My vicarious house hunting trip

I decided to sketch buildings this month because I had noticed a trend towards drawing a single subject with no background or context. Sketching a building and the street in which it sits seemed a nice way to get my head back into composing a whole picture. It also ended up being something of a vicarious house hunting trip. I mean, I could live here, couldn't you?

Actually that seems like an idyllic place for a weekend break, I think.  Perhaps something a little more urban, for everyday living... like this...

I would pop down to this little street for a bit of shopping in a heartbeat. I can't help but think there must be a lovely little restaurant behind that arched window... wonder what's on the menu...

I was inspired by the Craftsy course taught by Stephanie Bower called Perspective for Sketchers. I learned so much. For example, I hadn't actually thought about how the vertical edges of tall buildings are just another set of converging parallel lines when viewed from below, in a worm's eye view. Like in these castle ruins, those tall turret edges seem to lean into one another in the sky adding to that feeling of their height. By the way, if you are getting started with adding perspective to your drawings, this might be helpful.

I love these sort of discoveries. It's one of the reasons I took up drawing. Funny how you can look at something without really seeing it. Sit down and try to draw that thing and you will see so much more of it. Try it, please. You might be amazed at how much appreciating these tiny details in the world around us adds to our every day lives.