Today’s study was the Roman arch, looking at how the main arch, supporting columns and surrounding architectural detail work together. I wanted to keep the sketch quick and selective rather than trying to reproduce every detail, using a limited grey and ochre wash with the Pilot Falcon soft extra-fine fountain pen and Elephant Black ink for the definition. The central arch became the main focus, with the darker recessed areas helping to give it depth. This is beginning to feel much closer to the architectural sketch style I’m trying to develop — recognisable, structured and stylish, but still loose enough to retain the character of a sketch.
I started with a quick preliminary sketch to work out the main proportions and the central arch before attempting the final version. The preliminary highlighted the need for a more convincing arch, cleaner horizontal structure and less competing detail. The final sketch was then completed fairly quickly.
Score 6.5 for the preliminary (I was hoping for more) and 7.5 for the final (I was expecting less!).
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