Monday 24 September 2018

We drew the Design Museum and Holland Park - September 2018


(Nicky Browne writes)  On 22 September, we sketched at the Design Museum and Holland Park, in Kensington.  A keen group of sketchers turned up, although the rain started as we arrived and continued until lunchtime, when it then started to pour seriously.




There was not a dry moment to enjoy the large park and formal gardens, the Japanese Garden with peacocks and the early 17th century mansion. But some hardy souls tried and succeeded, even doing watercolours in the rain. 


The sensible sat under the iconic Design Museum's capacious overhanging roof or, even better, drew in the warm interior.  This Grade Two listed landmark was built in the 1960s as the Commonwealth Institute but was renovated for its current, very appropriate purpose.  The temporary installation of a huge textile airship proved a popular sketching challenge. 


The rain encouraged quite large crowds to see the last of their temporary exhibition of the work of the couturier Azzedine Alaïa, so the building was busy.  However, Urban Sketchers always find quiet corners to observe and draw. 
The photographs are by Nicky Browne and Olga Mackness

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Saturday 8 September 2018

Rainy Day in Greenwich
(Olga Mackness writes)
I have had big sketching plans for Sunday 26th of August!
But the day was so very grey and rainy...
I wondered around Cutty Sark and could not resist this view! So I've found a spot next to Waterstones and done very quick watercolour sketch. It came out really as I wanted it to be, some ink details added on at home. Very pleased -  feel prepared for the rainy autumn sketching now.
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Sunday 2 September 2018

Let's draw Soho - Saturday 6th October 2018

Drawing by Evelyn Rowland
Soho has a reputation as the entertainment district of London with theatres, music clubs, bars, restaurants and is home to the independent British Film industry. The coffee culture we take for granted today originated in the 1950s in Soho’s coffee bars. It’s busy and built up but there are a few green spaces, namely Soho Square, Golden Square and at the rear of St. Anne’s Church. The area is going through a period of change. The Crossrail development means there are some road closures in the north of the area and Walkers Court, where buildings date from the 1700s, is boarded up at present.
The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit.

The Palace Theatre, Cambridge Circus
Key times and meeting points for the day

11 am - Meet in front of the Palace Theatre at Cambridge Circus (see photo above)

1 pm – Meet by the Tudor-style hut in the middle of Soho Square (see photo below)

3.30 pm – Meet in the Courtyard at the rear of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Café in the Crypt if wet (see photos at the bottom of the blog post)

We can move to the Café in the Crypt afterwards for coffee and chat.

Soho Square
Options for drawing
                                                                   
Lots of small shops and cafes
                                                                           
Chinatown
                                                                               
St. Anne's Church
                                                                           
The Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
                                                                           

The Courtyard at St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Entrance to the Cafe in the Crypt at St.Martin-in-the-Fields

Practical information

There are a huge variety of cafes, bars and restaurants and Soho is easy to reach by bus. Nearby tube stations include Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street). The nearest mainline station is Charing Cross.

The day is run by Evelyn Rowland and Lis Watkins


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