As today is the first day of the first month, I would like to wish anyone and everyone reading this post, a very happy new year. Perhaps I should wish you a fortunate new year, as inevitably this year will bring the usual mix of joy and sadness that we all share

Meanwhile back to the drawing board, quite literally….

I have made a start on the drawing using the photographs that I featured on the last post. It is not complete yet but is sufficiently in place, so that we can talk about it. This will be a tonal sketch, rather as I did for the Langstone painting, which means that the shadows will have been worked out well in advance of the painting stage.

On this occasion, I have used Derwent sketching pencils which are soluble. I have cross-hatched the dark side of buildings, and then washed over with clean water to give a shaded effect. These are much more convenient to use than ink. I had forgotten that I had them, so that was a nice find.

I will get the image up before we go any further.

The important building in the picture is the Galata Tower, which was a watch tower and which gives a panorama across the city. It was built by the Genoese in 1348, and replaced an earlier tower destroyed by crusaders in 1203. The Genoese were a merchant community in Constantinople at the time, and I guess this was their way of expressing gratitude for the hospitality shown them

I will only be able to use two of the three photographs, as I want to keep the finished painting within 40 centimetres. This is a pity, as I had hoped to include the splendid red Turkish flag shown between two buildings on the third photo. Not to worry, I still have dashes of red in the foreground with the life belts and the small flags on the boats. Maybe I can do a postcard study of the buildings holding this large flag, at a later date

In case you don’t know, and my apologies if you do, using some red in the foreground is a useful device for artists. It is an aid to perspective, as red comes towards you, just as blue recedes. Distant scenery turns blue, as you have probably noticed.

Let me repeat, that this drawing is not yet complete. I will post the completed drawing when I have finished it

I also have photographic references of the Blue Mosque, which should make a lovely study at some time. The last time we were in Istanbul, which was 2001, so a while ago, we went to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, which I believe is a museum now. We also went to the ancient cisterns of Constantinople, that masterpiece of Roman engineering, where the city’s water supply was stored. I try not to use the word “awesome” too lightly but that really was.

This time we went to the Topkapi Palace and of course cruised along the Bosphorus. Istanbul is still one of those places I would like to return to.

If you are following this demo, then thank you. I will complete the finished painting in stages and post as I go