Palm Houses and Pagodas on a sunny sketching day at Kew Gardens

Sketches and London Urban Sketchers at the end of the day 
on the steps outside the Palm House at Kew Gardens
Right click this to see an even larger version in the lightbox

A great time was had by all at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew on Saturday. We had blue skies and sunshine from the start and it gradually warmed up to the point where serious consideration was given to sun screen!

The general consensus was Kew Gardens was a really great place to sketch and very different from the normal places we go for urban sketching.  The buildings are a bit different for starters plus there's a few more trees than usual!

It was also fabulous to welcome people who had travelled a long distance to be at our sketchcrawl to draw Kew Gardens. We had people from Northamptonshire, Cambridge and Eastbourne - as well as a chap who hails from Iceland and a lady who got to Kew from Portland Oregon via Barcelona!

Here's some photos of the day - of sketches and sketchers - and an awful lot of Palm Houses and Pagodas!

Sketches and London Urban Sketchers at lunchtime
on the terrace outsideThe Orangery at Kew Gardens
Right click this to see an even larger version in the Lightbox

These are some of the morning's sketches

Group of morning sketches at lunchtime outside the Orangery
Right click this to see an even larger version in the lightbox

These are the sketches of the Pagodas from the morning

Sketches of the Pagoda at Kew Gardens

These are sketches of the Palm House

Sketches of the Palm House and other glass houses

This was the group at lunchtime.  Not everybody was here because it can take a long time walking from one place to another Kew Gardens!

These are the group sketches at the end

Sketches outside the Palm House at the end of the day.

....and you can see the group at the end of the day - in front of the Palm House - in the first image of this post.

It was great to introduce Kew Gardens to people for whom this was the first visit - and I think Kew Gardens had some new 'Friends' by the end of the day.

Do please upload your sketches to:

• the London Urban Sketchers Facebook Group
• the Group Pool for London Urban Sketchers. If you're not yet a member you need to upload your sketches to your own Flickr account before applying for membership.

and finally......

Sangeeta got retweeted by Kew Gardens!  Now that's the power of Twitter!

MT @sangeeta771: @kewgardens Urban Sketchcrawl @UrbSketchLondon pic.twitter.com/zep0NRiglt

— Kew Gardens (@kewgardens) May 18, 2015

Next Month - June 2015 - we're in Hampstead

Keep an eye on the blog - this is the Sketchcrawl Page and the link to the blog post about it will be announced in the note at the top of the right hand column when the date is announced.

Palm Houses and Pagodas on a sunny sketching day at Kew Gardens

REMINDER: Let's Draw Kew Gardens tomorrow!

The weather looks as if it's set fair for our expendition to sketch Kew Gardens tomorrow. You can read about all the details in Let's Draw Kew Gardens - SATURDAY 16th MAY 2015

Key features of Kew Gardens on a Google Map - click to see a larger version

Let's Draw Kew Gardens - Saturday 16th May 2015 

Let's Draw Kew Gardens - Saturday 16th May 2015

Here's the summary

• Venue: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in south west London
• Date: Saturday 16th May 2015 (The gardens are open from 10am if you want to get there early and close at 6.30pm if you want to stay late)
• Entrance Fee: Please make a particular note that this venue is NOT free and there is a charge of£15 per adult (£14 if purchased online) and Free if you are a Friend.
• Start: 11:00am at the Terrace outside the Victoria Plaza café next to 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.  You can also buy sandwiches from Tesco on the left as you walk out of Kew Station.
• 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 - There appear to be no problems with the District Line this weekend. For other lines see the map below
• North London Line to Richmond. 
• Map: 
• Kew Gardens Maps and Gates (download for free) 
• Download the map of Kew Gardens
• PLUS I've identified all the key features on a Google Map and annotated it for this Sketchcrawl. (see top image)

According to BBC Weather, the weather is due to be light cloud in the morning (15C) then sun from 3pm (17C) - so hopefully no rain.

Tweet your sketches tomorrow using the hashtag #USKLondon and/or #sketching.

Follow live tweets from Kew Gardens on https://twitter.com/UrbSketchLondon

REMINDER: Let's Draw Kew Gardens tomorrow!

Let's Draw Kew Gardens - Saturday 16th May 2015

Our next London Urban Sketchers sketchcrawl will be at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew - in south west London - on Saturday 16th May 2015. 

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.

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 

WHERE:  Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - Download the  map of Kew Gardens

WHEN:    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)

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

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

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.

The Thames at Kew from Syon Overlook by Katherine Tyrrell
© Katherine Tyrrell

This list gives you more information about other attractions

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).

Let's Draw Kew Gardens - Saturday 16th May 2015

David Nash at Kew

With a change in the weather, it  feels like summer has finally arrived in London. Time to revisit Kew Gardens, the mother of all botanical gardens. Kew is especially good to visit this summer because of the exhibition of work by sculptor David Nash which is spread through the gardens, but also has a stunning indoor exhibition (in case of showers).

Karin Murray and I spent a day drawing some of Nash's great black bronze pieces - they're cast from, and look like charred wood. I absolutely love them.

"3 humps" charcoal 40x50cm

charcoal 40x50cm

"King and queen II"  ink & charcoal 20x30cm

 If you're in London and want to avoid Olympic frenzy, try visiting Kew!

David Nash at Kew

The River Thames at Kew in March

Earlier this month - in the first spell of good weather - we went down to Kew Gardens twice in one week.  We also left the gardens via the Brentford Gate and walked on the towpath next to the River Thames wile the tide was out.

I sketched this view sat nearly opposite Syon House.  I started it on the Monday and finished it on the Thursday.  It has the soft hazy colours of a warm day which started with fog!

The Thames at Kew - looking towards Richmond 12 and 15 March 2012
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook, 11" x 16"
© Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

You can read more about the place and my visit here on my sketchbook blog - The Thames at Kew - in March sunshine

The River Thames at Kew in March