Urban Sketching:
Beach Stones & Parasols
Stones are undervalued and a parasol is a strong simple shape, and both help any seaside scene sit in a realistic space. You’ll look properly at pebbles, draw a cluster of them, and then draw a parasol with its pole and shadow, with a finished Brighton sketch to show how each works in a scene.
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What’s Inside
Looking properly at stones
On Brighton’s pebble beach, you’re either dealing with sand or stones, and stones are far more interesting. Most people draw a load of circles, but there are big ones, small ones, jagged ones, round ones, stripy, spiral and spotty.
A cluster of pebbles
A close-up arrangement of stones. Starting with a 0.3 fine liner for the rounder ones, then the N15 to vary line weight and the N16 for bolder strokes.
Stones in a scene
All of those techniques in a finished Brighton sketch. Look at the base: variety of shape, tone, pattern, black and negative space. They get smaller and less detailed further back, until at the distance they’re almost ambiguous.
The parasol, introduction
A red parasol on Brighton beach, drawn as a line drawing with a little tone work. It’s about two shapes: the canopy dome and the pole grounding itself in the stones, plus the shadow on the ground. There’s a man in a deckchair underneath.
The parasol, sketch
Start with the N79, being very gentle with this specific shape. Single line first, then double the lines for weight. The pole is grounded in a few stones and the shadow placed.
Parasols in a scene
The finished Brighton demonstration. The canopy outline, edge tone and mix of brush pen and fine liner are all from the isolated exercise, with colour and angle changed. The pole is dark on one side, with stones around the base.
£8
One-time payment. Lifetime access.
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Questions about this bundle
What is in Urban Sketching: Beach Stones & Parasols?
6 short video exercises: Looking properly at stones; A cluster of pebbles; Stones in a scene; The parasol, introduction; The parasol, sketch; Parasols in a scene. It costs £8 once and you keep lifetime access.
Do I need to have done a painting workshop first?
No. A bundle is a separate, self-contained set of exercises on one skill. If you later want to see skills like this used in a whole painting, my painting workshops do exactly that.
When can I enrol?
Enrolment opens soon. This page will show an Enrol button when it does.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days of purchase, as long as you have not gone beyond the introduction or first lesson, because by then you have received the digital content. Email mike@artyfactor.com with the bundle name and the email you enrolled with. The full wording is in the Refund and returns policy.
How long do I have access?
It is one payment of £8 and you keep lifetime access.
Where this leads
Want to see the whole picture?
This bundle covers one skill. My painting workshops show how skills like this come together in a finished painting, one stage at a time.
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