Line & Wash in the Urban Landscape

Introduction
Sketching tools and materials
Sketching with rhythm
Exercise: Pure contour
The watercolour wash
Exercise: Working with watercolour
Working outdoors or in?
Out & about 1: Getting started and loosening up
Simplifying the detail
Exercise: Continuous line sketch
Out & about 2: In the heart of the city
Measurement and scale
Exercise: Measuring the scene
Out & about 3: Measurement in practice
Composition
Exercise: Composing your scene
Out & about 4: Extending the technique
Negative space
Out & about 5: Sketching an iconic landmark
Making the sky come alive
Out & about 6: Sketching a complex scene
Going further

About Neil Whitehead

Neil Whitehead is an award-winning urban landscape artist, from Taunton, Somerset, UK. He is inspired by the architecture in the towns and cities around us, and his fast and fluid style using ink and watercolour is well-known for its speed, rhythm, expressive lines and bold colour.

Neil’s line and wash artworks and larger acrylic pieces are on walls and exhibitions globally, and he regularly contributes to the Urban Sketchers initiative of ‘on location’ sketching. Neil was appointed as a Featured Artist by Derwent in 2022, and is now a Brand Ambassador.

See more from Neil on Instagram @ennkaydraw

Artbookreview.net

Books on pen and wash are relatively thin on the ground, which is a shame because its an attractive medium that adapts well to almost any subject and is as much at home in a finished work as a quick sketchbook note.

I think its fair to say that Neil Whiteheads style wont be to everyones taste the line work is very loose and the washes more of a splash. Its a matter of choice and I also suspect that, if you put this down hurriedly, urban sketching probably isnt your thing either. If it is, then I think youll love the book. The added splashes of colour bring a busyness and vibrancy to the scenes as well as a sense of movement without actually adding recognisable figures. Quite simply, this is Impressionism writ large and I mean that as a compliment.

If youre an urban sketcher, Neil presents you with a powerful tool for your armoury that I hope youll exploit and love. If youre more of a technique person, then this is an extension of a tried and tested way of working thats being brought firmly into the Twenty-First century.

Personally, I think its about as refreshing as it gets.

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Leisure Painter, December 2024

Capture the energy and architecture of the places you love, using expressive line and wash. Learn to sketch in a loose, rhythmic style and use vibrant watercolours to create unique urban masterpieces. Whether you are a complete beginner looking to take the plunge into drawing outdoors, or a more experienced urban sketcher ready to loosen up your style and use watercolour paints in a whole new way, renowned urban landscape artist, Neil Whitehead will help you bring your favourite places to life on paper. 

Packed with inspirational paintings, plein-air demonstrations, and practical exercises to help you loosen up and let go, plus lots of handy tips, Line & Wash in the Urban Landscape is a comprehensive, visually inspiring guide to this popular artform. 

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The Artist, February 2025

This addition to the growing range of literature on drawing and painting in towns is welcome due to its concentration on a medium that gets rather less attention. Line & wash is ideally suited to the urban landscape as it allows the hard edges of the built environment to be leavened with both colour infills and a broader brush application that add to the sense of drama, movement and hustle that pervades the populated city. 

Neil Whitehead provides a complete tutorial with examples and exercises that demonstrate techniques with pens, brushes and felt-tips. There are also good explanations of form, perspective and the way colour works in this context, with generous illustrations and concise captions. 

Urban art is growing in popularity and this is an exciting addition to the range of books available and takes a genuinely novel approach in a medium that readily simplifies an often complex subject.