched from an impossible angle - and didn't quite succed. but it's ok - i had to warm up first.

i left my watercolors at home - i like to have time when working with them. But i had my color marker with me. it was really difficult to get colors right (or somewhat right) and to keep the whole sketch in mind while working just with one color at a time!

André Sandmann, Sketcher, while sketching another Sketcher who drew another one...

at the Hafen Enge, two Sketchers who are looking through the Sketchbook of Tine at the right.

She just finished as i started...The other is another Sketcher at the Hafen Enge, not sure of what to draw next!

drawing the KS Freudenberg, sitting in the shadow of the KS Enge - the two schools are in the same building. The architecture is amazing, it's a shame i just did this one drawing. I will be back!

ÉIRE - IRELAND Part IV: Cork

ÉIRE - IRELAND

DAY 10: Cork

I took the bus from Galway to Cork - not tha fast one, but the very slowest. I liked how it did stop everywhere, and drove through the green pastures instead of the highway, where one woudn't not see that much. Here, the bus only stopped for a minute, just enough for me to draw it - just kidding, for me to remember it well enough to draw it during the journey.

Since the bus arrived stopped that much, i arrived late in Cork. I check in at the hostel and then headed to the city centre. But before i sat down at a restaurant, i walked around a bit, and saw those big harbour houses, with a ship being unloaded - a scenery i don't see in Zurich.

DAY 11: Cork

The next day i walk around the many little streets in Cork, and actually wanted to visite this church, to see it from the inside - but hey had mass or something like that. I instead walked around it, and the crows made me look up. I tried to sketch this view, crows or ravens flying in the wind around the roof of the church, looking almost straight up in to the air. Perspective is way off...

After a sketch that did'nt work out i'm a little upset, just a tiny little bit, nothing that would go away with a coffe or a sketch the went well - or both in this case: I headed to a cafe near the butter museum (which i didnt visit!), sat down with a coffee and sketch the street. It ws really peaceful, since it was quite early, and the pencil is such a forgiving media...

For the rest of the day i visited museums and didn't do much. In the evening I met up with the Cork Drink&Draw group (where i won a Pint for my drawing!), but before i could go drinking and drawing, i needed something to eat and had to warm up my fingers.: I ate at a vegetarian Restaurant called the Quai Co-op, where i sketch the view through the window on to the canal and the building on the otherside of it. It was quite difficult, because the window was that close to the eye in contrast to the building, th view actually changed quite a bit when i changed focus!

DAY 12: Cork

I showed my sketches to a roommate in the hostel and he said: "Only three sketches yesterday? You should be sketching all day!" He does have a point, and so headed out with good intentions - and stopped after 200 meters form the hostel to sketch this little hutt. An elderly man stopped and looked at my sketch and liked it, and then began to tell me about Wellington, who betrayed his irishness and then i began talking about the conflict between Ireland and England and didn't stop for a long time...

A few minutes later i came to this gorgeous building. It is only a small part of the whole campus of the Griffith College. It was really quite and i was standing there for a long time, because it was really difficult to work only with two colors. Again, i didn't do any pencils in advance, straight ahead with the colors.

I headed back into the city center to have something to eat. And since the Drink&Draw ended late i was tired and in need for a coffee, which i got at the Cork Coffe Roasters. It is a really nice cafe, with a coffee roasting machine (on top) and full with other stuff one might need when working with coffee. And the coffee was good!

I love walking around with knowing where i end up - this one was a bit like that. I walked along the Blarney street, which hadn't too many roads going down to the river again... So i walked for about 20 minutes along this lovely and calm street until i saw a nice cafe, Vikki's, "the old post office", (which actually isn't on the blarney street at all, i eventually found a street going down, but only on to the next long street). I drank a coffee and sketched the view from the "garden" behind the house. Perspecitve catastrophic, but who cares? :)

DAY 13: Cork - Dublin

Well, to be honest, i had a bit of a hangover that day and was travelling from Cork back to Dublin. It was a very busy Saturday in Dublin and i could sketch a thing. Thats why this adventure stops here - This was my last sketch in Ireland!

DAY 14: Dublin - Zurich

Nope, no sketches any more... My flight left quite early in the morning (i had been drawing on the plane, but no urban sketching: look here. And stay tuned for the postcards that will come - hopefully soon!

ÉIRE - IRELAND Part III - Galway

ÉIRE - IRELAND

DAY 7: Galway - i didn't do any drawing on the 7th...

DAY 8: Galway

I met some local urban sketchers (I could stay at Donals Place) and we met at the Cathedral. I started sketching, this is the transept of the cathedral, but then a bus parked in front of me and blocked the view...

i thus changed my place, and drew instead a building beside the Cathedral, which looks very bauhaus-ish, though a bit more playfull. But guess what? A bus suddenly parked in front of me and blocked my view.

The busses didn't only block my view but also the views of the other - we moved to the other side of the cathedral. I first wanted to draw some kids in blue school uniforms on a green lawn - but they were gone before i could start. I drew instead Donal, who - since sketching - didn't moved too much!

After some time we changed completly - we went to the woodquai, were i started this panoramic view. it is very peaceful place, and i was happily drawing, but suddenly my pen ran out if ink - luckily Ruth had a similar one. Thanks again! But then, it got cloudier and almost started to rain - we moved again.

Since it didn't start to rain we changed our place again - not without getting a coffee of course - and sat down in the middle of the Eyre Square. I tried a random corner, only drawing with my markers, noo outlines and no pencils first. Its quite challenging, but also a good exercise!

DAY 9: Galway

Same here: it's a wall overgrown by ivy and other plants, which i did without any previous pencils, directly with colors. This time it didn't worked out that good...but i'm still learning!

This is the Dunnes Store just over the street from Donals appartment. I was a bit early, and he wasn't yet at home. So I sat down in the park nearby and sketched the obvious contrast between the industrial building and the nature in the park. So that there can't be any misunderstandings, i even intensified the contrast by using two different pens ;). The green one i actually bought in Dublin, because i forgot my dark green at home...

One might wonder, that I wasn't that active that day, but you're forgetting, that i had also some sightseeing to do - and most of all, i did two postcards that day, which took pretty long to. I will show them as soon as i get all the scans - they slowly coming in. I sent all of them at the end of those 14 days, so some have't even got them yet!

ÉIRE - IRELAND Part II - Kilcar & Donegal

ÉIRE - IRELAND

DAY 5: Kilcar

The heathen on the green hills were blooming and it was an amazing contrast between the green and the violet. Sadly, as i was sitting on a stone in the mashes, a cloud of bugs were flying around me and i had to leave after some minutes and couldn't finish the sketch.

Since sitting down has become absolutly impossible because of the bugs, i was drwaing some small sketches while waking up the hill. 1: Sheep on the path, 2: Lake reflecting the clouds, 3: Sheep who was hiding behind a stone,  4: a little streamlet

This is just before i turn around becouse of the thick fog. Actually, it was the only not sunny day during my two week stay in Ireland. It is a little bridge, over which the Pilgrim Path goes, and the three silhouettes are the friendly three german girls, who gave me a lift to the start of the Pilgrim Path.

After turning around i was heading to another viewpoint for the Sleave League. Here in Teelin, which is a little village consisting of some house spread over quite a big area, i ate Lunch at a dry place and did some drawings of the landscape, which was stunning - i could have drawn every ten meters!

I had to walk about 4.5 kilometers along the street to get to the viewpoint. Sounds a lot, but with doing a Sketchbreak like this did shorten it! It was also quite an experience to walk along a street - a having time to see the landscape, being able to stop at anytime and look at something closer.

It was very windy and did rain a bit from time to time at the cliffs, so no sketches from there, instead a little house in the wilderness. It's actually the building on the far left of the upper house buildup on the top of the sketch before, i believe it's the house on the right side. I loved the loneliness out there - Me together with the sketchbook and the weather!

On the long way back to the little village called Carrick i came by the Salmon Leap, a nice placw where the river flows into the sea. Someone was fishing with the fly a bit upstream, and looking upstream, the water looked almost like it was Guiness - Black with a little touch of yellow in the foam! The other one is the view is two minutes away from the hostel i stayed - the Derrylahan Hostel, one of the most beautiful place i stayed! Location is so great!

DAY 6: Killybegs and Donegal

I didn't really stayed in Killybegs, but the guy from the hostel drove me there, so that i didn't had to walk half an hour to busstation - really friendly! I was about an hour too early though, so i had time to draw some stuff at the biggest fishing harbour of ireland, a little hutt and fishingship. perspective is really off on the ship,  but i'm not use to to draw those forms!

Then i arrived at Donegal, which was a bit green again than those harsh cliffs - so i got my pastels out again! This the look over the bay of Donegal, while i was my way into the town, since the Hostel was a bit out of town.

Some minutes further into town. Suddenly the trees alowed a view to the other side of the bay on the old ruins of the abbey of Donegal. I later visited it, but didn't draew there, there were too many tourists there, and while i don't mind the locals, i don't like the tourists watching over my shoulder. I don't know why...

Later this day i was visiting the Donegal Castle, which i drew first from over the road. The sun was already getting lower and for a moment peered through the clouds, sending a small stripe of orange light on to the castle. I might repeat myself, but i t was beautiful! The Castle was actually built (parts of it at least) from stone of the ruins of the abbey!

This was just across the river, behind the castle (It would be on the right after the tree). The previous sketch i did from beside this very church. I really liked the three different textures & layers, which are in interaction which each other: the industrial bridge, made of steel, overlap with the softness of the trees, while the Church gives an anchor from the background and is the actual center.

Later this evening, i was at a local pub with three israeli from the hostel, and i showed them my postcards - they really liked them and one of them actually wanted a drawing, so i quickly took a pen and an empty postcard and made a portrait of him! This was the first time for me to draw someone just like that, and it was really good experience. Thanks for that.

ÉIRE - IRELAND Part I - Dublin & Howth

 

ÉIRE - IRELAND

For the last two weeks i have been travelling around Ireland, you can see my stops in the picture above! Of course i have done alot of urban sketching these days - a lot to scan! Therefore i will split the sketches in five parts: Dublin & Howth, Kilcar & Donegal, Galway, Cork. For the fifth part I still have to wait, it will consist 9 postcards I drew and sent to my freinds and family - they have to scan it or take a picture of it, so that i can share it with you!

DAY 1: Dublin

The Marsh's Library is a wonderful place - it's basically a library taken from the 17th century and placed into the 21st. The entrance i sketched is therefore a timetravel machine. Oh the smell in there...just wonderfull!

Colorfull houses behind Dublins Castle - i drew it from the backalley, just a bit off the tourists tracks. It was there when i discovered i forget one of my green pen, i had to mix it here, but it proofed to be ess fatal than i expected!

Sitting in Keogh's Cafe, looking across the street. I actually wanted to color it, but my muffin was eaten and the coffee cup was emtpy - so i moved on, not without taking a reference picture, which i probably won't use anymore now...

DAY 2: Dublin

Trinity College - Yes i paid too much to see the bok of Kells, but i haven't really done any other touristic thing. And the library was amazing! Any, the long room is just at my right side, off the sketch. I don't know how the other buildings are called.

A wonderful bookshop! Lots of books, old and new, little magazines, dusty shelves, good coffee, a nice place to sit. Just great!

Some random old building besides the river Liffey in Dublin. It was pretty windy, but i like the contrast of the bricks overpainted with graffitis and the newly built strange building-structure behind it!

DAY 3: Howth & Dublin

The Lighthouse in Howth, about twenty minutes with the train from Dublin. This was the first thing i did when i arrived: i walked down the pier till the end, sat down, sucked in the salty air and drew this view. Loved it!

Then i turned my head about 30° to the left and saw that peculiar looking island, which i then drew. I had to cut it in two pieces to fit the whole beauty on to the paper.

Looking southeast on a late morning isn't the best idea, even if it has some thin layer of clouds, the sun will still blind you...

looking down on to aa nice rock that stood out of the sea just beneath me. You can see the same rock on the far right side of the sketch above. I tried out pastels, which i didn't use anymore for the last then years, at least!

I had a little sandwich here, just before heading back to Howth. It would have taken some hours to walk around the peninsula - and i rather wanted to see some more of the little town.

Or eat something in the local Cafe. It was a charming little cafe on the second floor, with a store at ground level with mostly organic and local food. The seagulls are from the next day in St. Stephen's green in Dublin, before i took the Bus to Donegal.

 DAY 4: Dublin -> Kilcar

Same here. Sitting in the St. Stephen's Green and waiting, till the bus leaves. On the bank next to me, a young Dubliner fed the pigeons, and they were actually sitting on his hands and arms! I should have drawn this, instead of that lame bridge, but was a bit tired.

Really quick Sketches. Views from the Bus.

Stay tuned - Part II will come soon, the wild north west of Ireland!