Monday 7 May 2012

the pool of london

hms belfast
Just a couple of weeks now before I am back in London for a visit, so here is a drawing from a previous trip back to the capital, on a sub-zero day in December 2010. You may recall the huge blizzard we had that winter, when the snow stayed on the ground for nearly two weeks. Despite intense cold I still got out to draw as much as possible, and one gloomy afternoon I sat by the Thames, with ice covering the Embankment and frosty Thames air biting my fingers, and sketched HMS Belfast with The Tower and Tower Bridge behind it. The 'Pool of London' this area is called, a natural harbour in the river and much busier in centuries past. To this day, I still cannot look at Tower Bridge and not think of the old Thames Television logo with that memorable little jingle, right before 'Rainbow' or something would come on. My brother once told me that the big guns on the side of HMS Belfast facing north are targeting Scratchwood Services, on the M1 out past Mill Hill, because obviously that's where the big threats are coming from. I don't know if it's true, but it's a nice story.

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Wednesday 2 May 2012

Ah, signs of spring?

Yesterday there was a brief sunny interval in the spring rains in London, and I took the opportunity to get out into Finsbury Park with my birthday present - a beautiful, handmade pochade box (thanks, Karin x). I  notice this hawthorn tree every time I'm in the park. It leans at an angle, for some reason, and must have grown that way from the start. This time of year it's laden with blossom. Why does it incline towards the east, I wonder?
oil on board 10"x8"


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