Very pleased (and a bit surprised 😳) that my pen and ink drawing of Nasim from a @draw_brighton photo set has been included in the inaugural RP Drawing Prize 2025 ‘Revealing the Human’. Exhibition at the University of Hull art gallery October 2nd - November 30th. #rpdrawingprize #portrait #portraitdrawing #penandink #fountainpen #portraiture #contemporaryportrait #instaart #artistsoninstagram #markmaking #hatching
Part 2 of a @talk.drawing interview with Ed Simkins @ed_simkins , an artist from London.
What medium/s do you choose to draw with and why?
Where to start! Charcoal, graphite, ink, pastel (soft and hard), colour pencil. Charcoal is just so simple and basic yet endlessly workable- just look at those Auerbach charcoal heads and the constant reworking and fixing and patching. Ink too is so pure and simple, so those dip pen drawings by Rembrandt and Van Gogh or Freuds etchings (we’ll call that drawing for the sake of argument!) Then there’s Degas pastels… There’s just so many things to try out and I get bored too quickly if I don’t switch them around.
Any advice for someone wanting to learn/start drawing or for drawing artists at the start of their career?
For me it was going to galleries (esp the free ones), buying as many secondhand art books (not ‘how to instructions’ but artists monographs) and trying to figure out how they did it. You’ll learn more from looking at a book of Van Gogh ink drawings or Renaissance drawings or Degas pastels than you will just by drawing alone. Make drawing a normal part of your routine because its amazing how quickly you forget things!
Is there anything else you would like to say, share or promote?
Next time you draw something, think ‘how would (insert name of artist) approach this’. Put yourself in their shoes. Think like a forger! Forget colour when you’re starting out, it’s all about the mark making. Colour can follow later. Or ignore all that and just do it your way because that is all that really matters.
Thank you for reading and thank you to Ed Simkins for sharing his experiences and drawing practice.
@talk.drawing is an Instagram account dedicated to sharing the work and practice of drawing artists.
#talkdrawing #ArtProcess #ArtInspiration #pastel #charcoal
Part 1 of a @talk.drawing interview with Ed Simkins @ed_simkins , an artist from London.
Tell us about yourself and your artist background?
I’m a graphic designer and live in London. Drawing has always been something I’ve done. I remember my Dad taking a sketch book with him on family holidays so I think that instilled a sense of ‘normality’ around drawing and art in general- it’s just something you did. I copied from comics (2000AD a particular influence) and remember gallery visits and 2 pictures in particular; Matisse’s 'Snail' and 'Ghost of a Flea' by William Blake. I remember an art teacher bringing in a book on American Hyper-realism and Chuck Close’s portraits were a big hit. I did a Foundation at Chelsea School of Art and then a Degree in Graphic Design. Since graduating 30 years ago I’ve worked in publishing in non-fiction illustrated books. I enter some open calls and was on Portrait Artist of the Year.
Why do you draw?
Good question! As I said above, it’s just always been a ‘normal’ thing to do. No great statement, no grand design, just an enjoyable way to pass the time. And I think I might be getting the hang of it. Actually, now I think about it I love learning how to use different materials and figuring out how artists achieve certain results. How is it Leonardo or Raphael can produce one result and a Degas pastel or an Auerbach charcoal portrait quite another and yet they all fall under the umbrella of drawing and are all equally great. And there are just so many materials to use and who can pass an art shop without buying something. I must have 20 empty sketchbooks laying around because a blank sketchbook promises so much.
Follow for part 2 (coming soon) and to read about other drawing artist practices and to see their work.
#talkdrawing #drawing #drawingartist #portaitdrawing #graphicdesigner
