Day 29 – New York Street Scene

I was given three photographs of New York, told to choose whichever one I wanted and received the entire challenge: “Make an urban sketch of this place.”No advice about composition, what to leave out, where to put the darks, which pen to use or whether to add colour. I chose a street corner with plenty of windows and fire escapes — apparently because after twenty-eight days I still enjoy making life difficult for myself.

I used my Platinum 3776 UEF with Platinum Carbon Black ink and added a limited wash. I simplified the surrounding buildings considerably and added a few figures, including one in blue to give the sketch a small focal point. The annoying part is that I knew I’d gone too far before I received the critique. There was a point when the drawing was finished, but unfortunately I failed to inform my pen. I carried on adding shadows, windows, bits of fire escape and a few more explanatory lines to the main building. Nothing disastrous, but the final ten minutes probably didn’t make the drawing any better.

The Verdict – the sketch successfully edited a very complicated scene rather than simply copying it. The surrounding buildings were allowed to disappear, the people helped turn it into a street scene rather than a drawing of a building, and the restrained colour worked well. The main criticism was exactly the one I was already expecting: I need to recognise when the sketch is finished while the pen is still in my hand.

Score: 9.2/10

One day left.