You may have noticed our latest tour on our website – we’re pretty excited about it. We’ll be taking visitors on a tour around Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to hear all about its history but this is a storytelling tour with a difference! This is a workshop tour we’re hosting with the Edinburgh Sketcher. He’ll be on hand to provide guidance on creating quick sketches with ink and watercolour. We’re big fans of Edinburgh Sketcher’s work it feels like the perfect time to find out more about his art:
How did your sketching journey begin?
I’ve always been a doodler, a scribbler - I find it relaxing and when I worked as a designer in the stressful world of newspaper publishing I would draw on my lunch break. Luckily I worked at the bottom of the Royal Mile and so would sketch the beautiful buildings of the Old Town.
Which artists inspire you?
I would spend large parts of my youth visiting galleries and soaking up the works of famous artists, I enjoy seeing all creatives at work and can be just as inspired by children’s instinctive marks as that of the ‘masters’ hanging in an art gallery.
Do you have a favourite Edinburgh location for sketching?
I love the hustle and bustle of sketching on the Royal Mile, the ever changing rush of the crowd, the ever changing weather casting strong shadows and bright stone work on the narrow closes and tall buildings. It can be very challenging landscape.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to newbie sketchers?
To get out there and give it a go. I often hear ‘Oh but I can’t draw’ - nonsense, it’s just practice. Get out there and draw with whatever you have, on a napkin, a newspaper - anything to make your mark!