My year of COVID, drawing and London

[By James Hobbs in London.] The drawings in any sketchbook inevitably tell a story of the artist who drew them. They say where we were and when, and perhaps who we were with, and as much other narrative content as we care to give away. But looking back at my sketchbooks from 2020 I realise that it is the long gaps when I did not draw that were a large part of the story of my year. 

Between the end of March 2020, when I posted the view from our front window as lockdown started (top image), and the start of May, I barely drew at all as I succumbed to the virus. I had no energy to think about drawing: my focus was simply on breathing and getting through. By the end of April I picked up the sketchbook again, but the false dawns of recovery that are typical of Long Covid meant the extended gaps between drawings lasted through the summer and into autumn. 

Views from my isolation bed and out of the window came first, and later, when some strength had returned, I drew from the top of the house (above) and in the park at the end of the road. It’s odd to remember just how exciting and triumphal it was to walk to and draw somewhere so familiar and close at hand.

As time when on and fitness grew my subjects expanded: we went camping for a few days when lockdown eased, and later I drew a series on the vast unfinished construction sites of offices in London and pondered whether they would ever be fully utilised in a new age of working from home. (Above, 21 Moorfields, being built over the Moorfields rail and tube stations.)

Medical visits, to donate convalescent plasma (at Westfield shopping centre, Stratford, above), or to undergo scans and tests, provided more opportunities and subjects to draw. It was not as if these were the most exciting subjects, but it felt as if drawing them and marking them in my sketchbook played a part of my glacial creep to recovery from the virus.  

As part of my recovery I took to cycling into the largely deserted City of London to experience it during its silent days (above, Threadneedle Street on a Tuesday afternoon, and below, Bank). Even in the middle of a working day its pavements and streets were calm and quiet. One day in broad daylight I followed a fox as it trotted down the middle of a street close to St Paul’s. 

During this time I have connected with the city in a way I haven’t before. I have felt – ridiculously – as if I have had it to myself, despite the security staff, other essential workers and skateboarders who stayed on. The empty, gleaming towers and echoing historic backstreets were all mine for a bit. Now I can see it coming back to life post-lockdown, I am mildly resentful at having to share it with other people as normality returns. 

I’m glad to say that last weekend I met with some fellow artists to draw together in central London for the first time since 2019. My health is much better, thank you, and there’s lots to be positive about and look forward to in the coming months. Drawing has helped me through this past year, so I’m looking forward to meeting the wider Urban Sketchers group in a joyous London face-to-face reunion – when the time is right. 

There’s more about my Long Covid recovery on my website. And see more of my images on Instagram. 

My year of COVID, drawing and London

2021 Review of 2020, Welcomes, Thanks and New Ideas

Isabel Carmona writes:

Happy New Year! 

I want to review last year as it was an odd one for us. A year of change and adaptation.

We started with a couple of well attended sketching events in January at the Tate Modern and then in February at the Wallace Collection. And then our brilliantly put together programme of meetings (masterminded by the fabulous Jo Dungey and Lis Watkins) had to stop as big gatherings were not allowed and we went into the first lockdown.

We put up a challenge of 30 days indoor urban sketching during the first lockdown and many of you contributed and that kept us going.  

Helen Hayhoe's 30 days sketchbook

We gathered ideas of creative activities by all sorts of institutions and attempted a virtual sketchcrawl and kept the summer evenings sketching ideas going as close to home or in small groups as slowly we were allowed to come out. We also listened to the USk Talks by the global Urban Sketchers group and some may have taken up their challenges. 

Helen Hayhoe's Summer sketching

Jo Dungey left the administration team in the first half of the year. We can't thank you enough Jo for all your great organisational skills, getting people together to contribute ideas for the next sketching venue or ideas for a challenge. Thank You!  

Helen Hayhoe joined the administration team in May and immediately engaged with the global community, taking part in a global collaboration creation. We look forward to all the new ideas she brings.

We continued with various sketching challenges including words and Victorian buildings, history, took inspiration from various London locations and looked at our own personal collections (during the second lockdown).

Jo Dungey's Historical sketching challenge

Throughout the year, we've learned to sketch by ourselves or in smaller groups (when we were allowed). However, I still miss our larger gatherings and seeing each other regularly. Our Facebook group and Twitter presence keeps growing and collect the day to day of our urban sketching adventures. 

For 2021 we are still in lockdown, now version 3! and our 2021 sketching programme can be done in your local areas (and even in your homes).  Keep an eye for announcements as we are introducing a few changes and hope to be able to do intros to the themes and virtual throwdowns in the next few events.

We thank Lis Watkins for all her hard work during the last four years as administrator of the group. Lis stepped down at the end of the year and we welcome Sasala Wickramasinghe to the administration team.

With a fresh team to take on 2021 a few new projects have started and we need your help for all (taking part and contributing in organising events).  Most importantly, we need you to keep sketching and sketch your local environments in London.  

Our London

In 2021, we are embarking on a new adventure and need your help. We've called the project Our London and it is an online interactive map collecting our London sketches. 

We want to put our urban sketching view of London on the map and have created a map page that we want to fill with your sketches of your London area. 

So far we've gathered all the locations we've sketched since 2017 and other places we've sketched as individuals and have posted in the blog.  

The Our London map shows that many of our areas within the M25 are in need of sketches. The map is live, and we'll be including more and more sketches as we get contributions.

Our London - an interactive sketch map project by Urban Sketchers London

Perhaps you have sketches of your local areas to contribute and would like to share them with us, so that we are able to populate it with our stories and places: local, interesting, quirky, famous, mundane, historical (whatever interests you!). If so, please send a good image (and also the story behind the sketch in a few words) to us by e-mail with the subject line: Our London. Remember to tell us who you are (so that we can credit you) and what is the location of your sketch, so we can locate it easily on the map.

Thanks in advance for your contributions - get your London neighbourhood on the map!

Note: The map administrators reserve the right to exclude any sketches that don't clearly comply with the urban sketchers principles or have insufficient information about the sketch.

2021 Review of 2020, Welcomes, Thanks and New Ideas

We drew at Tate Modern - January 2020

Our first sketchcrawl of 2020 (Jo Dungey writes), and we met at Tate Modern on Bankside, on Saturday 11 January 2020.  It must have been one of our biggest meet-ups, as more than eighty people joined us for all or part of the day.  The photograph above shows us with our morning sketches, and below you can see the group at the end of the day, in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, next to the smaller of Kara Walker's sculptures.

Currently installed in the Turbine Hall is Kara Walker's major sculpture, Fons Americanus, and that was a popular choice of subject for sketchers.  Others chose views of the building, visitors, and artworks.  Views of the surrounding area from the gallery windows were also sketched, and quite a few people drew outside, despite the mid-winter weather.

Visit the Urban Sketchers London Facebook page to see more sketches and photographs.  The day was run by Jo Dungey and Gafung Wong, and the photographs are by Jo and Gafung.  

Our next meet-up is on Saturday 15 February 2020, when we will have an opportunity to draw at the Wallace Collection and nearby St James RC Church - details are on this blog, here.

We drew at Tate Modern - January 2020

Let's draw the Wallace Collection - Saturday 15 February 2020

We visit the Wallace Collection, a free public art collection in Manchester Square north of Oxford Street.  The building, Hertford House, provides the focal point of this eighteenth century garden square. Each room in this eclectic museum is distinctively different. It houses treasures that include arms and armour, furniture, glassware and ceramics. Other interesting buildings in the area include St James RC Church, and the Chiltern Firehouse. 

The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit.  

The Wallace Collection ask that drawing should be done with the following dry materials only: pencils, coloured pencils and graphite sticks.

Wallace Collection (exterior) at the head of the post, by Sasala Wickramasinghe, and Wallace Collection (interior) above, by Nicky Browne.

Key times and meeting points for the day:

11 am: Meet inside the Wallace Collection building in Porphyry Court on the lower ground floor.  Please ensure your art kit does not include sharp tools such as scissors or craft knives.  Allow time to check in bulky coats and bags in the cloakroom. 

A floorplan of the Wallace Collection can be downloaded from their website.

1 pm: Meet again at the Porphyry Court to look at drawings done so far.

3.30 pm: Meet again at the Porphyry Court.  We will look at drawings done, and take group photographs either there or nearby, depending how crowded it is.

Options for drawing:

The Wallace Collection is housed in Hertford House in Manchester Square W1. It was built as a family house for the Marquesses of Hertford. The last owner bequeathed it on condition that the collection would stay intact; no items in the collection could be sold or loaned.

It is a large collection of decorative arts, old masters, arms and armour collected in 30 galleries. The fall of the French monarchy enabled the family to buy many significant treasures of many sorts including porcelain. There are several well known works of art in the collection: Franz Hals' Laughing Cavalier is one surprise. Another is Fragonard's Girl on a Swing.

The State Rooms have been restored to their near original décor. The open courtyard is now a roofed coffee bar and restaurant, called Cafe Bagatelle after one of the Marquises’ Chateau Bagatelle (shown above, sketch by Sasala Wickramasinghe).

There is a free tour of highlights of the collection at 2.30 pm.

Immediately behind the Wallace Collection, in Spanish Place, is the Neo-Gothic St James RC Church (photograph above). Designed by Edward Goldie, completed in 1890, we are welcome to draw the complex and stunning interior.

Weather permitting, nearby Chiltern Street has the extraordinary Manchester Square Fire Station designed by Robert Pearsall and completed in 1889 (photograph above, drawing below, by Nicky Browne).  Known now as The Chiltern Firehouse, it is a luxury hotel and restaurant. As there is a waiting list for the waiting list, don't expect to pop in for lunch.  The Chiltern Firehouse is too closely furnished and busy to be an interior drawing option, but the outside is stunning.

Practical information:

The Wallace Collection is at Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN.  It is a national museum with free admission to the permanent collection.  The opening hours are 10 am to 5 pm.   There is a cloakroom, café, toilets and a shop.  The Wallace Collection website is informative.  Manchester Square is located near Oxford Street and the nearest station is Bond Street. Also close are Marble Arch or Baker Street.

There are several cafes, interesting pubs and independent shops nearby.  It is also close to the busy local shopping street: Marylebone High Street.

This day is run by Nicky Browne and Sasala Wickramasinghe, sketches and photographs are also by them.

Let's draw the Wallace Collection - Saturday 15 February 2020

We drew at Trinity Buoy Wharf - September 2019

We had a great day sketching at Trinity Buoy Wharf on Sunday 15 September.  This is the location of London's only lighthouse, which was a popular subject for sketches, as was the bright red lightship.  Others drew the colourful container buildings and artists' studios.  The Wharf offers dramatic views of the river, across to the O2 (Millennium Dome), to Canary Wharf and to the east.  Some great panoramic views were produced.  London is always changing, and it was interesting to portray scenes which are not the traditional postcard views of the city.

Photographs are by Gafung Wong and Jo Dungey, who ran the day.  Our next sketchcrawl is on Saturday 5 October 2019, when we will be drawing the City of London, meeting by the Guildhall.  Scroll down this blog for information.

We drew at Trinity Buoy Wharf - September 2019

Let's draw Greenwich - Saturday 17 August 2019

Join us in August to draw Maritime Greenwich.  Greenwich offers a wonderful range of subjects for sketchers, including historical and modern architecture.  There are important buildings by Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren and a lively modern environment.  There are opportunities to draw from both sides of the River Thames, as a foot tunnel runs under the river here to Island Gardens.  

The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit.

Key times and meeting points for the day 

11 am: Meet near the entrance to the Visitor Centre of the Old Royal Naval College (see photograph above).  The Visitor Centre, formerly called Discover Greenwich, provides information on the area.  We can meet just inside if the weather is wet.  It is just to the east of the Cutty Sark. 

1 pm: Meet at the same place for a sketchbook throw down to see each other’s work and chat before lunch. 

3.30 pm: Meet at the same place to look at drawings done and take group photographs.

Options for drawing 

This location is absolutely packed with sketching opportunities.  The river, people and buildings in the area offer great subjects for drawing.  

The Cutty Sark ship is near the river. 

Along the river is the Old Royal Naval College (now part of the University of Greenwich) a masterpiece by Sir Christopher Wren.  The famous Painted Hall is part of the college.  Between the domes of the college can be seen the Queen’s House and colonnade designed by Inigo Jones. 

A wonderful view of Greenwich is available across the river from Island Gardens – cross under the river using the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, which is free of charge.  The entrance on each side is marked by a glass dome (see photo below).

From Greenwich there are views of the dramatic contemporary buildings of the Canary Wharf area. 

Historic Greenwich town centre has old shops, pubs, and Greenwich Market.  St Alfege church was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor from 1712-1714.  It is undergoing renovation at the moment but the building is open to the public on Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. 

There is an interesting area around Royal Hill, a short walk from Greenwich Market which has lots of examples of Victorian pubs and other buildings. 

Further from the river are the Maritime Museum (free admission), Greenwich Park and on the hill the Royal Observatory which stands on the Prime Meridian, the basis for Greenwich Mean Time.

A quiet spot to draw is De Vere Devonport House on King William Walk near the foot of Greenwich Park. 

If the weather is wet, options include the Painted Hall and Chapel of the Old Royal Naval College, inside St Alfege church, inside Greenwich Market, and the Maritime Museum.

Practical information 

The nearest station to the meeting point is Cutty Sark, on the Docklands Light Railway.  Greenwich station (National Rail) is also nearby.  There are plenty of places to get food and drink in Greenwich.  Greenwich Market opens every day 10 am to 5.30 pm and offers a variety of food stalls.  The Gypsy Moth is an excellent pub with a large outdoor seating area.  There are public toilets inside the visitor centre, also by the Cutty Sark, in the Maritime Museum and in the park (King William Walk).

The day is run by Mike Whalley and Olga Mackness.  The drawings of the Cutty Sark and of ship figureheads in the Maritime Museum are by Mike Whalley.

Let's draw Greenwich - Saturday 17 August 2019

We drew Richmond - June 2019

(Helen Hayhoe writes) On Saturday 15 June 2019, we visited Richmond, by the river in south-west London. We were worried about the rising of the river and the falling of the rain, but a pleasing crowd turned out and stayed to produce some wonderful work. We welcomed sketchers from around the world.

We met each time at the Paved Court to catch up with the throw downs. Represented among the sketches are the riverside, Richmond Green, Richmond Theatre, the famous view of the Thames painted by JMW Turner, and the Royal Wardrobe. Sketches below are, in order, by Mike Whalley, Martin Stone, and Zane Karklina.

We drew Richmond - June 2019

A summer evening on the South Bank - 19 June 2019

London's South Bank has a new roof garden above the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and that is where we met for an evening of sketching on 19 June 2019.  Despite uncertain weather, we had a good evening with great views over London.

We started to assemble the group for a photograph, but only some of the group had arrived (photo below) before the clouds opened.  So we all headed inside the Royal Festival Hall to look at each others drawings.  Well done, all.

The evening was run by Jo Dungey and Zane Karklina and the photographs are by Zane Karklina.

A summer evening on the South Bank - 19 June 2019