One Sketch 294) Illuminated letter D

Believe me , it must be quite a sight
To see such lovely letters
Made of light.

Sketching Every Day prompt today - illuminated letter. I copied this D, but I'm not feeling well today with my winter cold, and so didn't have the oomph to try to colour it in.

One Sketch 293) Prague Tram

Want to know why I'm happy
as I am?
Cos it's Spring
It's Prague
And I'm sketching a tram

Well, not now obviously, but I did while I was there, and that was the inspiration for today's sketch. Well, that and the fact that I was so pleased with yesterday's Budapest tram sketch. What, you want a comparison with sketches I made on the trip itself. Oh, go on then, ere you go:-

One Sketch 292) No. 2 Tram by the banks of the Danube in Budapest

By the banks of the Danube Blue
You can ride on a lovely tram too

Blimey, that's a terrible verse. Still, the picture isn't so bad. The scanner doesn't bring out all the colours perfectly, but at least I think you can see that I'm getting more confident in using watercolour in an urban sketching style.

I visited Budapest back in the tail end of 2017. I liked what I saw, but I just wasn't there long enough to really do anything more than think about scratching the surface. I did ride on some trams though! And sketch them too - here's the 2 line sketches I made during the trip: -

One Sketch 291) Tower Bridge

Maybe it's because
I'm a Londoner.
- No maybe about it.

Okay, so, the prompt on Sketching Every Day today was - famous or not so famous landmark. Well, I'm very sorry , but whenever I hear the word landmark, my first thought is normally of my hometown of London. Yeah, I haven't lived in London for over 30 years, but I was born there, I grew up there, and I went to London University. You can take me out of London, but you can't take London out of me. I quite like to compare this to a sketch I made of Tower Bridge last year -

Now, this isn't a bad sketch. I quite like the sky. But I'd like to think I'm now using colour more effectively.

One Sketch 290) (Wednesday 9th January) Cathays Cemetery

While all around
The dear departed sleep
Carved in stone above them
Angels weep

I rather like cemeteries. Didn't used to, but then that's hardly surprising is it? Cathays cemetery in Cardiff is a very good place to go if you're looking for a bit of peace and solitude, and some fine statuary to sketch as well.

One Sketch 289) Sir Quentin Blake - Dragon 3

What a sight indeed
A dragon who likes
To read.

The prompt on Sketching Every Day today was featured artist - artist of your choice. I didn't want to pick an artist whose work I've already copied, so that ruled out Thomas Nast, Sir John Tenniel and Norman Rockwell, all of whom I absolutely love. I considered going for a classical 'fine' artist - ad believe me there are plenty whose work I love - Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and the greatest English painter, JMW Turner to name but a few. But well, with time a consideration I plumped for someone whom I also love, but whose work I could make a reasonable copy of in one evening.

Sir Quentin is probably best renowned for his work illustrating the works of Roald Dahl, whose unique works he so memorably brought to life. In 1999 he was the very first Children's Laureate in the UK. Incidentally, in the 1970s, he became the first person other than Dr. Seuss to illustrate a Dr. Seuss book.
This is a straight copy of Sir Quentin's Dragon number 3. It's a one of a series of ten drawings that he made in 2014 for the corridors of the Dragon Centre which treats young people and children in South London.

One Sketch 288) Sir Paul McCartney bobble head

What a thing I've sketched today
Just like the bobble head
Of Dorian Gray

Okay, yes, you're quite right, this is a response to another prompt on Sketching Every Day. The prompt was 'bobble head day'. Now, when I saw the words bobble head, I immediately thought back to an episode of the TV show "Pawn Stars". I don't know if you've ever seen it. Basically it's a reality TV show which centres on the day-to-day business of the Gold and Silver Pawn shop in Las Vegas. I'll make no bones about it, it's a show I enjoy, mainly because I tend to think that Rick Harrison, being an incorrigible history buff and knowall is cut very much from the same sort of cloth as myself.
In the particular episode of the show that I was alluding to, a customer brings in a set of Beatles bobble heads, one of many, many items manufactured when Beatlemania hit the USA. This gave me the idea of sketching the Paul McCartney bobble head, but, as a twist, sketching his face as it looks now, more than 50 years later. Cruel? Not intended to be, just struck me as an interesting thing to do.