Category Archives: Sketch book

Sketch book, urban sketching

It Never Really Hushes

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A week alongside the Holloway Road

Late last month (April 2023) I hopped on the bus to London.

Leaving Hamilton, just south of Glasgow early-ish on Sunday I was in Golders Green, North London by dusk. This is my second trip by National Express Coach (Avanti train service had engineering works and planned disruptions); this option worked for me.

I like the time spent on a road trip when someone else is driving. It gives me a chance to read, think, look out the window, sketch and sleep. It was also convenient being only a short drive at either end.

There are brief stops at various towns along the route – just enough time to make a quick sketch of what is in view and add some colour.

Stone remains of a castle at Penrith

It’s surprising what you can capture in a few minutes…

Blast of yellow daffs growing at Tebay Services
Coach to London – rest break in Birmingham

So here’s the reason I’m in London – to look after this wee chappie!

The wee boy himself

Not to mention a great opportunity to see family and friends and just lose myself in London life.

Tiny sketches from the top of the 43 bus to Highbury and Islington
Fresh blossoms on a shrub outside St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Holloway Rd

Sketching my favourite time of day in London – when there’s a pause in the bustle, a glow in the sky and the crows settle down for the end of the day.

View of Windsor Road
‘The moment between the bustle of the day and the London Klaxon night‘
On my way to see the exhibition at the Tate Modern – Hilma Af Klint and Piet Mondrian – fantastic!
Back to the beginning…Golders Green and heading North
Birmingham streetscape from the Upper Crust at the Coach Station

It was wonderful to have a week in London but I’m always happy to be home again.

Things have been quiet here on this blog so far this year as my attention has been on taking my artwork in a new direction…following the call of our orchard and a year of Professional Development at Paintbox School of Art. If you are on Instagram, you can see what I’m up to @ronniecruwysart …I’m nose down getting a body of work ready for a group exhibition at the Dovecot in Edinburgh

As always, thanks for reading and stay well!

Ronnie 🙂

Burrell Collection, Sketch book, urban sketching

There’s always time for a brew

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Flask on board the 8.01 Carluke to Glasgow Central train

I like to think that I always have time for a brew – a tea, coffee, whatever’s going. Either taking some time for a chat with a friend, family, stranger or just chatting to myself.

I made a few sketches whilst on a recent field trip to the Burrell Collection, in Glasgow (part of my Professional Development year with Paintbox School of Art) and smiled when I reflected on some of the subjects that had caught my eye, especially since the building is a work of art and there are hundreds of outstanding artifacts.

Kyathos cup c530-510BC – Burrell Collection

This hand-sized Kyathos cup with its elongated handle reaches back 2,500 years. I love the imagery of the winged horse and the all-seeing eye that decorate the outside. This beautiful, useful object has survived millenia to connect me with someone in ancient Greece who also enjoyed a beverage.

What caught my sketching eye next was this soft leather gauntlet, showing the creases and folds of the hand that once worked with falcons.

The upper part of the glove was meticulously hand-embroidered with brambles and mistletoe – symbolising healing and life.

Here we are back on the beverage theme again and this Worcester porcelain teapot, tea bowl and saucer from c1750-8.

A well-placed bench helped me to decide on my next subject. Numerous historic architectural features are built into the fabric of the gallery walls or placed as part of the overall display. This limestone French window built between 1440-1550 is one of a pair facing opposite each other.

I’m going to have to return to the Burrell as this contains a feast of art that should be savoured.

I paused for a moment in front of this one….

Edmond Duranty, deep in thought, painted by Edgar Degas – you can see the painting here. A brief extract from this link descibes:

‘Edmond Duranty (1833-80) was a close friend of Degas. The two men probably met in 1865 at the Café Guerbois, where Manet was another regular. ….. He (Duranty) also wrote reviews of the Salon and articles on a wide variety of art matters. Manet so strongly objected to one of Duranty’s reviews that he challenged the writer to a duel – fortunately both men survived.‘

At least it looks like Duranty gave considerable thought to whatever it was that he wrote!

As always, thanks for reading and for any Stokies reading, some beatiful ancient pottery just for you!

Ronnie 🙂

Jura, Sketch book, Whisky

Jura: a surprise trip

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It’s been a while since I’ve been on a camping trip with Iain. Long enough to have almost forgotten about the many small biting things that are about at this time of year but very excited by the thought of soaking up Jura’s dramatic landscape (dram-tastic all round!) .

Cake stop along the side of Loch Awe

We set off on Friday to catch the ferry from Kennacraig to Port Askraig on Islay. It’s then a short ferry crossing to Jura.

I took a load of art kit with me but in the end it was the pocket sketchbook, watercolours and the fine liner pen that were the most portable as we did a bit more walking than anticipated. All well worth it!

Midges are bearable when you have a camping spot beside the Jura Distillery and a few steps to the bar of the Jura Hotel. Plus the midge coils work – thanks Iain!

All this plus the view below.

View from the campsite in Craighouse, Jura
A wee dram

At 7am next morning there was only the sound of Iain firing up the stove, oyster catchers and the passenger ferry….

Saturday morning – view east towards the Cowall Peninsula

…but this didn’t last! Craighouse was soon all go with nearby grass being strimmed and these lads up working on the distillery first thing.

View west towards Jura distillery

We packed up and went north of Tarbert and south of Inverlussa and set out on foot to Cruib Lodge Bothy. It was a wee bit more of a stride than aniticpated with wet feet and my best bog language for some parts but it was all worth the effort.

Just a few of the many wild flowers out on Jura including orchids, tormentil, bog asphodel and sundew. Lots of this year’s frogs too and otters swimming in the bay opposite the bothy.

Sunday morning and time to depart
View towards Caol Ila Distillery on Islay

Final view of the Paps of Jura from Port Askaig.

A brilliant trip and it feels like I’ve been away months.

Thanks for reading,
Ronnie

Sketch book, Whisky

Kitchen Table: Music, Whisky and Flo 1/3

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Little Flo

‘The Kitchen Table’ is 2021’s theme for the Carluke Jam and Ham Exhibition (online). As I thought about the subject, I realised how much the Kitchen table is the heart of our home and how many stories and relaxed evenings have been spent around it. It brought to mind the highlight of last summer when restrictions were lifted enough for my family to come and visit – a magical time!

I really enjoy sketching the things we use each day – they become more familiar and loved with use, such as our wee red tea pot and the rainbow mug from Grapevine in Alsager.

The Carluke exhibition invites up to three entries so I decided to go for it with a triptych of our table, working out a composition for three stand alone paintings, all on 25cm square wooden boards, which would flow one into the other. I first made tiny thumbnail sketches then drew them at the same size as the boards.

Flo sizing up my sketch book – or perhaps eying up the Glenfarclas!

I love the start and close of each day. It’s at the end of the day that the table lights up and it’s a treat to get out a wee dram and capture the moment in my whisky sketch book.

One of the entries in my whisky sketch book earlier this year

Animals have been a part of my life for many years – this is Flo, our most recent addition to the household, she joined us from Lanark Cat Rescue, a timid curious wee cat and though she is still very shy she seems content with her life on an orchard.

Small paintbox which I carry in my handbag for urban sketching – it has all the lovely ochres and golds perfect for whisky sketches!

The whisky glasses were gifts from our visit to the Union Jack pub Berlin, when they were filled with some very fine malt whisky and great hospitality!

Flo on day one with us – early spring 2020.

I found a few music sheets in the local Oxfam shop which I thought would be useful for collage. I gave them a wash in red and orange inks and tore them into shapes for the flowers which sit in the Burleighware jug from my sister.

Musical flowers

Music from Radio Scotland or Radio 6 late into the night is part of the evening kitchen. If my brother is visiting, then we’ll have a session as he is great on guitar and stories.

Burleighware jug from the Stoke-on-Trent Pottery

Our striped red, orange and turquoise table runner is also something that brightens up the table – from Staffordshire days.

I will sign off with the finished painting. This is the central part of the triptych – more to follow on the other two very soon.

Thanks as always for reading!

Ronnie 🙂

Lanark Heritage, Sketch book, Tolbooth Lanark

The Tolbooth: from Jail to Jewel of Lanark

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The Tolbooth, Lanark

A recent post by Tolbooth Arts has prompted me to look a little further into the history of this significant Lanark landmark. It sits at the bottom of the High Street with the Provost’s lamp (from the 1890’s) standing outside. The lamp is a relatively recent feature in it’s history – the third of the Tolbooth buildings to have existed on this site since the early 1400’s.

Lanark is one of Scotland’s oldest Burghs and back in the 12th century it was a favoured hunting ground for the Kings of Scotland. Over the years, the town has been a creative hotspot for shoes, gloves, saddlery, weaving, oil, and knitwear whilst the Lanark markets traded in livestock and agricultural implements. A walk through the Closes of Lanark give a great insight into the layers of history woven into the town.

Information boards on the wall of McKenzie’s Close – drawings by Kirsten Harris Art

The Town Council would have had a Council Chamber – a ‘Tolbooth’ in which to hold their meetings and to serve as a base for their officials, the treasurer and town officer. The Tolbooth served as a point for collection of customs or charges imposed on all goods brought in to the town for market. The ‘Customer’ or ‘Tacksman’ based here had control of the weights and the ‘Tron’ or public weighing machine located nearby.

The first building referred to in Lanark records was located approximately on this site and is thought to have been built around 1400. By 1571 it was in a ruinous condition and was replaced by a building which survived until 1778 but the Council didn’t have the funds to repair it.

‘Gentlemen of the Tolbooth’ – Volunteers Ernest, Tom and Millie, Christmas 2019

However, this was when the “Gentlemen of the County” stepped in and offered to pay for erecting a new building entirely at their expense with the one condition that they were allowed to use the Upper Hall as a gathering place. This is the Tolbooth building that exists at present.

There is plenty more on the history of the Tolbooth on the Discover Lanark website and on the Canmore website.

In 2017 The Tolbooth Trustees embarked on the redesign of the ground floor unlocking the buildings potential as a gallery, heritage centre and arts hub open daily manned by a dedicated group of volunteers. For the past few years that I have been living near Lanark, the Tolbooth has indeed been a creative hub and I’ve been delighted to have participated in several exhibitions with many happy hours spent sketching inside and out – a few examples follow:

Streetscape opposite the Tolbooth
Richard Price giving a pottery demonstration in the Upper Hall
Lanark’s town pigeons settling down to roost for the night

The Tolbooth Christmas shop has been a growing success over the past few years and artists are well underway preparing new work for this year’s stock, myself included.

Skilled creative work of local artists in the Christmas Shop
Lanark’s town Crier taking shelter in the Tolbooth, wearing Thomson Blue Tartan

Look out for the next exhibition – ‘Clyde Valley – Garden of Scotland’ coming very soon to the Tolbooth – more on that in the next post!

In the meantime, I will sign off with this drawing of the Tolbooth Lanark. It will be in the Christmas shop from November, or get it touch with me or a volunteer at the Tolbooth. Price is £225 framed (20 x 17in) which includes a commission towards the upkeep of this fantastic community hub.

Thanks for reading, Ronnie

Scotland, Sketch book, urban sketching

Airborne

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Roofline of a Victorian School on Westmuir Street, Glasgow

A hold up, a queue or a gap in the day’s proceedings are a gift to me – if I remember to take it – or if I have my sketch book to hand. Today was one such gift. A slight delay for my sis-in-law as we waited for her pre-flight Covid test on Westmuir Street, Glasgow.

You just have to look up and there’s the skyline full of Victorian chimney stacks, turrets, ridges and eaves.

Birds flying with ease from one perch to another.

I’m almost at the end of this pocket sketchbook – a strange feeling as sketchbooks are companions to me. When a book gets filled up there is a sense of a chapter closing.

A page has turned in our family story as my nephew begins a new life as a student in St Andrew’s, a long way from his home. Little does he know but it’s thanks to him that I have filled the last pages of this sketchbook with Glasgow rooflines and scarlet rosehips!

Pen and ink drawing, Sketch book, Uncategorized

Rekindling the Sketchbook

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Boats in Cockenzie Harbour

My ‘handbag sketchbook’ has been dormant for a while. It’s a hand-sized book which I normally sketch in when out and about but over the last year or so, trips out have been straight to the point and home again.

I realised how much I had missed capturing some of the day-to-day aspects of life when I was waiting for my second Covid jab. This chap was ahead of me in the fast moving queue at Ravenscraig Sports Centre and it struck me that I should get the moment down even if it was just a few lines.

Roll up your sleeve!

I was surprised at how l had fallen out of the habit of these short sketches – I’ve been drawing and painting plenty of other things (more on this another time) but these sketches are my visual diary. Life goes past so quickly that I sometime wonder what I was doing last week and these capture the moments when I pause.

These sketches are for me – I don’t mind how haphazard they are as long as I sketch something of the moment. I had added a wash of yellow ochre on one of the pages – it’s a simple but effective background to liven up a few hasty lines.

A ten minute wait for a routine vet visit was a great opportunity to sketch the profile of the church at Lesmahagow.

Lesmahagow church – waiting outside the vets

Here’s my first café sketch in over a year – looking up to the shelf where there was a line up of colourful Edinburgh Gin bottles.

Coffee out at the Red Barn

A visit at last to see my sister in York for her birthday. She placed these beautiful lily-of -the valley flowers in a vase that came from Kerry, the part of Ireland that my mother came from.

Window sill in York

In-person classes have resumed at Paintbox – the Art School by the Sea – over in Cockenzie. You can catch the feel of a place in just a few lines – enough to remind you of the day.

Tide ebbing

If I arrive at Cockenzie a little earlier than class starts, I have a coffee from my flask and sketch the view from the car.

Tide flowing

The perspective is skew-whiff on this one below but I loved the crow-step gables against the red roof and bright blue sky.

Side of Cockenzie House

I’ve been over to Cockenzie many times but not stayed to have a look further up the coast so we set Midsummer’s Day aside to go out to Bass Rock. Another few minutes waiting our turn to board the boat and I sketched what was in front of me.

Bass Rock is spectacular! Located just off the coast of North Berwick, it’s high-rise accommodation for 150,000+ gannets! We had booked on an hour trip which took us right up to the side of the rock where we got a great view of the birds and their young chicks.

The only way to pick up where you left off is to turn the page and pick up a pen.

As always, thanks for reading 🙂

Ronnie

Lanark Heritage, Lanimer Day, Sketch book, Uncategorized, urban sketching

An Unusual Lanimer Day

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Roofscapes above the High Street when viewed from inside the Tolbooth.

Today, Thursday 11th June 2020, would have been Lanimer Day, a celebration and a week-long town party that has taken place in Lanark since 1892. You can read more about the history of the activities on the Lanark Lanimers website. It’s a rare day in early June that the streets of Lanark are not filled with one of the UK’s largest processions for the crowning of the Lanimer Queen and many other ceremonial activities to celebrate the Royal Burgh.

I’ve hardly been into Lanark these last 12 weeks of lockdown so urban sketching has been replaced by orchard sketching (more on than another time) but I didn’t want the day to pass without acknowledging this significant week or without giving some acknowledgement to a few of the traders who show up in my sketches and who must also be finding it challenging to adapt and keep going.

View of St Nicholas’s church tower and the side of Jacks Ironmongery shop from Broomgate.

These are simply some examples from my 2019 sketch book where I can show a small taster of the work that goes on in Lanark by others. Let’s start with some of the work by a Scottish potter Richard Price. This one’s for my Stokie Pals; I can’t help but admire potters wherever they are!

Some of Richard Price’s pottery on display at Lanark Tolbooth
Richard Price giving a demonstration at the Tolbooth in 2019

If there is work going on then there has to be a rest in between. Ernie, Tom and Millie sketched whilst on duty during the Tolbooth Christmas exhibition.

Included in the exhibition was a wonderful example of a Yorkshire Ewe by the animal portrait artist Rosie Mark who also works here in the Clyde Valley.

Looking outside the Tolbooth window, the pigeons settle down to roost on the chimney stacks.

Now for someone we all miss – our hairstylists! This is Heather at Nelson’s Hair Salon, which is being redecorated in anticipation of opening sometime soon.

Enjoying a cup of tea whilst I sketch Heather at work

Something else that I miss: being part of an audience at a music event such as this one held at Scottish Wildlife Trust visitor centre, New Lanark.

Feis Rois musicians playing at New Lanark

Finally I’d like to include an acknowledgement of the work put in by Ian Wilson Leitch and the Tolbooth volunteers and Kirsten Harris who all worked tirelessly on behalf of so many artists and creators to set up this shared exhibition open to all working in the area. You did a great job!

Here’s hoping that the pandemic recedes and that we can all pick up some of our most treasure threads of our daily lives with renewed enthusiasm.

Thanks for reading and may you all keep well.

Ronnie

Clyde Valley, Sketch book

passing time

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Dalserf Parish Church, dating back at least to mid 17th C.

These last few days have had a theme – archives. Actually, the theme has woven between archived sketchbooks of artists who have gone before us and sketching graveyards with some monumental archival gravestones.

I spent yesterday morning with my Paintbox classmates and the archivist at Edinburgh Gallery of Modern Art Two soaking up every detail we could from the sketchbooks of Mary Newbery, William Crozier, William MacTaggart, Joan Eardley, James Mackintosh Patrick, Josef Sekalski and Oskar Kokoshka. All these sketchbooks are available for anyone to look at by appointment. No photos, but we can use pencils to make sketches and notes…

Making quick notes on the sketching techniques of William Crozier and William MacTaggart

It’s very moving being present to witness these private moments of an artist. Through their sketches, they share that same frame of mind when they were in that sketching space, recording what they saw, then years pass and here we are, in the Reading Room, observers for a few passing minutes, seeing with their eyes.

James Mackintosh Patrick -exquisite sketches

After our time in the Reading Room, we went out with our own sketchbooks to find a quiet corner and sketch. Dean graveyard is right behind the gallery and it’s a mini-city of high-rise head stones. The trees are winning though with their majestic presence and golden canopies.

Leaves giving way…

Mary Newbery’s sketchbook included a line drawing of flowers against a painted green/grey background. Nothing at all as clumsy as this sketch – but this will remind me of her work.

Today I was back getting ready for my exhibition at the Tolbooth which will be on from next Monday, here in Lanark. As you know, all my streets are drawn as archives but there’s always so much more I want to include.

When I drew Kirk Road Dalserf, I felt that the street was incomplete without some sketch of this significant Covenanter’s church so I’m happy that I completed a sketch today. The original will be framed and on display by next week.

I’m planning to post more about my work that’s going up in the Tolbooth as the people who pass by this page are miles away from here. I’m happy enough to share my work as long as you are kind enough to give up your time to read.

This post is dedicated to Colina, our neighbour here on the Braes, who passed away last night taking almost a century of memories with her.

Colina’s View of the Clyde Valley

Thanks for reading, Ronnie

Sketch book, Uncategorized, Whisky

Diversion at the Pot Still

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Have you ever tried to pin down where a new story begins? In my world the best stories begin with a sketch. Take this one from 2014, part of the very first series of Sketchbook Skool ‘Beginning’

sketch of whisky festival by Ronnie Cruwys

Four years later and it’s second nature to draw a few bottles on the wall of Glasgow’s Pot Still  where we were enjoying a glass of Edradour during our transition North. It’s a convivial pub especially on a snowy night and we began chatting with our table companions over my sketchbook…They were over from Germany visiting some distilleries and I gave it hardly a passing thought when Jens mentioned he was looking for an artist to draw labels.

Wee Dram of Edradour Pot Still Glasgow ronnie cruwys
Where the diversion began…

I’ve got quite a few whisky sketches tucked away. They’re a bit of a clue that I quite like a malt though I am no expert!

Colquhoun Lodge Cruwys.jpg

whisky fest 2015 Ronnie Cruwys.jpg

I’m going to keep this a short story.

Today I finished the 386th hand drawn label to go on a very fine 1976 Speyside Malt for Sansibar – an independent bottler in Germany. You can see some of the bottles here: Sansibar

ronnie cruwys sansibar labels speyside 1976 2.jpg
Spot the Burlsem Burleighware by my elbow! 

It’s been a drawing marathon taking up pretty much all of my working time since moving to Scotland at the end of June. Each label is a sketch of somewhere I’ve been to over the years, some detail that caught my eye, or some place that meant something to me including our current neighbours’ place (below). If you look closely you’ll see their dog Flynn being watched by our two cats and the local stray (now part of our gang) with his half bitten ear. We call him Rum Tum. Plums are dripping off the trees above him and you can see the old apple trees of the Clyde Valley orchards beyond.

duncan and Louise place.jpg
left to right: Josh, Ollie, Flynn and Rum Tum

If you really want an idea of where we’ve moved to, Countryfile did a short tv clip on the Clyde Valley orchards filmed practically on our doorstep. We live in the Fruit Basket of Scotland!

So these are the last batch of labels on their way to Germany.

ronnie cruwys sansibar whisky labels1976 speyside malt a.jpg

This has been my view as I work – the mist is over the River Clyde in the valley below.

Clyde valley ronnie cruwys home view 1.jpg

It’s been a wrench to leave Staffordshire with a lot of goodbyes on top of the passing of my beloved sister but what a time it has been this summer!

I haven’t forgotten my streets and will leave you with a taste of my new surroundings with a big thank you for reading!

Ronnie

hazelbank clyde valley ronnie cruwys
Hazelbank, Clyde Valley