We drew Stoke Newington reservoirs - 21 August 2021

Morning sketchers group under the Coal House Café canopy

[Isabel Carmona writes]

It is so good to be out sketching again with other sketchers, welcoming new participants and saying hello to older acquaintances.

I’ve been wanting to come to this oasis of greenery in North East London for a while and finally the day came, with London drizzle and even rain. That didn’t deter us, we found shelter under the canopy of the Coal House Café overlooking the East Reservoir. 

Morning throw down

There are two reservoirs -- the West Reservoir is a venue for water sports, the East is the home of the Woodberry Wetlands. The sketches of the day recorded both areas but most of us stayed overlooking the wetlands where we did the throw down.

A selection of sketches below

Sketch by Zita Kasp

Sketch by Jia You

Sketch by Adam Topor

Morning and afternoon sketches by Martin Stone

Sketch by James Hobbs

Sketch by Fei Yin

Sketch by Alison Gardiner

Sketch by Sufian Ahmed

Afternoon throw down

Afternoon group

---

We drew Stoke Newington reservoirs - 21 August 2021

Let's draw Stoke Newington reservoirs: Saturday 21 August 2021

James Hobbs, Woodberry Wetlands

[James Hobbs and Sasala Wickramasinghe write]

Let's draw Stoke Newington reservoirs: Saturday 21 August 2021

Our general theme for August 2021 is Urban Nature and we’ve chosen the Stoke Newington Reservoirs as our location for the day

For our August gathering we are meeting to draw at the reservoirs at Stoke Newington, a nature reserve and watersports venue within London’s Zone 2 and a short walk from Manor House tube station. The West Reservoir, which was the location of a recent edition of the Sky Landscape Artist of the Year (featuring our own Helen Hayhoe), is a venue for sailing, wild swimming and other water sports. The East Reservoir is the home of Woodberry Wetlands, opened by David Attenborough in 2016, and home to a diverse range of migratory birds. While the reservoirs are a haven for wildlife, it is in an unashamedly urban setting, with new developments along the reservoirs’ north banks, with cafes, pubs and shops close at hand. 

Manor House tube station is on the Piccadilly line, about 15 minutes from King’s Cross. Take Exit 2 from the tube station and walk down Woodberry Down, which is straight ahead. Turning right at Woodberry Grove, or earlier, will bring you to the reservoirs.

Plan for the day

11am

Meet by the water sculpture (above) on the north bank between the two reservoirs. It is beneath the tallest towers close to Lordship Road. 

1pm and 3.30pm

Both throwdowns and the final photo will be by the stepped seating by the water sculpture.

There are cafes and toilets around the reservoirs. 

There are cafes and toilets at the watersports centre by the West Reservoir, and at the East Reservoir. 

The Naturalist pub (with an outdoor seating area) is behind the playground on the West Reservoir, and the Zer coffee and juice bar is up the footpath behind the water sculpture. There’s a supermarket and other shops under the towers on Woodberry Grove.

In the event of bad weather, there isn’t much in the way of shelter, although there is a large awning by the cafe at Woodberry Wetlands on the East Reservoir, with views across the water.

There is more about Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve at this link.  

Let's draw Stoke Newington reservoirs: Saturday 21 August 2021

James Hobbs at Stoke Newington Literary Festival

 

Meet James Hobbs (author of Sketch Your World ) in Stoke Newington

In the foyer of Stoke Newington Town Hall (next to Clissold Park)

from 12 noon on Sunday 8th June

Adults and children welcome - get your drawings tweeted!

Sketchbooks by Seawhite of Brighton available

free on first come, first served basis

James Hobbs at Stoke Newington Literary Festival

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington

The park at Stoke Newington is worth a visit if you're near these parts. It had a makeover recently and is looking better than ever. This coming Sunday, 29 September, it is hosting events marking the anniversary of the opening of the New River, which passes through the park and was built to bring drinking water to the city from Hertfordshire 400 years ago. I like that it's still called the New River, despite its age and the fact it is no longer functioning as a water supply. Why bother changing it now?

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington

Albion road, Stoke Newington

Albion road in Stoke Newington (London suburbs). I was waiting there in the very early morning for the night bus N73, to start the trip home to the Netherlands.
In my eyes it's a typical London suburban street, with rows of small colourful shops mostly run by Pakistan, Turkish or Chinese shopkeepers. London must be one of the most multicultural cities I've ever visited.
One funny note: shortly before I started this drawing I saw a fox sneaking through the front lawns of Clissold crescent (the road towards the left), I suppose moving towards Clissold park. Not something you would expect in the middle of London.

Albion road, Stoke Newington

Meet the correspondents: James Hobbs

James Hobbs, Great Eastern Street, Hoxton, London

London is, of course, many different things to different people, as this blog will no doubt prove. Each of us has our own view and our own islands within the huge whole that we know particularly well. For me, this means Stoke Newington—where I live, which is an ancient inner north London village with a history of dissension that has become perhaps a little more gentrified than I would prefer—along with Hackney, Hoxton, Islington, the South Bank, the City and West End. I’m not so at home in most areas with postcodes with a “W” in them (apart from NW11) or, I must now confess, most places south of the river (apart from The Oval cricket ground). I still draw in these places when I get a chance.

To have a bicycle and a sketchbook is, for me, the way to be. My drawings are often A6-sized or perhaps A5, and made with permanent marker pens. I’m quite happy to work on the back of an envelope. Taking quiet, off-piste cycle routes can lead to unexpected pleasures, usually unfrequented by tourists and yet gloriously cosmopolitan and multicultural, which is how I like my London to be. London can be ugly and violent, but it’s usually not, and I love to live here and have my children grow up here. Drawing it is a kind of hymn of praise to the city, warts and all.

James Hobbs, New Oxford Street, London

I show at Skylark Galleries, an artist-run gallery in the Oxo Tower Wharf on the South Bank, and the Art Agency, Esher. I was for a while the editor of Artists & Illustrators magazine, and am now a freelance journalist. Five of my images of London scenes have just gone on sale as A5-sized art cards at IKEA stores worldwide.

You can see more of my work at www.james-hobbs.co.uk, visit my blog or follow me on Twitter.

Meet the correspondents: James Hobbs