The idea for this page came to me because I was pressed for time. It was the first day of my Bruges workshop, and I had been busy all morning teaching and helping students with their sketches. When there was finally a break in the action, I sat down to sketch at our location in The Burg, a majestic square lined with monumental government buildings.
I knew I wouldn’t have time to finish a drawing and add color to it before we broke for lunch, so I decided to get started on a two-page spread that I could fill little-by-little over the course of the week. I could build the page using small chunks of time and still end up with something substantial in the end. My subject: the ornate brick and stone towers I had been admiring for days all over the city.
Even though I didn’t know exactly how the page would turn out in the end or which towers I would draw, I had to come up with a rough layout plan to give myself some direction. So, I penciled in a title box in the lower center and divided the left- and right-hand pages vertically into thirds. That gave me spaces for six towers.
The two towers on the left in the above image were the first to go on the page. I had planned to add watercolor when I had time, but when I saw how striking the black and white line drawing looked, I decided to forgo the watercolor and let the drawings stand on their own.
I rarely do a black and white page in my journals (except for all the unfinished ones awaiting watercolor!), but this collection of sketches really pleases me. It reminds me of old engravings or etchings, suggesting the look of medieval Bruges.
I used a Sakura Pigma Micron PN (plastic nib) pen for the drawing. I love how much texture I can get with the PN pen.
If I draw with a light touch, the nib gently brushes across the surface of cold-press watercolor paper, leaving a light, skippy line, making it easy to indicate the texture of brick and stone.
When I press down firmly, I get rich darks and bold lines, and I can add shading with cross-hatching. Having a variety of marks and line weights in a drawing really adds a lot of interest.
I debated for weeks about what to title this page, even asking my students for their ideas. I have my friend Karen to thank for “Towers Through Time”. It speaks to the sturdiness and longevity of these masterpieces of human ingenuity.
I chose the Berkahi Blackletter font for the title. I wanted an Old English style that was strong and bold without being difficult to read – this one fit the bill. I like the curlicues on the w, s, and g, too.
To add it to the sketch, I downloaded the font to my computer then used Microsoft Publisher to lay out the lettering in the proper size. I printed it out, then transferred the title to the page. (Here’s a tutorial on Three Easy Ways to Transfer Lettering to a Sketchbook Page.) Finally, it was inked using a permanent black pen.
I really enjoyed adding to this drawing over the course of the week I was in Bruges. A few of the towers were drawn on location. Others were added in the evening in my hotel room using photo references. The final one was drawn at the Brussels airport while I was waiting for my flight to Dubrovnik. I was determined to finish drawing all my towers before I left Belgium. 🙂
Think about adding an ongoing project like this to your next travel journal. Small chunks of time really can add up to a great sketchbook page!
Towers, towers everywhere in Bruges!
3 Comments
Leslie! I loved your pen drawings!!!! They are absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you so much for sharing. What a lovely Monday Morning greeting!!! Just waiting to see what you are working on next!!!
Most Sincerely, Nancy Hoffman
Wow- great way to depict a challenging subject! Love the grouping & the lettering too!
Wow just wow. All the detail in those towers.