Thursday 31 December 2015

Let's Draw London - London Urban Sketchers in 2015

Tomorrow, I'll be posting about where we will be sketching in 2016, but today we'll look back  at where we sketched in 2015.......

Below you can see a record of the "Let's Draw..." events in 2015 - plus photos of people who participated and sketches.

January 2015


In January, we got organised and drew up a schedule of places for every month in 2015 - starting in February.  This helped enormously with making things happen. As a result - numbers attending the skethcrawls increased significantly over the year, both in terms of overall numbers and regular attenders.

7th February 2015: British Museum


London Urban Sketchers draw the British Museum in February 2015
sitting on the steps in the great Court

A large group came to the British Museum day which proved to be a very good place to go on a winter's day - although rather busy on a Saturday with lots of other people looking for things to see and do indoors!
Ramases at the British Museum by Shih Jih Ren
sketches at the end of the day

7th March 2015 - South Kensington and the Victoria and Albert Museum


We had a brilliant sunny day for the next sketchcrawl - and there was as much sketching of South Ken cafe culture as there was of the museum and objects within it.
South Kensington by James Hobbs
I spent a lot of time sketching people sat round the pool in the courtyard - soaking up the sun!

Sunny Afternoon at the V&A

25th April 2015 - St Paul's Cathedral to the Thames


We had a marvellous time in April with many people discovering the roof terrace views from One New Change for the very first time

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Monday 14 December 2015

Sketching London from a height!

A Few weeks ago I was lucky to be invited to join a group of artists to sketch from the comfort of an office on the 32nd floor in Moorgate. It was amazing experience to gradually see London light up as the sky darkened. The views were incredible. The iconic curved dome of St Paul's Cathedral caught my eye, standing out in contrast to the numerous
gridded lines surrounding it. There was so much going on that I thought the only way I could capture this was through mark making, layering and pattern. The second drawing is the view of Finsbury Square, which you can get a brief glimpse of in the bottom corner with the Gherkin peeking through in the background. I tried to capture the density of the scene. It was great to see everyone’s impression of a challenging view. Thanks to James and Carlos for arranging such a great afternoon.




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Tuesday 8 December 2015

Let's Draw The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square at Christmas - 12th December 2015

This December's "Let's Draw London" sketchcrawl on Saturday 12th December 2015, is based around Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. PLEASE NOTE THE LATE START.

The aim of starting later is to have time to sketch the tree in lights as dusk begins

This is the Event Link on Facebook.

The Christmas Tree on Friday 4th December 2015 at 4.40pm

In early December the Christmas Tree from Norway is erected in Trafalgar Square. You can see a photo of it that I took on Friday afternoon last week above.

For those wanting to sketch the Christmas Tree and the lights at the entrance to the Strand I recommend experimenting with some dark paper with you and media which works on top of dark paper!  Otherwise you just end up filling in a lot of darks!

In case it's wet or for those of us who don't do to well in cold/damp weather (I shall be indoors!), the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people and paintings in art galleries.  The trick with drawing people fast is to focus on the shape, size and posture and not the faces.  There's also any amount of architecture and perspective in the very large interiors to keep the 'drawing buildings' fans happy!

The National gallery has sketching stools - but they're sometimes difficult to locate

PLEASE NOTE: The National Gallery does not allow wet media for sketching. You need to use pencils or coloured pencils. Pens that don't use wet ink seem to be OK i.e. no dip pens and no fountain pens.

This is what they have to say about Sketching in the Galleries

Guidelines

  • Sketching is not allowed in exhibitions
  • Use a hand-held pad of paper, pencil, graphite stick or felt-tipped pens
  • Avoid materials such as pastels, wax crayons, charcoal and fountain pens

Copyists

If you wish to use paint, or other oil/water-based media, request an application form from: information@ng-london.org.uk

The National Gallery also has 'facilities' - see the map of the interior (Level 0 in main building and Level 1 or -1 in the Sainsbury Wing)

Looking at the Turners in the National Gallery - sketched from the splendid red sofas!
sketch in pencil and coloured pencils (11 x 16") by Katherine Tyrrell

A group of school children having a lesson about art - in the National Gallery
pen and ink and coloured pencil sketch in a Moleskine by Katherine Tyrrell

Information for Saturday 12th December


Times and Places 

  • START venue/time: 12:00 (note later time)
    • wet - in the lobby area of the Ground floor entrance to the National Gallery (to right of external stairs)
    • dry - next to the 4th Plinth, National Gallery side
  • LUNCH: 2:00pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
  • FINISH: 4:30pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
  • AFTERWARDS: Buttery section of the National Dining Rooms - at the top of the stairs in the Sainsbury Wing for tea and cake!
MAP: Map of start/lunch/finish places
Websites: Trafalgar Square | National Gallery

Refreshments: Sandwiches - In the National Gallery (Grab and Go next to the National Cafe and Expresso Bar in the Basement), M&S @ Charing Cross, Boots at the Trafalgar end of The Strand, various coffee places around Trafalgar Square


Travel:
  • Nearest Tube Stations - Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Embankment - so far as I am aware there are no planned closures.
  • Nearest Rail Station: Charing Cross 
In early December the Christmas Tree from Norway is erected in Trafalgar Square.  Last year it was lit on 4th December.Plus the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people in art galleries.

The aim of starting later is to have time to sketch the tree in lights as dusk begins
  • Websites: Trafalgar Square | National Gallery
  • MAP: Map of start/lunch/finish places
  • START venue/time: 12:00 (note later time)
    • wet - in the lobby area of the Ground floor entrance to the National Hallery (to right of external stairs)
    • dry - next to the 4th Plinth, National Gallery side
  • LUNCH: 2:00pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
  • FINISH: 4:30pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
  • AFTERWARDS: Buttery at the top of the stairs in the Sainsbury Wing
  • Travel: Tube Stations - Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Embankment
- See more at: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.co.uk/p/london-sketchcrawls.html#sthash.JsdrpzGS.dpuf

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Sunday 6 December 2015

More obscure movie locations...



I often walk past this spot outside Liverpool Street station and think to myself, "There's Tom Cruise's house..." Of course, it isn't really, but it was used as the location for the team's secret "safe house" in the 1996 film "Mission Impossible". I find it a clever choice, because it's an unusual building but quite iconic, situated directly above a tube entrance, jutting out into two streets, and that classic Victorian railway architecture. So the other day I decided to stop and draw it.
It must be 20 years since they filmed Tom here, but it hasn't changed at all. Below is a composite from the film, for comparison.


The latest Mission Impossible movie that came out this year saw Tom Cruise and co. in Kings Cross Station, so perhaps he's working his way around the Monopoly board.
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Wednesday 25 November 2015

Miss Jones' residence


A very busy Borough Market was the venue for a recent London Urban Sketchers outing.   I arrived late so wanted to get started quickly and noticed this lovely little building, the Globe Tavern, dwarfed by the steelwork and railway bridges.  I didn’t know at the time but the flat above the pub was used as one of the locations in the film ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’.


In the afternoon, after sampling some of the delicious food the market has to offer, I chose to draw inside the main market building.  I found the structure is so complicated to draw, with sections added here and there as the market expanded.  It was really enjoyable though and I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the area.


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Sunday 8 November 2015

Extra sketchcrawl: around Liberty's

James Hobbs, Piccadilly
The Borough Market gathering may just have passed, but we have an extra sketchcrawl this month, which takes place on Saturday 14 November leaving from Timberyard Soho, the cafe where the exhibition of drawings by 24 urban sketchers went on display last week.

We are meeting at the cafe, which is at 4 Noel Street, London W1F 8GB, map and details here, at 11am. We are planning to end back at the cafe at 2pm, which means a slightly shorter event than usual, but there's no need to stop if you want to go on.

On the way we will stop to draw in or around
• Liberty department store
• London Palladium
• Regent Street and Oxford Circus
• BBC Broadcasting House
We can warm up and see what we've all done back in the comfort of Timberyard at around 2pm.
Haven't been before? Don't worry. Come and say hello. It's very relaxed. Just bring your own drawing equipment.


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Saturday 7 November 2015

Buildings under Urban Regeneration


Just lately I have been documenting places that are under threat, or in the procedure of redevelopment. Over the last few weeks I have sketched at two locations in London that are going through this process Battersea Park Power Station located at the South bank of the river Thames, Nine Elms and the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, South East London.  







The Battersea Power station was built in the 30’s and has been inactive since the early 80’s. It was also on the front cover of Pink Floyd’s Animal album. When I was in my late teens I frequently used the train line that passed Battersea Power Station and it was always an iconic landmark for me as the train approached London.I sketched the power station from across the river.I thought that drawing with torn Paper was an appropriate medium to capture the regeneration-taking place.  






The notorious Aylesbury housing estate is the largest in London built between 1963 and 1977 and accommodates about 7600 people. Protests are taking place to save the estate. Residents are being moved off the estate, block by block, re-homed and split up all over the country.







I have used torn paper again in the sketch below, representing its looming future. I couldn’t believe the size of the estate. My sketches don’t quite capture its scale. I was captivated by the walkways leading up to the floors. I liked the cylindrical structure of this one. An interesting thought provoking location.


I have been documenting a forgotten place that has been subject to planning for many years in Norwich. If you want to see more… here is a link to my blog.http://juliebolus.blogspot.co.uk

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Wednesday 4 November 2015

A very successful Private View!

Here are the tweets about last night's private view of the Urban Sketchers London Exhibition at Timberyard Soho.



There was lots of scope to get up close to the pics.



Lots of opportunity to talk with fellow sketchers and those admiring the exhibition



and as it got to nine o'clock and the crowds began to go home we could see the artwork better from across the room



and this morning we're getting new tweets about the artwork

This was the Hanging Team who did a sterling job getting the exhibition hung last Saturday. I just wandered around sticking the labels up! ;)

Nathan, James, Jo, Evelyn and Olya - in front of the exhibition
...and this is the exhibition under artificial light at the end of the private view last night

The exhibition - after the Private View on Tuesday 2nd November 2015

So... I guess we'll see you all the next sketchcrawls?



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Wednesday 28 October 2015

Let's Draw - Borough Market - 7th November 2015

Borough Market by Lis Watkins
No one will go hungry at this month's gathering as we are meeting at one of London's most tasty markets - Borough Market - a dream for the foodies amongst us.There is multitude of produce/stalls/architecture/tasty morsels to sketch so your inspiration should rejoice.
See their intearctive map to plan your day.

The sketching day plan is as follows:

Start Meeting 11:30 On Stoney Street See map link here for exact location, just off Southwark St
To get there, nearest tube is London Bridge or see the market's page

Lunch time 1:30 pm at the Market itself under cover opposite Park Street

In the afternoon we suggest:
Continue to draw the market or you can explore the surrounding streets or the riverside between Southwark and London bridges.

The end - meet again at the entrance to the market under the railway bridge at 4pm to share our sketches and then from 4:30pm at the Wheatsheaf

Thanks to Lis Watkins for letting us use her sketches for our image this month!

Borough Market by Lis Watkins



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Monday 26 October 2015

Drawn of the Dead

One thing I enjoy is drawing movie locations - the more obscure the better. Of course in London there's plenty to discover. I'm also a big fan of Simon Pegg, so with Halloween on the way, I thought it would be a good time to finally sketch some locations from seminal Zom-Com ("zombie comedy") Shaun of the Dead.
When I moved into the Haringay area 10 months ago, I was excited to learn that a lot of the Shaun movie was shot near where I now live. The one that grabbed my attention was Shaun's house itself, a few streets away from Crouch End Broadway. The street features in two great identical long takes of Shaun walking from his house to the shop and back, the first time when things are normal, the second when the zombie outbreak has begun.

there's a different gate now...




There were no zombies in sight when I started sketching, but I did feel a bit odd to be drawing a purely residential view with no obvious landmark or attraction - still, no one looked twice at what I was doing. It started raining by the end, but I persevered under an umbrella.


The most well known location of the movie is The Winchester, which in actual fact was filmed down in South London, in New Cross, coincidentally near where I previously used to live. However, I was intrigued to discover the real Winchester pub on Archway Road, less than 5 minutes from my current house. Although no filming was done here, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost used to be regulars and it was here the idea for the film was born.

Built in 1881, I especially love the original iron scrollwork above the door. The pub's been closed for a few years now it seems, but lately there's been signs of its ...re-animation ...ha ha ha ..sorry, zombie joke. Anyway, yes, over the summer, there was some concerted building work going on with the 'luxury' flats above, the brickwork was all cleaned, and the pub was given a brand new paintjob. While I was there sketching, I could see some activity inside, suggesting it's grand re-opening is imminent. I'll probably pop in for a pint to see what it's like, although no doubt the days of Frost and Pegg drinking in the corner are long gone...
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Sunday 25 October 2015

2015 London Urban Sketchers Exhibition at Timberyard Soho

The Urban Sketchers in London Group are holding their fourth annual exhibition at the brand new Soho branch of Timberyard - which opens on 2nd November 2015.

Some of the original sketches are for sale. Others will be available as prints.

We hope to see you at the Private Event (see below) and hope you enjoy the exhibition. 

From Blackfriars Bridge by James Hobbs

Urban Sketchers Exhibition



WHEN: Monday 2nd November - 31 October 2016
WHERE: Timberyard Soho
AT: 4 Noel Street, London W1F 8GB
OPEN: Monday to Friday - 8am-7pm; Saturday & Sunday 11am-6pm
@timberyarduk, @urbsketchlondon


The exhibition is free to view.

This is the announcement about the exhibition on the Timberyard website.

We'll be posting photos on this blog of both the exhibition and Private View on 3rd November.

We're running a number of events associated with the Exhibition.

London Creatives - Private View of Launch Exhibitions



You are invited to the Private View of the London Creatives participating in the launch of the new branch - London Creatives Private View Meet-up: Drinks with the artists

WHERE: Timberyard Soho 4 Noel Street, London W1F 8GB
DATE:
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
TIME: 6.00pm - 9:00pm
Facebook Event Page
London Creatives is a project that celebrates the colourful talents of our city’s emerging artists, start-ups and early stage businesses. Join us for an evening of exciting art, colourful people and Spanish wine plus the chance to meet the artists exhibiting at this the first TY Soho exhibition.
and
Returning to the walls of Timberyard for this six-month exhibition of works by the city’s branch of the international drawing phenomenon that is Urban Sketchers. The exhibition includes a broad range of works of London scenes from the members’ sketchbooks – and some of the works are on sale.

Sketchcrawl


James Hobbs, author of Sketch Your World - is leading an extra sketchcrawl linked to the exhibition - Liberty's (Great Marlborough Street) to the BBC (Langham Place) - and afterwards at Timberyard Soho on Saturday 14th November

Also listed here on the Timberyard website


Book Event


On Wednesday 25th November London Urban Sketchers are holding a Book signing: Katherine Tyrrell, Isabel Carmona and James Hobbs, 7-8.30pm at the exhibition.

You can meet Katherine, James and Isobel to discuss the world of urban sketching alongside Timberyard’s exhibition of drawings by London Urban Sketchers - and they'll also be happy to sign copies of their books for you.

The books about sketching available at the event will be:
  • Sketching 365 by Katherine Tyrrell, author of popular art blog Making A Mark
  • Sketch your World and Dream, Draw, Design Your Garden by artist, author, freelance journalist, urban sketcher James Hobbs
  • Brighton West Pier and More, 1995-2008 by Isobel Carmona  

PLUS the new books about sketching by leading Urban Sketchers

Selected Artists and Sketches


This is the list of sketchers and works selected for the exhibition. The sketches are a mix of ones done on our regular monthly sketchcrawls and those sketched while people have been out and about London.

Links in the names below are to the websites or blogs of the sketchers.  Do please take a look at their other work.
  • Sangeeta Bhagawati - Panoramic view from the roof terrace of One New Change
  • Elizabeth Blunt - The Salisbury, Green Lanes, Harringay
  • Nathan Brenville - Waterlow Park, Highgate
  • Julie Bolus - Bookstore Charing Cross Road, London ( any amount of Books)
  • Isabel Carmona - South Kensington
  • Jo Dungey - At the Chelsea Physic Garden
  • Katy Evans - Blue Pagoda (Kew Gardens)
  • James Hobbs - from Blackfriars Bridge
  • Isabelle Laliberte - British Museum Great Court
  • Daniel Lloyd-Morgan - One New Change/St Paul's - people sketching
  • Choon Low - St Paul's Cathedral
  • Dolores Kitchener - corner of Flask Walk
  • Tom Ledger - March against Austerity, Bank
  • Paulina Little - St James’s Park, London on VE Day, Hawker Hurricane Mark II
  • Simone Menken - South Ken Cafe Culture
  • Olya Osipova - Cheyne Walk, Chelsea
  • Simon Privett - (1) Flask Walk and (2) Admiralty Arch
  • Nick Richards - Bow Church
  • Evelyn Rowland - Albert Bridge
  • Sue Smith - The Flask, Hampstead
  • John Swanson - King William's Temple, Kew Gardens
  • Marissa Lee Swinghammer - Trafalgar Square
  • Katherine Tyrrell - The Paragon, Blackheath
  • Tony Underhill - St Paul's Dome From The Roof Terrace, One New Change
Marissa Lee Swinghammer - sketching Trafalgar square in August

We very much enjoy exhibiting with Timberyard as the owner is very enthusiastic about linking up to creative people - not least because the different branches are all frequented by very creative people!


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Sunday 18 October 2015

International Urban Sketching Symposium - Manchester 2016 - NEW Facebook Group

The 2016 International Urban Sketching Symposium will be held in Manchester between 27th-30th July 2016.

The symposium is an annual educational and networking event organized by Urban Sketchers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the practice of on-location drawing.

In addition to USk Manchester, several Urban Sketchers Regional Chapters in the area are contributing to the production of the event: USk Yorkshire, USk London, and USk Birmingham. We'll be talking more about this at a later date.

Sketchers of all levels, experience, and backgrounds are welcome!

A view of the centre of Manchester from the sky - and south of Manchester

Find out more about the 2016 International Urban Sketching Symposium


The organiser, Simone Ridyard has set up a Facebook Group for all those thinking of coming who may have questions, want advice about travel arrangements, hotels etc.

JOIN THE NEW SYMPOSIUM FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/1633806703541999/ to discuss USk Symposium Manchester 2016. They're ready for your questions about travel arrangements, hotels etc - just ask a question in the group!

Plus you may also find this official website helpful if you've never visited Manchester before: http://www.visitmanchester.com/home

There's also an OFFICIAL MAILING LIST FOR THE 2016 SYMPOSIUM

If you'd like a peek at what Manchester looks like take a look at this video by Craig Murfin


#Manchester from Craig Murfin on Vimeo.
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Thursday 15 October 2015

Chelsea and Battersea

I enjoyed a lot the sketch meet last Saturday. It was good to see loads of sketchers along the north bank from Battersea to the Albert Bridge as I approached the meet point.
My first sketches were of the Albert bridge from the north bank and from the bridge itself looking to the east. I liked the connections of the bridge and the careful ribetting.
In the afternoon, after our lunchtime meet at the Battersea Pagoda - see group photo - I had time for a sketch of the back of the Fosters Albion building, curvaceous, on the approach to the grungely urban Doodle Bar.
The afternoon meet was lively and expontaneous and everybody mingled and chatted whilst looking at each others work. Fantastic!

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Sunday 11 October 2015

By Albert Bridge

16 and 17 Cheyne Walk, London
It was good to see so many people at yesterday's sketchcrawl around Battersea – including new faces as well as the familiar ones. It was a good mix of subjects, too: as well as a great expanse of the river and Albert Bridge, there was historic and modern architecture. Above is Dante Gabriel Rossetti's house in Cheyne Walk. (It's actually the house to the right of the tree – the visible blue plaque is on the house once lived in by Thomas Attwood, a pupil of Mozart and St Paul's organist. There must be more blue plaques in this row than anywhere in London. Brunel lived in a house here, Turner died in one, and George Eliot lived further along. And there are many more besides.)

Across the river on the Battersea side are the offices of the architects Foster and Partners. They designed Albion Riverside, the neighbouring development with curvy-lined balconies overlooking the Thames and Cheyne Walk opposite. It was a good day's drawing, although I seemed to spend more time talking than drawing. We all met up at the end of the day at Doodle Bar on Parkgate Road to look at what we'd all done. There was some great work. Well done to Isabel for organising the day.

Albion Riverside, Battersea



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Tuesday 6 October 2015

London Urban Sketchers' Exhibition 2015 - Reminder & UPDATE

The REMINDER is to:
  • make sure people remember that the deadline for entries for the London Urban Sketchers Exhibition opening this November is the end of Saturday 10th October.
  • encourage entries  from anybody who has been active with Urban SketchersLondon group in 2015
We'll also be reminding people who come to this Saturday's sketchcrawl! ;)
The UPDATE is to say
  • IGNORE the deadline to ask for an entry form. You can still ask for one - check the link below to find out how
  • Entry forms have also been uploaded as files to the Urban Sketchers London Facebook Group -in Word - in both.doc and .docx formats

To find out more about the exhibition do please read the Call for Entries: Urban Sketchers Exhibition 2015

Lunchtime for London Urban Sketchers at the Orangery in Kew Gardens in May 2015

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Thursday 24 September 2015

Call for Entries: Urban Sketchers Exhibition 2015

This post explains WHO can submit WHAT for the London Urban Sketchers Exhibition that's being held between 2nd November 2015 - 30th April 2016 at the new branch of Timberyard in central London which also opens in November.

The post includes just some of the images people who have been on London Urban Sketchers 'Let's Draw' sketchcrawls this year.

Who can submit sketches?


We will only be hanging sketches by people who have been ACTIVE participants in London Urban Sketchers in 2015 i.e. since January 2015 when we introduced the monthly "Let's Draw" events which have been very successful.  The entry form will ask you which ones you attended.

London Urban Sketchers at the end of our visit to Kew Gardens in May 2015

How do we define active?


We had a discussion about this and agreed that we are looking for people who have:
  • been to a number of our Let's Draw events in 2015;
  • and/or consistently posted their sketches to our Flickr Group Pool (the easiest place to see what people have done)
  • and/or consistently posted to the blog
  • and/or consistently posted to the Facebook group
  • and/or contributed to the running of the group
We've already compiled a list of people who we think qualify - and know your name. If you want to know whether you are on the list please ask.  We're also very happy for people to make the case for why you might be eligible

The entry form will ask you to identify what you've done this year.

London Urban Sketchers at the British Museum in February 2015

What can you submit?


Subject matter


The first and most obvious condition is that you can ONLY submit sketches which conform to the principles of The Urban Sketchers Manifesto:
  1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
  2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
  3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.
  4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
  5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
  6. We support each other and draw together.
  7. We share our drawings online.
  8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Obviously if you came with us on a Let's Draw event we know this to be true!

This means that you can't submit drawings made after the event. However you can submit work where you finished the sketch later e.g. by adding colour.

Next we aim to get a good mix of sketches which represent both us and London. So we will be looking to select sketches which are drawings of:
  • different parts of London
  • different types of buildings
  • different types of places - parks, events and people as well as buildings
  • different styles of sketching
  • different media used for sketching.
So think about what you have done. We will be looking to select the best of a unique view.

Sketches (or prints) can be for sale but they don't have to be for sale. If sold during the show they will be replaced. Which means if your work is not chosen for the initial batch of work hung it may well be still hung during the course of the show - which continues until the end of April 2016.

We'll also have a portfolio of details about the artists for visitors to view!

Some of the people who sketched the Mall, Horseguards and Trafalgar Square in August 2015

Eligible Media and Size

All sketches MUST be
  • 2D and sketchbook size as we want to hang as many works as we can
  • usual sketching media. (We're looking to get a good variety of different media including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, coloured pencils, marker pens, digital colour etc. If in doubt email us.)
  • framed using a neutral frame which can be hung easily. (white, black, neutral paint, plain wood - we will provide more details to artists whose artwork is selected)
The entry form will state the maximum size for a framed sketch. Current thinking is no bigger than 30cm x 40cm but variations for a panoramic format (used vertically or horizontally) will also be fine if external dimensions do not exceed 150cm in total.

Printing a sketch


We realise that not everybody will have a loose sketch. Also that many of us would regard taking a page out of a sketchbook as sacrilegious!  We're therefore happy to accept very good quality prints of a sketch - so long as the work indicates it is a print and not an original.

Do bear in mind that unless you have access to professional scanning and/or printing that means that you're limited to sketches which are smaller than A4 - or reducing sketches so they can be printed using an A4 printing.

[Note: We'll be providing advice about scanning and printing later in a separate blog post]

Number of entries


At this stage we're looking to active participants to suggest THREE of their best sketches. See also selection and fee.

There is no entry fee but there will be a hanging fee of £5 per work hung to help cover costs.


Lots of us drew St Pauls and the Thames in April 2015

Selection

We'll be making a selection from online images - so we need you to make sure that the image online is the best you can make it.


We aim to do the selection pretty quickly so that we can give you two weeks to get your work framed. You'll find the dates in the timeline below.

Timescale


The sketch needs to have been done in 2015 AND posted and shared online on Flickr, Facebook, your blog, this blog.

Key dates are as follows:
  • Wednesday 30th September - deadline for asking for an entry form (but we may extend this date)
  • Saturday 10th October - DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES (you'll get a reminder at the Sketchcrawl!)
    • make sure all images are online 
    • Return entry forms and a photo of yourself (see below for entry forms)
  • 15th October - target date for notification of selected artwork - giving you two weeks to get it framed
  • 29th - 31st October - Deliver artwork
  • Sat 31st October and/or Sun 1st November - Hang the exhibition
  • Monday 2nd November - Exhibition Opens
  • Tuesday 3rd November - Private View
  • Saturday 14th November - Exhibition Sketchcrawl - see London Urban Sketchers 2015 Exhibition + sketchcrawl
  • 30th April 2016 - Exhibition Finishes

London Urban Sketchers in Hampstead in June 2015

How to submit your entry


Entry Form and Fee


You first need to get hold of an entry form which we will need to email to you as we cannot attach a Word file to this blog.

Email London Urban Sketchers (see below) by 30th September with your name, an expression of interest in exhibiting and let us know which email address you would like us to use to send you an entry form and a note of the conditions of entry.

This is a picture and the link is not live!

Our entry forms will also ask for a photo of you and some outline details of your background in sketching for our portfolio.

You must also have your images loaded onto Flickr or Facebook so we can review what is available. Membership is free and we can help if you have problems with loading. We will create special albums for nominated work - see the entry form for details.

There will be a £5 hanging fee per work for those having work hung which is to cover the costs of the Private View to which you will be able to invite people.

We will update people via the blog and Facebook as the exhibition progresses.

Help with the Exhibition

We'll be looking for help with the exhibition. Specifically help with:
  • the delivery of artwork, booking in and storage prior to hang
  • hanging day - particularly if you have practical experience
  • Private View - nibbles / drinks etc.
  • Taking the exhibition down and handing out to artists
We'll be asking on the form whether you can help and what tasks you think best suit your talents!


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