Along New River Walk, Islington

[By James Hobbs.] I've gone back to university recently and my new cycle route down to Clerkenwell takes me across the New River Walk, which just happens to pass across the road where I live further north. It's a long, thin, quiet park with water, ducks and a winding path, and people chatting on their way home through the sunshine. It's the kind of place that is so easily overlooked even if you live in London, let alone if you only come as a tourist for a short time and you get dragged as if magnetically towards the big tourist sites.

My dissertation, which I'll be working on over the summer, will (since you ask) be on sketchbooks in galleries, libraries, archives and museums, and how accessible they are. Let me know if you're a regular visitor of sketchbook collections.

There's more of my work on Flickr.

Along New River Walk, Islington

Signing Sketch Your World: Saturday 17 May

On Saturday 17 May I'll be at Cass Art art materials store in Islington, London, from 2pm to 4pm signing copies of Sketch Your World, and ready and willing to chat about drawing, urban sketching, art materials and more over a stack of sketchbooks I'll be taking with me. Bring your own sketchbooks, too, if you're OK about that.

It's free, relaxed, and taking place at 66-67 Colebrooke Row, Islington, London N1 8AB. (Map here.) Angel tube station and the cafes of Upper Street are nearby. (The cup final doesn't start until 5pm, if the football matters to you.)

More information can be found at the Cass Art website.

Signing Sketch Your World: Saturday 17 May

The hidden river

Now that the weather's getting milder, it feels like time to get out of the studio and do some outdoor drawing. That's the impulse I felt yesterday. But where? Selecting a location to draw when you have so much choice is difficult. I ended up deciding to explore a bit of North London's history that I hadn't yet visited - the New River Path in Islington.

The New River, if you don't know it yet, is fascinating. A man-made river, opened 401 years ago to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to the rapidly expanding city, it winds its course through north London  suburbs into the heart of Islington, from where it was piped into the city itself. Much of the river's course from Haringey inwards is now covered over and the river is piped below busy streets and housing estates. But there are stretches still running at the surface, and in Islington one such stretch has become a delightful local amenity, the New River Path. I had a pleasant afternoon sitting by the riverside, listening to ducks, answering schoolchildren's questions, and drawing...

The hidden river

Launch of the Art of Urban Sketching in London

London Urban Sketchers showed their sketchbooks and talked about their favourite materials and methods at Cass Art, Islington on Saturday 19 May. They were busy all afternoon, and the book got an excellent response from shoppers!

Zhenia Vasiliev talks about urban sketching

Adebanji Alade demonstrates his approach to drawing faces

KatherineTyrrell demonstrates coloured pencil technique

James Hobbs talks about  sketching

Launch of the Art of Urban Sketching in London