Understanding Architecture Through Drawing

low walls or steps to sit on, then planning in advance is
doubly necessary. You might well find that the best angles
for drawing are also those preferred by tourists, and
sometimes the best sketching position places you in the
shade or in a draughty corner. Drawing a Mediterranean
town in the warm sunshine of a June afternoon is a rare
pleasure, and with good planning you may be able to find
a street café where for the price of a cup of coffee you
will have an uninterrupted hour for drawing.
You are likely to produce a better sketch if you are
warm and have a little privacy. Besides crowds, try to
avoid sitting in areas full of traffic fumes since this is not

only unhealthy, but the dust and dirt will mark your paper

and discolour your washes. Traffic is usually unavoidable,

but if you study which way the breeze is blowing you may

be able to find an area less troubled by fumes even in

congested cities like Rome or Athens. Often it is only a

case of deciding which side of a square or street to sit in

order to avoid the traffic fumes and enjoy the sunshine on

you and on the subject.

The angle of light, and particularly of sunlight, can

make the difference between a good and a bad sketch,

and hence affect your ability to learn from the process of

drawing. You will generally need the sunshine to be on

3.1

A drawing of this complexity can only be undertaken with

the façades bathed in sunlight. The level of detail and degree

of patterning requires bright, preferably diagonal, light to pick

out the extraordinary detail. Known as Templeton’s Factory

and situated in Glasgow’s east end, this handsome Victorian

building looks across an extensive park.

Choosing the subject 31