York Minster -Very slow WIP

[Nstacey]

Hi,
This is the 4th in a series of York drawings, and the second of the Minster (after the gallery I am drawing them for pointed out that the first drawing of the Minster I did wasn't actually of the front!).

I actually started this in October last year, but have been sidetracked with other things ever since. I have attached the first few updates,

I have lightly drawn out the Minster in quite a lot of detail to ensure I get everything perspectively correct.

The paper is A3 (29.7x42cm) Bristol Smooth as always, with H, HB and 2B graphite.

I have taken about 20 photos of various sections of the Minster, just to be able to make out all the detail. I'm not drawing anywhere near as much as I was last year, so this one could take quite a while to complete!

The gallery i'm drawing this for is owned by a painter that specialises in extremely detailed paintings of York, so I want my pencil work to stand up to his.

The updates could come very slowly with this one though, so bear with me.

[Alison2]

Hi! And er...wow!

Very ambitious project but you seem to be doing it justice!

Absolutely brilliant! :clap: :clap: :clap: Are you using mechanical pencils?

Pulling up a chair for this!

Thank you for sharing.

Alison2:wave:

[Anita Murphy]

York Minster is SO beautiful! I don't envy you at all doing this! :smirk: Joining Alison in the front row to watch!

Can you say hi to my daughter - she is in York too!!!

[JayD]

Boy, talk about pressure! Gee I think I will draw a very detailed cathedral and OH by the way display it in the gallery owned by a master who specializes in this type of building. YOU have NO idea how much I am respectin' you right now!!!

[Nstacey]

Thanks Alison, I am using mechanical pencils. I don't think I could handle all the sharpening that would be required with wooden pencils.

Hi Anita, York minster is a beautiful cathedral. I just opened my window and shouted 'Hi Anita's daughter'. I hope she heard me!!

Thanks for the respect JayD. I am feeling the pressure a little. The gallery owner is very well known in York (he started out as a kid painting on the street). Hopefully with mine being pencil and his paint, people won't compare them!!

[Rob Mcilwain]

This is really good, I don't know how you find the patience to draw something like this,

I look forward to seeing further updates on this piece,

cheers,
Rob,

[Judi1957]

WOW!!!! Awesome drawing! :clap: :clap:
Pulling up a chair.

[Smitty7]

This is the kind of technical and exacting project that a person could "lose track of time" while doing. It is so detailed. Looks great! Maybe someday I will try to something like this. Looking forward to more.

[Africanart]

WOW!!!! is all I can say...joining the front row on this one
Mary

[SparrowHawk7]

Hi Nolon. I've told you this privately but I'll say it again here publicly for the record. This is a really special project and it is turning out spectacularly. I don't think you have anything to worry about with your pencil work not standing on it's own. You have quite a unique style that is instantly recognizable - whether it's a portrait or an architectural drawing. All your work is outstanding.

Ken

[Dave's in Florida]

Spectacular! I love the detail you've got in it thus far - this is on it's way toward "masterpiece" status.
Dave

[Troy Rochford]

Great work Nolon. I admire you guys who have the patience to do this kind of thing in pencil.

[Nstacey]

Thanks Rob, i love your J-Lo avatar.

Smitty, I have lost track of way too much time whilst doing this so far.

Thanks for the 'wow' Mary.

Ken, thanks as always.

Thanks Dave, It would be nice to create a 'masterpiece'!!

Hi Troy, I must say i'm having to do this in short bursts to keep the patience going.

I should have another update by the end of the weekend (whether it's a noticable update will remain to be seen)

[wade1972]

That is really good. I wish I had the patience (or better yet the ability) to do work like this.

I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to this standing out. It already does!

I hope you do a lot more of these drawings.

[sks]

Wow - (elbowing into the front row) who brought the popcorn ?
You are going to knock their socks off with this !!!!
Tell me how you managed to get such a detailed drawing to begin with.
Keep it down in the back you guys !!! This is serious work ....

[Nstacey]

Thanks Wade, I do plan to do many more of these drawings. The plan is to create a collection of York drawings with a view to printing. I'm not sure if that will pan out though.

Thanks Sharon, I am taking all the detail from the many photos I have taken of the minster. I have attached a couple. I used the first for the general layout and position (although I have changed the lighting quite considerably, as I wanted a better contrast). I also have many close up shots - not necessarily at the right angle, but they do give me a clearer view of the detailed architecture. I used a grid to get everything in the right place and the perspectives correct.

[marilyn h]

Very impressed with your skill of perfections

[marilyn h]

Very impressed with your skill of perfections

[Nstacey]

Well, just a bit of an update here. I'm just working my way down until I hit the ground (so to speak!).

I haven't fully decided what to do with the tree that is supposed to be covering most of the right hand side of the cathedral. It's quite a bushy tree that will obscure quite a lot of the picture. I'm undecided whether to draw the tree as it is in the pictures, move it over slightly so it isn't as dominant, or draw it as it would be in winter (ie. without leaves and just branches). I'm thinking of going for the latter. What do you think?

[artjunkie101]

I am FLOORED. Your work is amazing and your level of patience equally so. I can't wait to see more. *applauds*

[SparrowHawk7]

Hey Nolon,

This is looking really good now. You are being even more careful with the details in this one and it shows. I like the idea of a winter tree so it doesn't obscure (and perhaps dominate or at least detract from) the image.

How do you manage to get your straight edges so straight? I have found that laying a ruler/straightedge near the line I want and parallel to it helps me to draw more accurately. How do you do it?

Great work as always, my friend,
Ken

[Nstacey]

Claire, sorry for flooring you!! I hope you didn't hurt yourself!!

Hi Ken, I think I agree with you about the winter tree. When I took all my reference photos, the tree was very green and bushy (which shows how long ago it was when I started this!), but the way it looks now will give me to opportunity to keep focus on the Minster. Plus, I would rather draw more of the cathedral than a tree.

I use a very similar method to you for creating the straight lines. I tend to line a pencil up against an existing line and then position the ruler based on that. Although, with the angle that most of my photos have been taken from (ie standing on the ground), the vertical lines aren't quite parallel and aim towards a point, which makes things just that little bit more difficult. I certainly believe in using rulers for this type of drawing - even though as children I was always told not to, which I never got! If you need a dark area of shading, you use a softer pencil, so why if you need a straight line wouldn't you use a ruler? Anyway, totally off on a tangent there!

[Anita Murphy]

I like the idea of a winter tree too - hate the idea of hiding any of that amazing architecture! :evil: no excuses on missing chunks out then! :D

[blu trukkie]

I feel that this is so good, it doesnt look real, its "BRILL". I am hoping to go there sometime soon, to have a look , and hopefully hear them play Vidors tocata & fugue on the organ, like my mother did in WW2. Look forward to the next bits.

[Nstacey]

A bit more of an update here. I'm finally starting to make headway with this. I'm beginning to see the finish line - still quite a long way to go though.

I'm now going to begin putting in the tree - I have decided to go with a leaf-less wintery tree, so as not to obscure too much of the cathedral. I'm not sure whether to leave the sky almost white, or put in quite a dark sky to hopefull bring out the cathedral more. Any comments would be most welcome!

[SparrowHawk7]

Hi Nolon,

You don't want the sky to take away from the majesty of those towers yet we all know there is something up there. So I would suggest perhaps just some indistinct shading to indicate clouds without any hard edges - just enough to add atmosphere. In any case, I'd wait till the foreground and tree was down and evaluate at that point.

Coming along great!!!

Ken

[Alison2]

I agree, I never got the 'don't use a ruler,' thing either!!!

Who makes these daft rules anyway? Art teachers in schools (in my day, in my school...) have a lot to answer for. Grrrrr.

Alison2:wave:

[AlisonBC]

Just beautiful! What wonderful rendering of a very complicated building!

[wade1972]

I agree, I never got the 'don't use a ruler,' thing either!!!

Who makes these daft rules anyway? Art teachers in schools (in my day, in my school...) have a lot to answer for. Grrrrr.

Alison2:wave:


Don't get me started on art teachers...:mad: (well, some of them)

But I actually learned an interesting trick from one that you could use when doing drawings of buildings and such, esp when sketching.

You have to image a clock with 12 numbers on it (like any clock in the world pretty much) and the hands of the the clock are the angles you have to draw with.

So say you have a building, you take an section and imagine the clock over it - you could see that one line is at "4" so you draw in that direction, where it connects to "6" then it goes down where it connects to "5" and so on...you just picture this clock everywhere.

[Nstacey]

Hi Ken, I think I agree with you about the sky - i'll keep it fairly light.

Thanks Wade, i like your clock idea - you can get lost very easily with which line of perspective you are following with a building like this - i'll bear that in mind if I tackle another one.

[Anita Murphy]

Isn't it nice when the finish line is in sight!!!

This is going to be superb! Can't wait to see the finish!

[IslanderNL]

This is so beautiful! You have the patience of Job to draw this.

And I vote for the winter tree also, so it doesn't detract from the building.

[Nstacey]

Hi Anita. the finish line is certainly in sight now - and a welcome sight it is!
Thanks Jeanette, I am going to go for the winter tree (I should get time to start that this weekend)

Well, here's another update. I still have to right side of the cathedral to complete, but, to be honest, most of this is going to be obscured by the tree.

Someone has already asked me why it's darker at the bottom - this is supposed to be shadow from the surrounding buildings. I won't be drawing any of the buildings but, as i'm planning to sell this in York, I wanted it to be as true to life as possible.

[SparrowHawk7]

Hi Nolon,

This is really lovely. What are you planning to do with the base/foreground?

Not much further now!
Ken

[Alison2]

Glad you've opted for the winter tree!

This is just FANTASTIC!

Alison2:wave:

[Nstacey]

Hi Ken,

The foreground will be fairly simple. There is a very small tree at the bottom left of the cathedral, which isn't too branchy, so i'm going to stick that in. There will then just be some of the road leading towards the viewer (but not too much of it)

[SparrowHawk7]

Hi Ken,

The foreground will be fairly simple. There is a very small tree at the bottom left of the cathedral, which isn't too branchy, so i'm going to stick that in. There will then just be some of the road leading towards the viewer (but not too much of it)
So I gather the cathedral is set back from the road a bit ... no doubt with manicured lawns and grounds. That should lead the viewer right to the doors. The tree on the right will keep the eye from straying off the drawing ... as will the smaller one to the left side. This should be an exceptionally pleasing composition with no lack of eye candy to hold the viewer's attention.

Ken

[edit] You know ... another similar drawing of the front entrance from straight on with lots of stonework detail might also be marketable. Just the entrance though so the scale would be much greater.

[Nstacey]

Ken, The Minster isn't actually set back from the road. It's quite a strange set up. This is the front of the cathedral but is pretty much on the road, whereas the side of the Minster has a nice walkway leading up to it with lawns either side (that's why I made the mistake of thinking the side was the front when i did my first drawing of it).

I like your idea of a close up of the front so i can really get into the detail. I also considered an internal view, which is even more ornate than the exterior. Although, having drawn the Minster from 3 different sides so far, I think i may have to leave that one for a little while. I may be all Minstered out at the moment!

[SparrowHawk7]

Nolon,

Another idea as far as antiquities are concerned, would be to draw them with people dressed in the garb of the day when the building was built as well as setting the scene with stuff that would have been in use back then. That might be a bit of a twist on what other local artists are doing. I don't know about your side of the pond, but historical art is quite marketable here. I know artists who release 1000 prints of a War of the Rebellion scene for $129 each and sell out before it is actually released. Anyway ... it's a thought.

Ken

[Nstacey]

Ken,

That's quite a common thing for Artists to do in York. I think because it's such a historical city, and there are some quite popular Victorian photos of York streets, setting the scenes in Victorian York is all the rage. Although, if I were to put people in the drawing, i would rather put people dressed in the garb of the day than present day dress. I'm currently undecided on that point though. I think I will wait until everything else is done and decide what to do at that point.

You've really got me thinking about the close up-straight on drawing though!! I may be taking some more photos tomorrow!!

[tinydancer]

I am from York, and I absolutely love it! You are doing it some serious justice.. well done! What a beautiful piece of architecture, and what a beautiful drawing of it...

[Nstacey]

I'm getting closer now. I've added the small tree in the bottom left corner and begun to put in the foreground and the larger tree to the right. Having not put in any of the side yet, is giving a strange appearance to the front - it looks as though it could fall over at any time. I had better get the side in soon!!

I should hopefully have this finished one day this week...Hopefully!

[siberart]

This is thrilling to see. I am looking forward to the finished sketch.

[Fozbot]

OMG...this is fantastic!!!!!!! how'd i miss this??!! what a complex building...this would definitely give ME nightmares. LOL thanks so much for sharing this WIP with us.

[mauricar]

Wow! My socks just went rolling down the block. You definitely knocked them off. You are doing a tremendous job on this. Such patience, I greatly admire. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Thanks so much for sharing this WIP.

[SparrowHawk7]

Those trees and foreground make a big difference, Nolon. I like the tree on the right - it keeps the viewer focused on the building by directing the eye into the scene. And the light pole stops the eye from wandering away as well. Compositionally though, it seems like it needs something on the upper left to balance. Maybe a cloud as you talked about earlier?

Ken

[Troy Rochford]

My socks are firmly in place Nolon, but that's not to say this isn't good. I just buy high quality socks! Great work here:)

[Nstacey]

Thanks Pat
Billie, the complexity is giving me nightmares, but it should be over soon.

Thanks Midge. Apologies for losing you your socks!

Hi Ken, I know what you mean about the upper left side. I'm going to leave the sky until the very end, so I can decide what to do.

Thanks Troy. Maybe you could send Midge some of your high quality socks!!

[Nstacey]

I'm almost there! I have inserted the tree to the right, which just requires detail adding. The side elevation is beginning to take shape, but again needs the detail adding - i then just need to put in the sky and I can lay this one to rest!!

[Troy Rochford]

Looks good Nolon. Only thing that bothers me is that the midground tree is so much darker in value than the foreground tree. That seems reversed. Was this intentional?

[SparrowHawk7]

Prints of this should sell once you get the drawing ironed out completely, Nolon. Tedious and exacting work, but it will come out excellent, my friend. Good job!

Ken

[*Deirdre*]

Nolan...spectacular finish! I'm amazed at your ability to tackle any subject no matter how complex! Well done!:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Alison2]

Amazing! Just brilliant. :clap: :clap: :clap:

Alison2:wave:

[JayD]

I'm with Dee and Alison but I have to say this and I am not joking--you need pidgeons!

[EBor]

Wish I had 10% of your patience (and 1% of your skills). It looks marvelous! Keep us posted.
Rob

[Nstacey]

Thanks Troy. I still need to work on the foreground tree quite a bit, so it should darken up quite a bit.

Hi Deirdre. I'm not quite finished yet, but almost!

Alison, thanks for the triple applause - very generous!

JayD - pidgeons? I'm not sure i'm up for that - i can handle the cathedral, but pidgeons scare me a little. I am undecided as whether or not to add some people milling around in the foreground.

Thanks Ebor. Eboracum is the Roman name for York - is there any link there?

[ripvanblair]

This is excellent, I've thoroughly enjoyed watching this come together, a real work of art, such attetion to detail, wonderful---------well done--------Alan