I originally intended to draw the walls of the cathedral but I didn’t in the end. I think the composition is better for it.

I got this far before the cloud covered the mountain for the rest of the day.

A tourist stood next to me recovering from her vertigo after looking over the parapet.

One woman said she walked all the way down the road in the shade so she wouldn’t be in my way!

A cyclist stopped to chat about the view but he couldn’t speak English and I couldn’t speak French so it was a short conversation.

I missplaced this sketch on the page.

This is one of the two trailers needed to transport the drum. The other is identical and they will be fixed together. I only know this as the project manger came up for a look at the sketch.

Pen and ink with coloured pencil.

Drawn with copper Namisu Nova and Mont Blanc Oyster Grey ink

I don’t normaly take the colour directly from a photo but I did in this case as I was sure I wouldn’t be able to capture them accurately from memory. I chose the sky as the main colour. It was a bright blue clear sky and the blue in my sketch is exact but on it’s own, it looks like a threatening sky. I’m not going to add the green which would probably make the sky less thundery. Perhaps make the blue more transparent?

A couple of weeks ago, I began this ink sketch of the shoreline at my cottage. As you can see, trees were only starting to bud at this moment. By the time I finished my sketch (yes, I'm a slow composer tending to relish the creation process), the trees were in full leaf. It's amazing how quickly things change during the month of May - tulips come and go, trillium bloom and then disappear in the forests, the scent of lily-of-the-valley and lilac intoxicates your senses and gives way to the more subtle fragrances of summer. A sketch tries to capture these elusive moments in time.

Il y a quelques semaines, j'ai commencé ce croquis à l'encre du rivage de mon chalet. Comme vous pouvez constater, les arbres commençaient tout juste à bourgeonner à ce moment-là. Quand j'ai terminé mon croquis (oui, je suis un compositeur lent qui a tendance à savourer le processus de création), les arbres étaient en pleine feuille. C'est étonnant comme les choses changent vite au cours du mois de mai : les tulipes viennent et partent, les trilles fleurissent puis disparaissent dans les forêts, les senteurs du muguet et du lilas enivrent vos sens et laissent place aux effluves plus subtiles de l'été. Un croquis tente de capturer ces moments insaisissables dans le temps.

Drawn with Karlsruhe Urban Sketchers.

Ink drawing, DIN A4

Drawn to the sound of a busker playing Albanian music, kids playing and tuned cars cruising.

This is a second sketch that I made at Lac Libby in the Eastern Townships of Québec. If you look at my previous sketch, this scene is just to the right of it, albeit a day scene. I began by making the two rough sketches of the scene and then inked them at home. This sketch is a little different than the previous one because I used a fude pen which allows you to create both thick and fine lines at once (as opposed to Micron-type pens that only create one size of line). I like using fountain pens because the ink is thicker and the line it creates flows smoother.

Ink drawing in a Leuchttrum1917 sketchbook, 20 x 13 cm (8 x 5.25 inches.

Voici un deuxième croquis que j'ai réalisé au lac Libby, dans les Cantons-de-l'Est, au Québec. Si vous regardez mon croquis précédent, cette scène se trouve juste à sa droite, bien qu'il s'agisse d'une scène de jour. J'ai commencé par réaliser deux esquisses vites de la scène, puis je les ai encrées à la maison. Ce croquis est légèrement différent du précédent, car j'ai utilisé un stylo à plume 'fude' qui permet de tracer des lignes épaisses et fines simultanément (contrairement aux stylos de type Micron qui ne tracent qu'une seule taille de ligne). J'aime utiliser des stylos-plume car l'encre est plus épaisse et la ligne qu'elle crée coule plus facilement.

Dessin à l'encre dans un carnet de croquis Leuchttrum1917, 20 x 13 cm (8 x 5,25 pouces).

This is a quick sketch of the Sugar Relay Station in Chelsea (Québec) which is at the Visitor Centre for the Gatineau Park. It's located next to a popular trail and is used as a warm-up cabin. Although it resembles a sugar shack from the outside, I don't believe that it has ever functioned as one. Elsewhere in the region, buildings like this are preparing for an early start in the production of maple syrup given our mild winter this year.

Voici un rapide croquis du relais sucrier de Chelsea (Québec) qui se trouve au Centre d'accueil du parc de la Gatineau. Il est situé à côté d'un sentier populaire et sert de cabane d'échauffement. Bien qu'elle ressemble de l'extérieur à une cabane à sucre, je ne crois pas qu'elle ait jamais fonctionné comme telle. Ailleurs dans la région, des bâtiments comme celui-ci se préparent à démarrer tôt la production de sirop d'érable compte tenu de notre hiver doux cette année.

This is another quick sketch from one of my walks in my neighbourhood recently. Being a relatively warm day, there were some puddles in the street and I could see the reflection of trees in them. I thought that this would make a nice subject for a sketch so I photographed it and later drew it in a new sketchbook. Since I used Micron pens for this sketch, the paper didn't bleed ink as it might with a fountain pen. I'll certainly have to experiment some more.

Ink drawing with Micron pens in a Fabriano Venezia sketchbook, 12 x 18.5 cm (4.75 x 7.25 inches).

Voici une autre esquisse rapide, réalisée lors d'une de mes récentes promenades dans mon voisinage. La journée étant relativement chaude, il y avait quelques flaques d'eau dans la rue, et je pouvais y admirer le reflet des arbres. J'ai pensé que ce serait un joli sujet pour un croquis, alors je l'ai photographié puis dessiné dans un nouveau carnet. Comme j'ai utilisé des stylos Micron, l'encre n'a pas bavé sur le papier, contrairement à ce qui se serait possible avec un stylo-plume. Je vais certainement faire d'autres essais.

Dessin à l'encre réalisé avec des stylos Micron dans un carnet Fabriano Venezia, 12 x 18,5 cm.

It was a huge, grand restaurant bar, not a cosy cafe!

Drawn with Karlsruhe Urban Sketchers

Passing locals avoided eye contact as I sat and sketched this view. The owner of the property I was sat on said this house is probably from the 1930s or 40s and it will be demolished.

Boots

I’m exhibiting some of my work at this gallery in Karlsruhe until 19th May:

www.friedhof-karlsruhe.de/programm/ausstellungen.html

Drawn sat at a table with 5 other sketchers from Poland, Spain and Ukraine.

I have work for sale on Etsy. Almost all sketches on Flickr are available as prints: www.etsy.com/de/shop/SteveFaradaySketches

Drawn to the smell of hash.

I have work for sale on Etsy. Almost all sketches on Tumblr are available as prints: www.etsy.com/de/shop/SteveFaradaySketches

As I was sketching, the ferry workers were shouting their heads off directing the trucks and coaches as they reversed all the way onto and to the back of the ferry. They had to park really tightly. I presume they were shouting “left”, “right” and “stop” in Italian. It was so funny. It reminded me of the international It’s A Knockout.

I was walking all around this neighbourhood looking for a cactus with the same shape as a fire hydrant.