Just Lines For This Clothesline

Staedtler Pigment Liner on Moleskine Notepad - Click to Enlarge

For us North-Americans accustomed to hiding our drying laundry as if it were something shameful, seeing clothes drying from balconies in Europe is one of the charms of the old continent.

That morning, I was going to go out to find an interesting clothesline to sketch, when I realized that I had a fine one right under my nose, or rather, right on my own balcony. I hadn't noticed it because in my mind those clotheslines had to be captured from the outside.

I decided to follow Miguel Herranz's suggestion and use no colour for a while, concentrating on the drawing instead. It was just the advice I needed at this juncture...

I had to take the necessary time to draw the lines as faithfully as possible, and to get the proportions and the perspective right. I realized that, for me, speed is definitely the enemy of straight lines, and so I drew these ve-e-e-e-ry slowly.

Now I have to practice drawing curlicues; I never seem to get those right.

Meet Miguel Herranz

I've often spoken here about how much I enjoy Urban Sketchers*. One of the reasons is that the members are so darn nice and if you travel to their city, chances are they'll be willing to meet you even if you're just an amateur like me.

While in Barcelona, one of the sketchers I wanted to meet is Miguel Herranz. Yesterday, that wish came true and I had a chance to practise my Spanish during our three-hour chat at a terrace cafe. Miguel is every bit as nice in person and he gave me some very good advice and even a signed copy of his book, Here & There.  You can see it in this video:



But this only shows a tiny part of this multitalented artist's accomplishments. Check out his blog (it's bilingual) and don't forget to click on the links in his "Otherwise" section in the sidebar.

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 * Here is the link to the Urban Sketchers blog: http://www.urbansketchers.org/