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

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

Let's draw London -- Our Summer Lates in 2023

Sketch by Sasala Wickramasinghe

We're back again with the Summer Lates this year - our first since the beginning of the pandemic!

We will cover four iconic Central London venues in May, June, July and August. 

Join us from 6pm to 8pm for each session, when we'll take advantage of the opportunity of light summer evenings to draw in Central London. All events are free, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit.

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If this is your first sketchwalk with us, welcome to Urban Sketchers London!

Our summer evening sketchwalks are slightly different to our fortnightly weekend ones.

Our regular sketchwalks take place over a longer period -- 11am to 330pm -- on a Saturday or a Sunday. Each one has a leader, a meeting point at the beginning, a gathering place in the middle and another one at the end, when we ‘throw down’ our sketchbooks and pose for a group photo. Sketchwalk leaders know the area and are there to help you feel at ease and give you some ideas about what to sketch. Please note there is no tuition during the sketchwalks. We all draw what we wish, following the Urban Sketchers manifesto and sharing our drawings at the end.

We look forward to seeing you! 

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⚫ Wednesday 24 May - Southbank Centre 

Sketch by Simone Menken

• When do we meet? We will gather at 6pm and reconvene for the throwdown at 8pm.

• Where will we meet? In the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall (looking out towards the river).                            

• What will we draw? Explore the South Bank Centre roof garden, the skate park, sketch the surrounding buildings and views across the river and the people enjoying this iconic venue. We can also draw inside the Festival Hall, particularly if the weather is poor.

• Where's the throwdown at the end?  The foyer of the Royal Festival Hall (looking out towards the river).

• Oh look, there's a bit extra! We also have the option of drawing beyond 8pm to attempt a night sketch (sunset at around 9pm) from the roof garden, or one of the upper floors of the Royal Festival Hall.   

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⚫ Friday 30 June - Bankside

Sketch by Sasala Wickramasinghe

• When do we meet? We will gather at 6pm and reconvene for the throwdown at 8pm.

• Where will we meet? At the riverside, below the chimney of the Tate Modern Gallery. (NB: The Tate Gallery itself will be closed at 6pm.) In wet conditions we will meet just beside the chimney, by the riverside entrance to the Tate (the entrance is located to the left of the chimney as you look towards the building).

• What will we draw? The Globe Theatre, the Millennium Bridge, passers-by, buskers, and the boats on the river.

• Where's the throwdown at the end? At the riverside, below the chimney of the Tate Modern. In wet conditions we will meet just beside the chimney, by the riverside entrance to the Tate (the entrance is located to the left of the chimney as you look towards the building).

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⚫ Wednesday 26 July - Somerset House

Sketch by Olga Mackness

• When do we meet? We will gather at 6pm and reconvene for the throwdown at 8pm

• Where will we meet? At the Strand entrance of Somerset House, under the arches (where there is shelter in case of rain).

• What will we draw? Aside from the 450 year-old Somerset house itself, sketching options include the hustle and bustle of the surrouding areas along the Strand and Aldwych. You can also find out what's on in Somerset House over the summer months.
  

• Where's the throwdown at the end? At the Strand entrance of Somerset House, under the arches (where there is shelter in case of rain).

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⚫ Friday 25 August - National Portrait Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Sketch by Gary Garaths

• When do we meet? We will gather at 6pm and reconvene for the throwdown at 8pm.

• Where will we meet? By the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar Square. (In case of rain, we will meet in the sheltered area outside Waterstones bookshop across the road).

• What will we draw? The newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery will be open until 9pm on Fridays. Entry is free, but do book your ticket in advance. 
  More sketching options in and around Trafalgar Square are the fountains, Nelson's Column, the National Gallery, views towards Westminster/Big Ben, and The Mall, including Admiralty Arch. 

• Where's the throwdown at the end? By the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar Square. (In case of rain, we will meet in the sheltered area outside Waterstones bookshop across the road).

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Location map

See you at the Summer Lates!

 

Let's draw London in 2023 -- Find our full programme here

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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

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

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Let's draw London -- Our Summer Lates in 2023

We drew Trafalgar Square - Saturday 12 November 2022

Midday throwdown and group photo
Photo by John Swanson

By John Swanson

It’s always a little risky arranging a sketchcrawl at this time of year. The problem is the weather: what to do if it rains? Or it’s foggy? Howling gales? So, we went with a backup plan to draw in the National Gallery, but it turned out we didn’t need it. Landseer’s lions basked in warm sunshine, and Nelson looked down benignly on the crowds idling about in shorts and t-shirts, eating ice-creams. Completely wrong for November of course, but in the circumstances the only thing to do was enjoy it.

Initial briefing
Photo by Jimmy Lu 

We gathered at 11 am. Some people had arrived earlier, and already had sketches to show. By the time the briefing began we had maybe 80 people, gathered under the rather splendid statue 'Antelope' on the Fourth Plinth.

Photo by John Webb

Then the work began. The square was already busy with tourists, but soon it was even busier with sketchers. They were everywhere. All the seats down one side of the square were taken by people squinting, measuring, sucking on pens, drawing and painting. Sketchers sat on the fountains, they inspected the lions, they set up portable easels.

Photo by Zane Karklina

Photo by Zane Karklina

Photo by Zane Karklina

At 1pm we gathered again to compare stories and sketches in the throwdown. This took place below the wall on the west side, out of the way of the crowds. However, it also meant the pictures could only be seen from one side -– or from the parapet above. With so many sketchers, this led to something of a scrum, not very satisfactory.

Seeing this, one of our number took charge: ‘Form a queue and walk past from the right! Then everyone can see!’ And after we recovered from astonishment at such a sensible idea, it all worked, brilliantly. In fact, I’d recommend future sketch organisers adopt the idea. As for the sketcher who initiated this, given the authoritative way she brought order to a disorderly bunch of independently minded citizens -– they were all artists, after all -– I’d guess she might be a teacher. Or ex-military. (I owe her both thanks and an apology, for although I did meet her, I’ve forgotten her name. Sorry, but I hope you return.)

Photo by John Swanson

The square became much livelier in the afternoon. First, there was a noisy gathering of Iranian protesters up in the north-east corner, with flags, loudspeakers and a drum.

Iranian demonstrators 
Sketch by John Swanson

Down in the square, in front of Nelson’s column, a stage had been built, and before long another demonstration arrived, this one in support of -– or possibly against — COP27. Suddenly there were more police to be seen, who, despite the hostility shown towards them by some of the speakers, treated the whole thing in a good-natured way. However, the combined racket was a bit too much for some of us, and a few sketchers drifted further afield to draw nearby scenes, like Whitehall and St James’ Palace.

The demonstration
Sketch by Katy Evans

St James's Palace
Sketch by Peggy Thistlethwaite

The afternoon throwdown was at 3.30, in the same place as before, with a perfectly operational and self-organised queueing system to view the work, all of it excellent. By the time we finished, the sun was getting low, and many of the buildings were bathed in a beautiful golden light. You might think the photographs have been photo-shopped, but they haven’t -- they really looked like that.

Afternoon throwdown and group photo
Photo by John Swanson

Trafalgar Square in golden evening light
Photo by Zane Karklina

Finally, many of us went for a cup of tea and a chat in The Crypt café at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, bringing to an end what I think was a very successful sketching day.

A selection of drawings from the day

Here are more sketches on the day -- out of very many -- chosen to represent the variety of scenes and topics we drew. The quality of work was excellent; there are many more to see on Urban Sketchers London social media accounts (see links at the end of this blog post). 

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped to make the day so much fun!

View of Trafalgar Square
Sketch by Paul Gadenne

The Fourth Plinth
Sketch by Sasala Wickramasinghe

Trafalgar Square
Sketch by Jimmy Lu

St Martin-in-the-Fields
Sketch by Bruce Bignold

View past the National Gallery towards St Martin-in-the-Fields
Sketch by James Walding

A lion of Trafalgar Square
Sketch by Cat Donne

 

Celebrating 10 years of Urban Sketchers London

2012 - 2022

⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫ ⧫

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

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We drew Trafalgar Square - Saturday 12 November 2022