NOTE CHANGE OF DATE - Let's draw Covent Garden - Saturday 10 December 2022

Covent Garden

Sketch by Karen Jones

 [By Isabel Carmona and Sasala Wickramasinghe]

In December we go back and draw Covent Garden in all its Christmas splendour!

The giant Christmas tree specially selected for Covent Garden! 

This is our second attempt to sketch iconic Covent Garden, since our last visit had to be cancelled due to spiking Covid numbers. As usual, Covent Garden will be full of festive cheer and bustling with Christmas shoppers. The giant baubles and mistletoe are back in the piazza -- Karen Jones (see main image above) drew these in 2016 -- and new this year is the hand painted 19th century Covent Garden Christmas Sleigh. We certainly will be spoilt for choice on things to sketch!

The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your art kit. Don't forget to wrap up warm! 

Key times and meeting points

11 AM

Meet outside the Apple Store (1-7 The Piazza, WC2E 8HB) under the arches in the covered area, which should provide shelter in case of rain.

1 PM

For our throwdown and group photo, we will meet in the churchyard of St Paul's, at the benches by the Statue of the Conversion of St Paul. The nearest access is through the gate (see photo below) that is opposite the massive Christmas tree. 

3.30 PM

We will return to the benches at the Statue of Conversion of St Paul to look at drawings and take final group photographs.

The gate to St Paul's churchyard. 

Afterwards

We could then gather in the cafe/restaurant in the Royal Opera House on the ground floor next to the shop. This is open to the public until at least 8pm on days when they have performances. 

There are plenty of other pubs and bars (albeit very busy running up to Christmas) in Covent Garden, if people want to stay back for a drink. 

Options for drawing

• The Victorian market buildings: the central market and Jubilee Market. There will be a Christmas market/stalls just outside the piazza opposite the entrance to the Royal Opera House. 

Sketch by Lindsay Topping

• St Pauls Church (also known as the Actors’ Church) with its peaceful churchyard: numerous memorial plaques (including one for Sir Charles Chaplin!) and inside the warm interior is mostly covered in beautifully polished wood.  

• Royal Opera House: the top floor bar area offers some spectacular views of Covent Garden markets below. The Floral Hall, with its magnificent barrelled roof and stunning ironwork, occasionally hold free public performances.  

Sketch by Isabel Carmona

• Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Neal’s Yard, one of London's prettiest streets, and Seven Dials, Covent Garden's hidden shopping village, for anyone who wants to venture beyond the main market halls.

Sketch by Jacqueline Röhr

• Street performers and musicians: they’re everywhere! Street performers’ area outside the piazza (where the giant Christmas tree is); there is another performers’ area in the North Hall inside the piazza; there are regular Christmas carol and opera performances and musicians playing downstairs in the South Hall. 

• London Transport Museum: The museum itself charges an entrance fee, but entry to the beautifully vibrant shop and cafe is free.  

Practical information

Getting there

The nearest Tube stations include Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line; 1min walk), Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern Lines; 7 min walk) and Holborn (Central and Piccadilly Lines; 10 min walk). 

COVID-19 visit information

We will remain alert to national guidance about COVID-19 and its variants. Even while restrictions have been lifted, it's sensible to take all necessary precautions to keep ourselves and fellow sketchers safe throughout the event. The risk of infection for outdoor events is low, but basic guidance still applies:

• Please do not attend if you feel unwell
• Wear a face covering when you're close to others
• Give people space
• Practice good hand hygiene.

Location map

See you in Covent Garden!

 

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NOTE CHANGE OF DATE - Let's draw Covent Garden - Saturday 10 December 2022

CANCELLED Let's draw Covent Garden: Saturday 18th December 2021

Covent Garden Sketch by Karen Jones

[By Isabel Carmona and Sasala Wickramasinghe]

= Cancelled =

In December we will draw Covent Garden.

The giant Christmas tree, specially selected for Covent Garden! 

Iconic Covent Garden will be full of festive cheer and be bustling with Christmas shoppers. The giant baubles and mistletoe are back in the piazza - Karen Jones (see main image above) drew these back in 2016. We certainly will be spoilt for choice on things to sketch!

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

Key times and meeting points

11 AM

Meet outside the Apple Store (1-7 The Piazza, WC2E 8HB) under the arches in the covered area, which should provide shelter in case of rain.

1 PM

We will meet at the same place outside the Apple Store for the first throw down and photograph. 

3.30 PM

Meet next at the side of St Pauls Church through the arched gate (see photo below) between the NatWest bank and the Church (by the performers’ area) to look at drawings and take final group photographs. This area is not sheltered, and if it rains we will revert to the covered area outside the Apple Store. One of the admins will be around to guide people if this is the case. 

3.30 pm meeting place at the side of St Pauls Church

Afterwards

We could then gather in the cafe/restaurant in the Royal Opera House on the ground floor next to the shop. This is open to the public until at least 8pm on days when they have performances. 

There are plenty of other pubs and bars (albeit very busy running up to Christmas) in Covent Garden, if people want to stay back for a drink. 

Options for drawing

• The Victorian market buildings: the central market and Jubilee Market. There will be a Christmas market/stalls just outside the piazza opposite the entrance to the Royal Opera House. 

Sketch by Lindsay Topping

• St Pauls Church (also known as the Actors’ Church) with its peaceful churchyard: numerous memorial plaques (including one for Sir Charles Chaplin!) and inside the warm interior is mostly covered in beautifully polished wood.  

• Royal Opera House: the top floor bar area offers some spectacular views of Covent Garden markets below. The Floral Hall, with its magnificent barrelled roof and stunning ironwork, occasionally hold free public performances.  

Sketch by Isabel Carmona

• Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
• Neal’s Yard, one of London's prettiest streets, and Seven Dials, Covent Garden's hidden shopping village, for anyone who wants to venture beyond the main market halls.

Sketch by Jacqueline Röhr

• Street performers and musicians: they’re everywhere! Street performers’ area outside the piazza (where the giant Christmas tree is); there is another performers’ area in the North Hall inside the piazza; there are regular Christmas carol and opera performances and musicians playing downstairs in the South Hall. 

• London Transport Museum: The museum itself charges an entrance fee, but entry to the beautifully vibrant shop and cafe is free.  

Practical information

COVID-19 visit information

COVID-19 and its variants remain prevalent even though restrictions have been lifted. It's sensible to take all necessary precautions to keep ourselves and fellow sketchers safe throughout the event. The risk of infection for outdoor events is low, but basic guidance still applies: please do not attend if you feel unwell, wear a face covering when you're close to others, give people space, and practice good hand hygiene. There is also the option of self-testing before the event. 

All indoor venues (Royal Opera House, London Transport Museum) require visitors to follow social distancing rules and wear a face covering. 

Getting there

Unfortunately, there are tube strikes scheduled on several lines on the London Underground on Saturday the 18th. Please check service updates before starting your journey and try to use alternative modes of transport if possible. 

More information on the planned strikes can be found on the TFL website here.

The nearest Tube stations include Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line; 1min walk), Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern Lines; 7 min walk) and Holborn (Central and Piccadilly Lines; 10 min walk). 

See you at Covent Garden!

The day is run by Isabel Carmona and Sasala Wickramasinghe.

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CANCELLED Let's draw Covent Garden: Saturday 18th December 2021

Sketching Covent Garden: Moleskine City Stories

James Hobbs, Covent Garden

On Saturday 6 September 2014, Urban Sketchers are going to be drawing around the streets of Covent Garden as part of the "live sketch event" Moleskine City Stories. 

This day-long celebration of urban sketching focuses on the Moleskine store on King Street – where Adebanji Alade and Olha Pryymak will be in action – while Andrea Joseph and James Hobbs will be at London Graphic Centre, Shelton Street, close to Seven Dials. 

They, along with other London Urban Sketchers, will be drawing in and around the stores and happy to talk about urban sketching from 11.30am to 5.30pm. During the day each store will build an exhibition of the drawings done by those who come.

Interested? There's a lot more information about learning sessions, how to get your hands on a free Moleskine Sketch Album, and directions from mymoleskine.moleskine.com/community/citystories. Come along and say hello, and be ready to draw.

Sketching Covent Garden: Moleskine City Stories

Sunday sketchcrawling!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our drawing day on Sunday, it was great to see you all!

For January we were pretty lucky with the weather, but nevertheless it was nice being inside and looking out!

The thing I enjoy most about these sketchcrawls is seeing everyone's different styles and approaches to drawing the same subjects, so if you were there and feel like sharing, you can do so in our Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/usklondon-grouppool/

There's already a few up there of Sunday's sketches from Lis and Evelyn, so check them out.

After downing a few coffees in Timberyard, we headed off to Neal's Yard, and there was even some sunshine to encourage us to try some outdoor sketching, before retreating into another nearby coffee shop to keep warm.
From Neal's Yard, we headed down to Trafalgar Square and finished with some sketches outside the National Gallery.


Here's my day's sketching.

Look out for another sketchcrawl around mid-March ! See you then.

Sunday sketchcrawling!

Urban Sketchers London Exhibition!

We're very excited to have an exhibition of London urban sketching officially opening tomorrow as part of the launch of the brand new branch of Timberyard coffeeshop.
Work from Lis Watkins, Adebanji Alade, Evelyn Rowland, Olha Pryymak and myself (Nathan Brenville) will be on display from Friday 17th January at Timberyard Seven Dials, 7 Upper St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, London.
It's open til late, so if you fancy a coffee after work/dinner, pop in and check out some of our sketches!

Evelyn finishes hanging her work

As mentioned in the previous post, to celebrate the opening, we'll be meeting in Timberyard Seven Dials this coming Sunday for coffee and sketching, before working our way around a few other tea and coffee establishments in the local area.

The exhibition will be up for a couple of months. Timberyard will also be hosting a 2nd exhibition of Urban Sketchers London from mid-March onwards featuring a whole new set of artists and artworks!

Please go and see for yourself! Let us know what you think in the comments section or twitter: @UrbSketchLondon

Urban Sketchers London Exhibition!

Draw: Covent Garden on January 19th 2014

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas holiday.

In two weeks time Urban Sketchers London will be launching our second group exhibition (our first was at Foyles bookshop in Summer 2012). If you're based in the Old Street/Farringdon area, you may already know Timberyard coffeeshop. Well, they have a new branch, due to open in Seven Dials, Covent Garden on January 16th, and our artwork will be adorning their walls! This will be followed by more of our works going on display later at the Old Street branch of Timberyard too.
We'll be posting more details about the shows very soon, but to celebrate the Covent Garden show, we'll be convening on Sunday 19th January at Timberyard for some coffee and sketching, and we'd love it if you could join us!

Because the end of January is usually the coldest time of year, we thought it might be a good plan to try and stay indoors as much as possible. So we'll be meeting in Timberyard at 11am on Sunday 19th January. The address is 7 Upper St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DL and we'll probably stick around for a coffee and some sketching before working our way over to the Espresso Bar inside the National Gallery.

The unpredictability of the weather means the schedule will have to be flexible - if there's rain or snow it may delay or speed up the route but the basic plan is to head along the quieter streets via a few other cafés to keep warm. Whatever happens, sketching will occur!

The end point will be the espresso bar in the National Gallery where we can hopefully do a final bit of sketching, have a look at other people's work and show off yours (if you want to!). We won't be going round the Gallery itself, unless, as I say, the weather forces us there early. If you do want to draw in the Gallery, bear in mind they only allow pencils (although you should get away with fineliners) - watercolours, oil paint, anything messy won't be looked upon kindly by the staff. Just a warning. Fingers crossed for the weather!!

If you can't find us on the day, you can give me a ring on 07796-210385

Draw: Covent Garden on January 19th 2014