We drew London (a lot!) in 2023 - A productive year in review

Christmas at the Natural History Museum
Sketch by Sasala Wickramasinghe

From the Urban Sketchers London admin team, a big thank you to everyone who helped us to stage a record 26 sketchwalks in 2023, from Somerset House to Shoreditch and Brixton to Battersea Power Station.

Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season.

Let's draw London in 2024!

London by Urban Sketchers - Our 10 Year Anniversary Book
Order your copy here

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Victoria & Albert Museum - January 21
Led by Jimmy Lu and Rachel Bone
photo by Sasala Wickramasinghe

Battersea Power Station - February 18

Led by Andrea Deng and Jimmy Lu

photo by Zane Karklina

Greenwich - March 18
Led by Mike Whalley and Olga Mackness
photo by Sasala Wickramasinghe

Shoreditch 1 - April 15

Led by Jia You and Jimmy Lu

photo by Jia You

Shoreditch 2 - April 30

Led by Sasala Wickramasinghe and Jimmy Lu

Photo by Jimmy Lu

Richmond 1 - May 20

Led by Helen Hayhoe and John Swanson

Photo by Nigel Abbott 

Summer Late 1 South Bank- May 24

Led by Sasala Wickramasinghe

photo by Zane Karklina

Richmond 2 - June 4

Led by Helen Hayhoe and Sasala Wickramasinghe

photo by Nigel Abbott

Crystal Palace Park 1 - June 17

Led by Sarah Minty

Photo by Sarah Minty

Summer Late 2 Tate Modern - June 30

Led by John Swanson

Crystal Palace Park 2 - July 2

Led by Lis Watkins and Jimmy Lu

Photo by Lis Watkins

Fleet Street - July 8

Led by Akira Yamanaka and Adam Topór

photo by Cynthia Barlow Marrs

 

Wimbledon Village 1 - July 22

Led by Inga Knysh and Zane Karklina

photo by Zane Karklina

Summer Late 3 Somerset House - July 26

Led by Jimmy Lu 

Wimbledon Village 2 - August 6

Led by Patricia Burbage and Zane Karklina 

Photo by Zane Karklina

Mayfair 1 - August 19

Led by Isabel Carmona and Peggy Wong

photo by Peggy Wong

Mayfair 2 - September 23

Led by Peggy Wong and Andrea Deng

photo by Peggy Wong

Summer Late 4 Trafalgar Square - August 25 

Led by Alison Gardiner

photo by Alison Gardiner

Harrow-on-the-Hill - September 23

Led by Madeleine Brennan and Sue Woodisse

photo by Zane Karklina

Chiswick Pier - September

Led by Helen Hayhoe and Sasala Wickramasinghe

Photo by Zane Karklina

Brixton 1 - October 8

Led by Dean Ashton and Catherine Bardrick

photo by Nigel Abbott

Brixton 2 - October 21

Led by Rachel Bone and Dean Ashton

photo by Jimmy Lu

Wellcome Collection 1 - November 4

Led by Helen Hayhoe and Sasala Wickramasinghe

photo by Nigel Abbott

 

Wellcome Collection 2 - November 19

Led by Helen Hayhoe and Dean Ashton

Photo by Nigel Abbott

South Bank Christmas Market 1 - December
Led by Sasala Wickramasinghe and John Swanson
Photo by Nigel Abbott
 

South Bank Christmas Market 2 - December
Led by Sasala Wickramasinghe and Alison Gardiner
Photo by Cynthia Barlow Marrs

Let's draw London in 2024!

London by Urban Sketchers - Our 10 Year Anniversary Book

Order your copy here

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• Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
• Facebook     @USKLondon
• Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon

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We drew London (a lot!) in 2023 - A productive year in review

Let's draw Battersea Power Station - Saturday 18 February 2023

Sketch by Andrea Deng

For our second sketchwalk of 2023 we will be drawing the recently opened Battersea Power Station SW11 8AL, one of the newest and most vibrant neighbourhoods of London.

[Led by Andrea Deng and Jimmy Lu]

The Battersea Power Station, dominated by its four iconic chimneys and deeply rooted in popular culture, is now open to the public as a new shopping and leisure destination with pedestrian-centred public spaces, parkland and gardens.

This decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station is one of the world’s largest brick buildings and a prime example of Industrial Art Deco. The recent redevelopment of the area includes the addition of several residential buildings and public spaces designed by internationally renowned architects, with new public riverside access along the Thames.  If you'd like to know more about this exciting new development, here’s more about the master plan.

There is no cost, just wrap up warm and bring your sketching kit.

Our meeting point for the day is the North Entrance,
which faces the River Thames.

Meeting point

Our meeting point for the day is the North Entrance, which faces the River Thames (see photo above). If the weather is fair, we will meet in the square outside the North Entrance. If it's rainy, we will meet inside the North Entrance.

Options for drawing

Indoors

Battersea Power Station

All of the ground floor and Level 1 are open to the public, so you have plenty of choices to draw inside. 

• Turbine Hall A is Art Deco in style, reflecting the 1930s when construction of the Power Station began.

• Turbine Hall B is Brutalist in design, a nod to the 1950s when the building was completed. On the ground floor of Turbine Hall B is Battersea Bookshop, an independent neighbourhood bookshop that specialises in art, architecture and design, and showcases ‘some of the unique architectural elements of the iconic Battersea Power Station’.

• Lift 109, 'London's epic new viewing experience', is a glass platform lift that rises more than 100 metres to the top of the northwest chimney for spectacular 360 degree views. You will need to book in advance to secure a ticket.

Outdoors

• Electric Boulevard - A new pedestrianised high street that links the Power Station to the new Battersea Power Station Tube station.

• The Coaling Jetty - A 110m long Grade II listed jetty with a great view over the Thames and the Power Station. The Coaling Jetty has been redesigned as a riverside garden, opening up a new public space along the River Thames.

• Phase 3 residential units with iconic twisted shapes designed by Frank Ghery, and the serpentine ribbon designed by Foster+Partners.

• Battersea Park and the Peace Pagoda - Battersea Park is a 200 acre Victorian park with a boating lake, tea gardens, a children's zoo and other attractions. The London Peace Pagoda is one of 80 around the world built by Buddhist nuns and monks as a spiritual focus for reflections on world peace and non violence. There is a panoramic view of Chelsea Embankment from the pagoda.

Sketch by Andrea Deng

Key times and meeting points

11 AM

Meet in the square in front of the Battersea Power Station North Entrance, towards the River Thames (see photo above). In case of inclement weather, we will meet inside the North Entrance.

1 PM

Meet in the square in front of the Battersea Power Station North Entrance (facing the river) to show sketchbooks and take our lunchtime group photo. In case of inclement weather, we will meet inside the North Entrance.

3.30 PM

Meet back at the same spot to look at the day’s work and take the afternoon group photo. In case of inclement weather, we will meet inside the North Entrance.

Afterwards

If you would like to linger for a while to chat (and sketch!), we will then move to the nearby Battersea Brewery.

Practical information

Battersea Power Station is located in Circus Road West, Nine Elms, London SW11 8AL. 

The main entrance is in Circus Road North, with another entrance in Circus Road South.

Entrance to the Power Station is free of charge, although some of the areas on the upper levels are still under development. There are cafés, toilets and plenty of places where you can eat.

The nearest Tube station is Battersea Power Station (Northern Line). Battersea Park (Overground and Southern) and Queenstown Road (South Western) are also within a 10-15 minute walking distance.

Another option is to arrive by boat, via the Thames Clippers service at Battersea Power Station Pier. The Power Station is a 15-minute journey from Embankment, 20 minutes from Blackfriars, 30 minutes from Putney, and 40 minutes from Canary Wharf.

For additional practical information please consult the Battersea Power Station website.

Covid guidance

Urban Sketchers London remains alert to national guidance about COVID-19 and its variants. Even though restrictions have been lifted, it's sensible to take all necessary precautions to keep ourselves and fellow sketchers safe throughout the event. The risk of infection for outdoor events is low, but basic guidance still applies:

• Please do not attend if you feel unwell
• Wear a face covering when you're close to others
• Give people space
• Practice good hand hygiene.

Remember to tag us when you post your sketches on social media!

#urbansketcherslondon #usklondon

Location map

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See you at Battersea Power Station!

 

Let's draw London in 2023!

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London by Urban Sketchers - Our 10 Year Anniversary Book

Order your copy here!

Urban Sketchers London on social media

• Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
• Facebook     @USKLondon
• Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon

Join our mailing list

Sign up here to receive all the latest Urban Sketchers London news in your email Inbox.

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Let's draw Battersea Power Station - Saturday 18 February 2023

Let's draw: January 2021 - Regeneration (Battersea Power Station)

Happy New Year and welcome to 2021.

As we mentioned at the end of the year, until we are able to meet in person, we are going to propose a monthly theme to be explored. We are suggesting a date and time to share the sketches on Facebook and other platforms but if you wish to do it before or after the date please keep them coming. 

We are treating this virtual meeting as it would be for real, only that you can choose to: sketch on the suggested London location, sketch in a different location nearer to your home but exploring the same theme or even sketch within your home, still from reality, exploring the theme.  

January's theme is Regeneration and the location is close to my heart, Battersea Power Station.  

Alternatives: Changes that you notice in your local area, Changes in your home: redecoration, DIY

Sketching Theme Date: Saturday 16 January 2021  

Suggested Times: 11am to 3pm

Post your sketches in Facebook or Flickr with the # suggested below or in the event post itself.

Suggested # are: #urbansketcherslondon #UskLondonJan2021 #UskLondonRegeneration.

Remember: to tell us the story behind the sketch, why you chose to do it, how did you do it, anything you'd like to share that completes the sketch and makes it more personal.

Battersea Power Station (sketches by Isabel Carmona, 2018 and 2019)

As an architect I worked on one of the teams that worked on the early projects (in the 2000s) that were looking to convert the power station and surrounding area into a media and post production area, as well as including retail and theatre in the mix, a few hundred dwellings and loads of open space all towered by the 20th century power station. That was one of the early projects that due to its cost never got realised.

It is good to see the area coming together now and the sketches that follow were done in 2018 and 2019 in two separate trips to London.

The first (above) is a very quick  sketch indeed, probably 15 min maximum as we walked by and I got inspired to do it when we found out we could get this close to the front and see what was going on, the feeling was cranes everywhere, a flurry of activity.

The second (below) probably a year later (in March 2019) looking from the other side of the Thames with the cranes appearing behind the glass building (apartments) and the Power Station chimneys amongst the cranes, barely recognisable from this angle. 

After the watercolour sketch, I walked closer to Battersea, where you could sit in the warmth of the coffee shop (it was not too warm that March) and get a closer sketch of the front chimneys and the construction elevators.

This area will continue changing for some time, gentrifying perhaps but the site is open to walk through and one can get closer to the Power Station than ever before, one day we'll go in and get to appreciate its size - inside (when it was empty) one could have fitted St Paul's.  It is enormous.

 

Let's draw: January 2021 - Regeneration (Battersea Power Station)

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

Buildings under Urban Regeneration