It's FREE and there's no need to book a place - just turn up on the day!
It will be my special pleasure to introduce people who have not been before to a place which has endless opportunities for sketching. It's certainly one of my absolute favourite places for a day's sketching! You'll see some of pen and ink and coloured pencils below.
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| Syon Vista by Katherine Tyrrell This is from the Palm House looking down Syon Vista (very wide grass path) to the River Thames - overlooking Syon House on the other side of the river. © Katherine Tyrrell |
map of Kew GardensWHEN: Saturday 16th May 2015 (The gardens are open from 10am if you want to get there early)
ENTRANCE FEE: £15 per adult (£14 if purchased online) and Free if you are a Friend.
START: 11:00am at the Terrace outside the Cafe at the Entrance (just to the right of the ticket gate) - introduction to those new to urban sketching and tips re. Kew Gardens
LUNCH: 1:30pm at The Orangery - share our sketches, group photo - and time for lunch. The Orangery has hot and cold food from Peyton & Byrne and tables and chairs to sit and eat at.
END: 3:30pm - in front of the Palm House (Lake side) - share our sketches + another group photo to add to the collection!
TRAVEL: Kew Gardens Station - Underground: District Line to Richmond | North London Line to Richmond. For other lines see the map below
MAP: Kew Gardens Maps and Gates (download for free)
Organiser: Katherine Tyrrell (do please leave any queries as comments on this post - or post them on the Facebook Event Page and I'll do my best to answer them)
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| Download the Getting to Kew Gardens Transport Map, also showing gate locations |
Things to do and see and sketch
There's absolutely masses to see and sketch at Kew Gardens which is HUGE! If you've never been before, a little bit of research before you go really pays dividends at Kew Gardens.You can see some of the sights of Kew on this Kew Gardens Spring Slideshow
I've identified all the key features on a Google Map and annotated it for this Sketchcrawl. Just click the link to access it - and then click the icons to find out what they represent.
Click the icon second from right on top line to see it full size on your screen. Use the +/- signs to get the scale right.
When I've got a minute, I'll add a few more in....
Buildings and Structures
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| Kew Palace by Katherine Tyrrell (see Liz Steel and Borromini at Kew Palace) © Katherine Tyrrell |
The main buildings which people might want to sketch appear as a "yellow house" on the map. They include:
- The Palm House - absolutely amazing building both inside and out. Try going up the steps to see the view of the palms from above! Great view of it from the other side of the Lake
- The Temperate House - currently closed for restoration. Views of it will depend on the nature of the building works at present
- The Princess of Wales Conservatory - lots of triangular angles! I like the inside best. (near the Orangery)
- The Alpine House - cute and perfectly formed greenhouse (near the Orangery)
- Kew Palace - lots of traditional architecture to sketch her - and good for before or after lunch as very close to the Orangery
- Chokushi Mon - the Japanese Gateway - set in a formal Japanese Garden. Not visited as much as some other parts of the garden and usually very peaceful.
- The Orangery is Grade I listed and is Kew's only original plant house which still survives - although now used as a cafe and where we will meet for lunch (on the terrace if the weather is fine)
A couple of structures which are also definitely worth a look are:
- The Treetop Walkway - you can get amazing views of the Temperate House and the tops of the trees
- The Sackler Crossing - across the main lake
Vistas
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| Pagoda Vista © Katherine Tyrrell This was originally done on mat board cut to postcard size and was posted to a lady who lives in the USA! |
Then there are the Vistas! These are marked on blue on the Google Map. The main ones are:
- Pagoda Vista - very probably one of those views which says "This is Kew".
- Cedar Vista - this runs from the Pagoda down to the Thames
- Syon Vista - see the top sketch for the view from the Palm House down Syon Vista
- Syon Overlook - looking down the River Thames towards Richmond and across the Thames to Syon House.
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| The Thames at Kew from Syon Overlook by Katherine Tyrrell © Katherine Tyrrell |
People who are wondering about how to sketch the big old trees at Kew may get some inspiration from the Exhibition: Kew's Heritage Trees by Masumi Yamanaka at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art (see map).
Thanks Katherine for all the excellent information. Unfortunately I will not be able to come to this but will use your maps etc for another time, when I can get to Kew. I know from previous visits it is really huge, we went on the little train the last time.
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