Travel Sketchbook: Scotland, Edinburgh Oct 08

In October 2008, my friend Paddy and I went to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland (home to the Haggis, the kilt, Whiskey, Lochs, mountains and...well Scots...) and one of my favourite cities in the world. This was my second time in Edinburgh, for Paddy, it was his first. The last time I visited this city, I was 18, and that was 7 years ago. Now a little older, and a little wiser, I decided to do some sketching in and around the city. The architecture blew me away! What a magical city! These sketches show how I got on...

Paddy on Arthur's seat. This was the first sketch I did, an extreme sketch on top of Arthur's seat the extinct volcano, situated in Holyrood park, at the bottom of the Royal Mile. It was blowing 70 mph winds on top and I was only wearing a t-shirt, scarf and fingerless gloves...

The ruins of St Anthony's chapel, situated 1/3 of the way up Arthur's seat...

Whilst in Edinburgh Castle, I saw a few parts of the building I wanted to sketch. The image above is of the castle book shop. Edinburgh Castle, wasn't really a Norman castle, it looks more residential.



Detail of the National Monument, Edinburgh Castle. This was the first attempt at sketching the National Monument at Edinburgh Castle. The monument commemorates the young men who gave up their lives in the world wars. This was a detailed sketch as I wasn't used to scaling down. I wasn't happy about this sketch. But Paddy was with me and a load of 6-7 year old school kids were watching me draw. They were mesmorised. Paddy asked them if they thought my drawing was good and they all shouted "YES!" I felt likeI was in Playbus/days...



The National Monument, Edinburgh Castle. This was the second attempt at the National Monument, and thankfully i'd scaled it down! So here is the vision I had in the first place...

St Giles Cathedral (on the Royal Mile). This was my favourite drawing. I sat on the side of the road, on the Royal Mile sketching the cathedral and tourists and locals alike came and watched me draw and asked me questions about my sketches. That was great. This sketch took me 45 mins to an hour. I'm very proud of this picture and is one of my best...

Pipe Organ, St Giles Cathedral. Inside the cathedral was this magnificent modern pipe organ. I decided to sketch it as it was a strong image. I know some organists who would cream their pants for a chance to see this, let alone play it...

Scot's Monument, Princes Street. This was the last sketch I did. i sat in the park sketching this, with the wind blowing about me and people going about their business. I also heard a bagpiper collaborate with an African drummer. The pipe was playing traditional Scottish pipe tunes, whilst the African drummer, was providing a rhythmic beat. I would call it Scottish Fusion... But Scot's monument (devoted to Sir Walter Scott, Scotland's national writer, Rob Roy and Ivanhoe are amongst his works) was very detailed. There were so many inticate carvings, so i simplified it. It was also nicknamed Thunderbird 3, because it looks like the rocket. Here is the end result.

So here are my Highland adventures told in sketches. I'm proud of this series as my work gets better everytime I draw. Enjoy...

Gav, Nov 08.