Sketching Paris, ballpoint pen and basic toning

These are a couple of quick, small sketches of Paris – ballpoint pen on copy paper with basic toning using vine charcoal and a 2B pencil. They’re made after paintings by the former Parisian artist Luigi Loir.

The biro forces you to commit your lines, and you can vary the depth of tone to some degree. It’s good practice for freehand perspective, and I was aiming for a looser, more impressionistic sense to my sketching. I often end up going too tight, creating contours from outside lines, with little sense of gesture. I’m in the early throes of trying to loosen up and trying to see the composition as a whole rather than get lost in fickly details that often make sketches look noisy. It’s early days yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads.