Scottish Countryside

Scotland is one of those places where the constant rainfall not only enhances the natural beauty of the rolling landscapes, it actually defines them. While walking through the Scottish countryside the other day, we passed a herd of highland grazing cows, as well as some other great characters. The rain may have prevented me from painting anything on the spot (especially on the iPad), but I had to pay tribute to the wonderful scenes once I returned to our hotel. Below is a look at the process I typically use to construct illustrations in the Procreate iPad app. Enjoy!

I started out with some rough sketches trying to capture the pose of the old man, then tightened them up as I went. 

Once I was happy with the old man's pose, I repositioned him on the canvas and built up the composition around him. I didn't want to clutter it with too much countryside---just enough information to imply the landscape around him.

I painted the old man first and threw a plaid texture on his jacket. I kept the line drawing of him to the side for reference while painting.

Once I was done with the man, I began blocking in the scene around him---referring to the colors on his jacket and umbrella for the color palette. (A leaf-brush is a life saver in these situations---thankfully Procreate allows you to create your own custom brushes.)

A little more blocking in and the scene was complete. Voila!

A Dark Night in Scotland

Hollywood seems to be giving Glasgow a post-apocalyptic reputation. Recently, film crews had the city double as Philadelphia for the upcoming Brad Pitt vs. zombies film, World War Z. But before that, Christopher Nolan and his team had quietly infiltrated City Centre to snag some location shots for the post-apocalyptic Gotham of The Dark Knight Rises. After staying in Glasgow for a few days, I've begun to see the Gotham in it---inspiring these sketches.

A Brief Jaunt through London

After saying au revoir to the eternal charm of Paris, our group headed off to the UK for a four-day sprint through London. This leg of the study tour usually lasts a full two weeks, but a little something called the Olympics has made staying (let alone studying) in London a bit of impossibility for the next few weeks. The pace may have been hectic, but the excited streets of London provided a wealth of inspiration for some British-themed sketches. As with all the cities I've visited on this trip, I can't wait to get back some day.

Olympic fever.

London stroll.

Punk London.

London morning.

Olympic web-slinging.

More Paris iPad Painting

Continuing my collection of iPad paintings in Paris, here are some more illustrations and doodles done up in the Procreate app.

A peaceful morning near the Eiffel tower.

Friendly flower delivery.

Capturing Monet's gardens on a handheld camcorder. I imagine he'll impression-ize them in post.

Servers dressed as sailors outside a café on the Champs Elysees. Probably authentic.

Parisian sundowns have a tendency to be blinding.

Paris by Watercolor

I've been turning to my watercolor pad a little more often while in Paris---something about the city just begs to be captured in the medium. Here's a selection of some of my Parisian watercolors thus far.

The view from my apartment balcony couldn't be more quintessential.

Good ol' Eiffey.

People hanging around Sacre Coeur and the Lourve.

Café la Contrascarpe---one of Hemingway's old haunts.

Just up the road, another Hemingway haunt: 39 Rue Descartes, where Hem rented a room to keep up the discipline of writing.

Just a castle.

Café.

Paris in the rain, as it was meant to be.

It's not so bad in the sunlight, either.

Paris by iPad

It's been a busy few weeks here in Paris---so busy, in fact, that the blog seems to have been collecting a little dust lately. For a bit of Bastille Day cleaning, then, here are some iPad paintings that I've done while strolling the streets, cafés and museums of Paris. All were painted in Procreate and/or Brushes.

Apartment life.
Waking up in Paris is never a struggle.

Café life.

Coffee for 5 euros? Something has changed since Hemingway's days.

Salon life.

The cheaper alternative to cafés: hanging at friends' places. Just like the artists old.

Metro life.

The Dark Knight looms over every Metro stop in Paris---fitting, considering the new film draws its inspiration from A Tale of Two Cities.

Railroad life.

It may not be Monet's striking portrait of Gare St. Lazare, but I can understand what drew him to the railroads a little better now.

Balcony life.

A soft breeze and an open balcony are all you really need to be content in Paris. And maybe a baguette as well.

Night life.

The sun may not set until 10:30pm, but the wait is well worth it.

Night light.

The now famous "magic steps" from Midnight in Paris draw eager tourists each night, but it seems Fitzgerald, Eliot, and the rest have stopped frequenting them.

Night lights.
There's never a dull night on the steps of Sacre Coeur. As with most great attractions in Paris, the real view tends to be of the people, not the city.

Night love.
Paris: A lovers' town.

Museum life.

The size of the Mona Lisa may be underwhelming, but the size of the crowd sure isn't. Poor Louvre workers.

The Story So Far

I may have been in Paris for more than a week by now, but I wanted to give one final post reflecting on all the great adventures from Italy. So without further ado, here are some of the highlights of my Euro-trip so far...

Here's to even more exciting adventures down the road!