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

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

South of the river

Making the most of the light summer evenings, we ran evening sketching sessions in June, July and August.  We explored south of the river around Borough and Bankside, finishing with river views of the ever-changing City of London.

In June we met near the Golden Hinde, a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship near London Bridge.  We sketched the ship, the area round Southwark Cathedral, and the remains of Winchester Palace, with its fourteenth century rose window, contrasted with modern developments in the area.

The new ‘foodie hub’ of Flat Iron Square was our meeting point in July.  

We drew here, and in the surrounding streets, with small shops, the railway bridge and arches, and views of the Shard.

August found us by further west on the South Bank, meeting at Gabriel’s Wharf.  Some people drew the shops and cafes of Gabriel’s Wharf, others river views towards the Oxo Tower and the City.  All of these areas show the complex layers of London’s history, underpinning the arts and leisure activities now prominent on the South Bank.

We were pleased to welcome many new sketchers to our summer evening sessions, as well as familiar faces.  We hope you will all want to return to sketch and explore London with us.
Photographs by John Webb and Jo Dungey.

South of the river

Summer evening sketching 2018

Join us for some relaxed evening sketching near London’s river Thames. Explore, sketch, socialise, eat and drink, as you prefer. We have planned three evening meet-ups:

·         Wednesday 20 June, 6pm-8pm, meeting at the Golden Hinde near Southwark Cathedral

·         Wednesday 25 July, 6pm-8pm, meeting at Flat Iron Square, Bankside

·         Wednesday 8 August, 6pm-8pm, meeting at Gabriel’s Wharf, on the South Bank

We will draw from 6pm to 8pm, then meet up again to look at the sketches done and take photos, then people have the option to eat, drink and socialise. Each evening is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit. More information below:

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Meeting point: 6pm next to the Golden Hinde, a full-size replica of the 16^th century galleon of Sir Francis Drake, next to the Old Thameside Inn, and at 8pm at the same place. 

The Golden Hinde is at St Mary Overie Dock, Cathedral Street, SE1. As well as drawing the Golden Hinde, we can draw river views, Southwark Cathedral, the ruins of Winchester Palace, and the small shops and streets around Borough Market. If it is wet, we can draw inside nearby pubs and cafes or under the canopies of Borough Market, and finish up at the Old Thameside Inn.

This event is run by Jo Dungey and Lis Watkins

Nearest station: London Bridge

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Meeting point: 6pm at Flat Iron Square, Bankside, off Union Street, and at 8pm at the same place.

Flat Iron Square is a new ‘foodie hub’ in Bankside. It is at the junction of Union Street, O’Meara Street and Southwark Street. Having redeveloped seven old railway arches, it has restaurants, bars, street food trucks and sometimes live music. Draw the people and buildings, including the old railway arches, and the nearby old shops, buildings and bridges in this mixed but historic area. If it is wet, there is plenty of cover and interior spaces at Flat Iron Square.

This evening is run by John Webb and Jo Dungey

Nearest stations: London Bridge, Southwark, Borough

Wednesday 8 August 2018

Meeting point: 6pm at Gabriel’s Wharf, near the central canopy, and at 8pm at the same place.

Gabriel’s Wharf, Upper Ground, is an open area just back from the river between the National Theatre and the OXO Tower building. It has small shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes, which we can draw.  Other options for drawing are river views from the nearby jetties, and the OXO Tower buildings. If wet, we can draw inside the National Theatre or inside pubs and cafes.   

This evening is run by Gafung Wong and John Webb

Nearest stations: Waterloo, Southwark, Blackfriars

Photographs by Lis Watkins

Summer evening sketching 2018

I'm not sketching much lately, but... (1)

I haven't been out on location drawing much in London recently, so ! haven't had much to post here on the blog. What I have been doing is a lot of printmaking, and some of these prints have been based on drawings I've done on location in London.
I thought it might be an idea to post some of the prints and their original drawings, for your interest.

Here's the first: a  drawing I made in 2010, joining  4 sheets of A4 paper to allow me to draw from my feet up to the clouds











Later I got round to making a woodcut of the image, cutting on two large pieces of  maple plywood and printing them together on a single sheet of Japanese paper 90cm long. Can you see the join?

I'm pleased to say that this print has just been accepted for the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition in March 2014

I'm not sketching much lately, but... (1)

Saturday at the Tate Modern

Saturday saw one of the largest gatherings we've had, as we joined forces with the Drawing London on Location Meetup.com group and members of the Sketchcrawl.com forum to participate in the 38th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. It was hard to keep track of the exact numbers, but I counted at least 70 people who made it to the Tate Modern and surrounding Bankside to spend the day sketching on a very chilly day.

Wherever you looked in the gallery there were people sketching!

I was hoping to get some outdoor sketching done, but it proved too cold for me, and after 20 minutes or so I had to give up and go back inside, where it was (slightly) warmer.

Drawn whilst wearing gloves. Tricky.

I was in more of a drawing people mood than architecture, and there was no shortage of interesting subjects to draw, most too engrossed in tea, conversation or looking at art to notice the growing army of sketchers around them. I spent a fair bit of time in the cafe on the first floor, before moving up to the cafe on the third, overlooking the Thames:

The best position I found though was on the slope of the Turbine Hall, looking through the window and into the bookshop, giving quite a unique angle and a perfect spot to draw people unnoticed.

Having abandoned the pencil for these last few sketchcrawls, my productivity for the day has really shot up, and if they're not as polished or geometrically accurate as I'd like, the benefit of getting a lot of different subjects down is worth it, and is quite freeing; I feel like I'm learning more from making mistakes in pen than having the safety net of drafting it out in pencil first.

As ever, I met a lot of great artists and fascinating people, but still managed to not meet everyone. For everyone that went, don't forget there's the Flickr group pool you can join to post and see drawings from the day. We're looking to get some of the future sketchcrawls' dates and locations decided in advance and posted up on the new London Sketchcrawls page, so watch this space! and if you have any suggestions about where you'd like to go to draw for the upcoming ones, post a comment below!

See you at the next one!

Saturday at the Tate Modern

Bankside sketchcrawl: in the warm

James Hobbs, Turbine Hall, Tate Modern

Well done to everyone who managed to battle through the wintry conditions to get to Bankside yesterday for the sketchcrawl – and commiserations for those who couldn't. Nathan may have better figures, but I'm sure there were more than 50 of us there. Tate Modern was a great place to be, although a hardy few headed outside to draw - let's hope they've all been accounted for.

The Tanks, Tate Modern, showing William Kentridge's I Am Not Me

www.james-hobbs.blogspot.co.uk

Bankside sketchcrawl: in the warm