446 pages. Three books. Every one plants a tree.
Finding Your Inspiration is where it all starts - 17 locations around the world, from Liverpool to Mexico, and the chapter I almost didn't write: what happens when you lose your inspiration completely.
Layers of Looking goes deeper into how I actually sketch. Why I use the "wrong" colours on purpose. Why life is too short to count windows. And why the messy version usually has more life than the perfect one.
Sketching Stories is the one I'm most proud of. It's the stories behind the sketches - a Burger King in Marrakech, a seagull called Henry from Deal, and the milkman who never got to see any of this. I dedicated it to my dad.
These aren't textbooks. They're about what happens when you sit down with a pen and really look at the world around you.
The more you look, the more you see, the more you understand.
Layers of Looking (The definitive edition): Dive into a vibrant guide designed to spark your creativity and inspire your next sketching adventure. Ian Fennelly, a master urban sketcher, shares techniques and insights to help you loosen up, experiment with color, and play with tone. Packed with practical tips and personal stories, this book will empower you to see the world in layers and capture its essence with depth and emotion.
Finding Your Inspiration: Struggling to find inspiration? Let Ian Fennelly guide you through an uplifting journey of discovery. Through beautifully illustrated pages and heartwarming anecdotes, Ian shows how everyday moments—a hanging basket, a quirky building, or a forgotten corner—can fuel your fire. This book reveals how Ian turns his surroundings into sketches full of character and narrative, teaching you how to find inspiration wherever you are.
Sketching Stories: Every sketch tells a story, and in this book, Ian Fennelly takes you on an adventure through urban landscapes, capturing the essence of streets, buildings, and communities. His sketches go beyond architecture, revealing the heart of the people and places that make up our world. "Sketching Stories" is a celebration of life, rich with moments of resilience, history, and everyday beauty, perfect for artists and storytellers alike.
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1-2 WEEKS PROCESSING TIME
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Perspective does most of the work in a street and almost none of it in a field. Here is what Ian does instead, and the four ways he separates a foreground from a background.
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Our 4 Week Urban Sketching Experience: What Riomaggiore Taught Us
The lessons that came back again and again from the hardest scene we have set.
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Why Sketching the Same Scene Twice Teaches You More Than Moving On
Most sketchers move straight to a new subject. Here is what the second attempt gives you that the first cannot.
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