UPDATE: re Let's Draw Canary Wharf 16 January 2016

This is an update on places to meet, places to sketch and the weather for Let's Draw Canary Wharf - 16th January 2016. The VENUES FOR LUNCH AND FINISH HAVE CHANGED.

The weather forecast

First the good news. BBC Weather is predicting sunshine all day. The bad news is it goes with temperatures of about 3 degrees!

This is fine for sketching so long as you dress appropriately!

• It's ESSENTIAL you dress with layers, wear your thermals and a warm hat! My fingerless gloves with mitten tops will also be coming out with me tomorrow. 
• you have insulation between your rear and a very cold fixed seat outdoors. I also recommend carrying least a paper to sit on or seating pad! Thick trousers also help. Otherwise you must stand or need a stool.

Venues

I trecked round Canary Wharf on Wednesday to check out all the venues in detail - and took lots of photos so I can describe them to you. Plus I have maps for a few people!

If you have never been before the layout is VERY CONFUSING - but well signposted.

This is the Google Map of venues detailed below


I do recommend you grab one of the map guides as soon as you arrive. They're very easy to find in the shopping malls. I've already picked up some which I will bring with me but it won't be enough for everybody.


Please remember the whole of Canary Wharf is PRIVATE PROPERTY. The rules for what we can and cannot do may be different from the public domain (which this is not). However I've never had problems taking photos.

Start Venue - 11:00am at Canary Wharf DLR Ticket Concourse (Cabot Place)

We'll meet next to the clock inbetween the UP escalators to the platforms 4 & 5 at Canary Wharf DLR Station (ie NOT the Jubilee Line). It's on the same level as the Oyster Card readers and one floor below the level of the platforms.  So if you're arriving via this route you need to come down the escalators and walk across to the up escalators side. There's lots of room in the vicinity for a large group to congregate and not block people getting around.

This is what the clock looks like - next to the escalator and stairs UP to platforms 4 and 5.

The DLR Station Clock on the ticket concourse below the platform level
and between the escalators going up to the platforms

You can go back up the stairs (no need to use your Oyster card if you are not travelling) and sketch the amazing architecture of the DLR station from the platforms (see below)

Or you can walk out the doors to the right of this pic and visit the Sky Garden at Crossrail Place (see below)

Lunchtime - 1:00pm at Jubilee Place Shopping Mall

This is the below ground level of the Jubilee Place Shopping Mall
- lots of places to get food, hot soup and hot drinks
- and it's VERY WARM!

I'm CHANGING THE VENUE FOR LUNCH from the Sky Garden to Jubilee Place Shopping Centre (which is below ground level) for two reasons:

1. It's LOVELY AND WARM! I recommend this as a place to stay close to if you need to go and warm up periodically for 10 minutes or so during the day!
2. It has lots of places where people can get food and hot drinks e.g. M&S; Starbucks, Costa Coffee etc. We'll also be meeting up here afterwards (more below)

I suggest we meet near these columns.

This is what the entrance to the Shopping Centre looks like in the centre of Jubilee Place Park. Note how you get in as you go as finding your way out again is not obvious!

Entrance to the Jubilee Place Shopping Mall - and warmth and food

FINISH - 3:30pm Canary Wharf Underground Station (West Entrance)

I'm CHANGING THE FINISH VENUE to the Jubilee Line TfL Station between Jubilee Place and Middle Dock - for those going home on the tube. Beware there are three entrances and there are two photographic clues to which is the right one below

 Again we have lots of space to congregate near the station and lots to sketch for those who get there early!

Jubilee Line Underground Station (West Entrance)
- between Jubilee Place Park and Middle Dock (and close to the DLR station)

If when facing the station (as in the above photo) you can see these clocks if you look left then you've got the right entrance to the Underground!

If you look left while facing the underground entrance and can see these clocks you are at the right entrance!
Walk past these clocks, through the doors and turn left to get back to the DLR Station

AFTERWARDS - 4:pm Crush Fit Food

So we'll walk from the station back into the park and down the escalators to where we met and lunch and this time we'll go to Crussh Fit Food and Juice Bar Unit 21 Jubilee Place. I had a good look round for a suitable place to meet up afterwards. This was the only place that didn't have lots of teeny tables.

This is what it looks like - you can also see it the centre of the previous view of the Jubilee Place shopping Mall - below ground view.

It also does hot soups and coffees and teas!

Crussh in Jubilee Place

Places to Sketch

Canary Wharf DLR

Use the up escalators from where we meet to get to the platforms

I've checked and there's nothing to stop people going up to the platforms to sketch - you don't need to use your Oyster card. I do recommend you stay well out of the way of people who are travelling. There's a good amount of space at either end of the platforms which don't get busy.

DLR platforms and concave roof - plus note the fixed seats

The view from the other end of the platform

Crossrail Place Sky Garden

To get to the Sky Garden:

• face the clock on the ticket concourse at the DLR station and then turn right and walk through the doors and down to the street
• Turn right and walk up to Crossrail Place - the long covered bridge to Crossrail Place (marked as Adams Plaze Bridge on the map). Walk down the bridge past the photography exhibition of wildlife at Canary Wharf. 

the entrance to Crossrail Place - the bridge which leads to the Sky Garden.
There are great views of the architecture from this level

There are great views across the dock from the windows at the end of the bridge.

Inside Crossrail Place

• turn right and go up the up escalator
• at the top you come out at the side of a bar/restaurant. Walk straight ahead and you'll come to this view of the Sky Garden. 
• The roof is partially open and partially closed and you're protected from stiff breezes. There are lots of seats to sit on around the garden - and there are toilets!

You can sit under one end of the Sky Garden and sketch the geometry and the tree ferns!

If you enter the "Big Easy" bar and restaurant, they may open up their end terrace for you if you buy something to eat or drink. You can then draw this view

The view from the Big Easy - across West India Quay DLR Station

Winter Lights

The Winter Lights are not going to be on until 4pm. I didn't see much evidence of them and some were still being put up. The best place to see them is Jubilee Place Park and Montgomery Square.

Winter Lights Jubilee Place

Ice skating rink - Canada Place Park

You can stand around the ice rink and see through perspex windows around the larger part of the rink. There are also limited places to get alongside the rink. Those wanting to stay indoors to sketch skaters might like to investigate the Wahacca Bar at Canary Wharf (in the background of this photo). I didn't go inside so I don't know if it works as a venue but it seems to be the only place which provides a top down perspective

The ice rink is built up above the ground - viewing is through windows around the rink

The big dig in West India Dock

You can see this from Montgomery Square. It's now much bigger than when I last saw it in November.

The Big Dig in the Dock - lots of cranes

UPDATE: re Let's Draw Canary Wharf 16 January 2016

Let's Draw Canary Wharf - 16th January 2016

The next Let's Draw event for urban sketchers in London will be at Canary Wharf on Saturday 16th January 2016. 

PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT UPDATE RE CHANGE OF VENUES FOR LUNCH AND FINISH
UPDATE: re Let's Draw Canary Wharf 16 January 2016

_____________________________________

Our events are always FREE to anybody who would like to turn up and have a go at urban sketching.

Here are 

• the details of venues and times for start/lunch/finish 
• more information about what's on offer to sketch.

Note that sketching the Lumiere 'objects d'art' will be best after 4pm so I'm assuming those that want to sketch them at their best will want to stay later. 

I'm assuming some people may not have been to Canary Wharf before so am providing a bit more information than usual. I'd make very sure you have access to a printout of a good map - or one on your phone - as it can be confusing at times - although well signposted.

Canary Wharf Station

TIMES & PLACES 

• START venue/time: Canary Wharf Station @ 11:00 UPDATE: next to the clock on the ticket concourse between the up escalators to the platforms
• LUNCH: 1:00pm - Crossrail Sky Garden - in the North Dock (semi-circular seating area - see photo) You will see signposts to the Sky Garden.  UPDATE: in the below ground eating area of the Jubilee Shopping Mall - entrance in Jubilee Place
• FINISH: 3:30pm - Canary Wharf Station UPDATE: Next to the West Entrance to Canary Wharf Underground Station - between Jubilee Place and Middle Dock
• AFTERWARDS: 4:00pm I'm going to try and locate a place to have a drink where we can see the Lumiere Crussh in Jubilee Place Shopping Mall

See UPDATE: re Let's Draw Canary Wharf 16 January 2016 for photographs of what different places look like.

[Please note: the Sketchcrawls Page is now called "Let's draw London in 2016"]

Crossrail Sky Garden amphitheatre semi-circular seating
- good for sitting eat sandwiches and a photo at lunchtime!

MAPs

• Let's Draw Canary Wharf (on Google Maps)  Please print this out or make sure you have saved it on your phone
• Do have a look at where the public art is on the estate - some of it is stunning 
• Art Map Artworks 1-20
• Art Map Artworks 21-65 
• Winter Lights Map  (for those staying after 4pm)

Click this map to see a larger version of where the Winter Lights are at Canary Wharf
Source: http://canarywharf.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/canary-wharf-arts-events-winter-lights-map.pdf

For those wanting to orientate themselves relative to how the docks sued to be here's a map of the docks in 1899

Isle of Dogs in 1899
The Sky Garden is located in what was then the West India - Import Dock
The two parks are either side and overlapping what was the West India Export Dock
The South Dock -where the Big Dig is happening used to be called West India -South  Dock.

More information - a summary

Websites:

• Canary Wharf  
• Winter Lights at Canary Wharf
• Ice Rink
• Canary Wharf - installations of public art on the estate

Refreshments: This is the Store Guide for where everything is. Sandwiches can be bought from:

• Marks and Spencer (Jubilee Place Shopping Mall)
• Waitrose (Canada Place Shopping Mall)
• meals can be had at various other places of refreshment

Toilets: These are not so obvious. However, there are public toilets in all the shopping malls at Canary Wharf. They are located as follows:

• Cabot Place, Mall Level -1, behind Citibank
• Canada Place, Mall Level -1, at the end of the corridor opposite Robert Dyas
• Churchill Place, Mall Level -1, behind James Shoe Care
• Jubilee Place, Mall Level -1, adjacent to Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Travel:

• Canary Wharf - getting here
• Docklands Light Railway - The DLR network runs from Bank and Tower Gateway to Stratford, Beckton and Lewisham. For some of the trains the Canary Wharf station is the point where you change - so it's BIG!
• Tube: Jubilee Line - link lists journey times
• Bus:135, 277, D3, D7, D8 
• Transport for London's Plan a Journey
• Parking: park your car at the weekend in the car parks. You can get three hours free at the weekend if you spend more than £10 in any of the shops/cafes and get your ticket validated. 

More Information - specific places / installations

Canary Wharf DLR Station 

This is a large station for the Docklands Light Railway in the centre of Canary Wharf with some amazing architecture.

Note this is NOT the Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station.

Crossrail Sky Garden

The Crossrail Sky Garden was opened this summer.

View of the Sky Garden. It contains two of the light installations in January

The Big Dig - South Dock

There's a big going on at present in the South Dock - presumably to provide foundations for another skyscraper.  Great for those who like construction and machinery to sketch!

See the map for the location where this photo was taken from in November. The three cranes on the right are iconic and preserved from the days of the docks. On the left you can see part of the O2 Arena.

The Big Dig in South Dock - from the edge of Montgomery Square

The Ice Rink

You can visit and sketch skaters on London’s largest outdoor ice rink Ice Rink Canary Wharf in Canada Square Park.

Skaters are good fun to sketch as although they keep moving they also keep making the same repeated movements and after a while you find you are sketching a bit of people and then waiting for them to come round again so you can finish them off!

(I'm checking whether or not we need a ticket to watch and sketch the skaters. You don't need a ticket at other ice rinks - but worth checking!)

Canary Wharf - Winter Lights 

This is an exhibition of 18 light installations which has just been installed and is on until 22 January. The best effect will be enjoyed by anybody who decides to stay late.  I suspect this will be decided by the weather and the best place to view them from somewhere warm!

• FREE/Daily (Best viewed 4-9pm), Throughout Canary Wharf
• This is the Winter Lights Map 
• This is a preview of the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf in the Evening Standard 

My understanding is that this event is associated with the Lumiere London event which runs from 14-17 January in Central London.


If you have any queries please send them to the contact email address in the side column or on the sketchcrawls page.

Let's Draw Canary Wharf - 16th January 2016

Let's Draw The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square at Christmas - 12th December 2015

This December's "Let's Draw London" sketchcrawl on Saturday 12th December 2015, is based around Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. PLEASE NOTE THE LATE START.

The aim of starting later is to have time to sketch the tree in lights as dusk begins

This is the Event Link on Facebook.

The Christmas Tree on Friday 4th December 2015 at 4.40pm

In early December the Christmas Tree from Norway is erected in Trafalgar Square. You can see a photo of it that I took on Friday afternoon last week above.

For those wanting to sketch the Christmas Tree and the lights at the entrance to the Strand I recommend experimenting with some dark paper with you and media which works on top of dark paper!  Otherwise you just end up filling in a lot of darks!

In case it's wet or for those of us who don't do to well in cold/damp weather (I shall be indoors!), the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people and paintings in art galleries.  The trick with drawing people fast is to focus on the shape, size and posture and not the faces.  There's also any amount of architecture and perspective in the very large interiors to keep the 'drawing buildings' fans happy!

The National gallery has sketching stools - but they're sometimes difficult to locate

PLEASE NOTE: The National Gallery does not allow wet media for sketching. You need to use pencils or coloured pencils. Pens that don't use wet ink seem to be OK i.e. no dip pens and no fountain pens.

This is what they have to say about Sketching in the Galleries

Guidelines

• Sketching is not allowed in exhibitions
• Use a hand-held pad of paper, pencil, graphite stick or felt-tipped pens
• Avoid materials such as pastels, wax crayons, charcoal and fountain pens

Copyists

If you wish to use paint, or other oil/water-based media, request an application form from: information@ng-london.org.uk

The National Gallery also has 'facilities' - see the map of the interior (Level 0 in main building and Level 1 or -1 in the Sainsbury Wing)

Looking at the Turners in the National Gallery - sketched from the splendid red sofas!
sketch in pencil and coloured pencils (11 x 16") by Katherine Tyrrell

A group of school children having a lesson about art - in the National Gallery
pen and ink and coloured pencil sketch in a Moleskine by Katherine Tyrrell

Information for Saturday 12th December

Times and Places 

• START venue/time: 12:00 (note later time)
• wet - in the lobby area of the Ground floor entrance to the National Gallery (to right of external stairs)
• dry - next to the 4th Plinth, National Gallery side
• LUNCH: 2:00pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
• FINISH: 4:30pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
• AFTERWARDS: Buttery section of the National Dining Rooms - at the top of the stairs in the Sainsbury Wing for tea and cake!

MAP: Map of start/lunch/finish places
Websites: Trafalgar Square | National Gallery

Refreshments: Sandwiches - In the National Gallery (Grab and Go next to the National Cafe and Expresso Bar in the Basement), M&S @ Charing Cross, Boots at the Trafalgar end of The Strand, various coffee places around Trafalgar Square


Travel:

• Nearest Tube Stations - Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Embankment - so far as I am aware there are no planned closures.
• Nearest Rail Station: Charing Cross 

In early December the Christmas Tree from Norway is erected in Trafalgar Square.  Last year it was lit on 4th December.Plus the National Gallery offers lots of opportunities for keeping warm and dry and drawing people in art galleries.

The aim of starting later is to have time to sketch the tree in lights as dusk begins

• Websites: Trafalgar Square | National Gallery
• MAP: Map of start/lunch/finish places
• START venue/time: 12:00 (note later time)
• wet - in the lobby area of the Ground floor entrance to the National Hallery (to right of external stairs)
• dry - next to the 4th Plinth, National Gallery side
• LUNCH: 2:00pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
• FINISH: 4:30pm - Bottom of the stairs, ground floor of Sainsbury Wing
• AFTERWARDS: Buttery at the top of the stairs in the Sainsbury Wing
• Travel: Tube Stations - Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Embankment

- See more at: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.co.uk/p/london-sketchcrawls.html#sthash.JsdrpzGS.dpuf

Let's Draw The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square at Christmas - 12th December 2015

London Urban Sketchers' Exhibition 2015 - Reminder & UPDATE

The REMINDER is to:

• make sure people remember that the deadline for entries for the London Urban Sketchers Exhibition opening this November is the end of Saturday 10th October.
• encourage entries  from anybody who has been active with Urban SketchersLondon group in 2015

We'll also be reminding people who come to this Saturday's sketchcrawl! ;)

The UPDATE is to say

• IGNORE the deadline to ask for an entry form. You can still ask for one - check the link below to find out how
  
• Entry forms have also been uploaded as files to the Urban Sketchers London Facebook Group -in Word - in both.doc and .docx formats

To find out more about the exhibition do please read the Call for Entries: Urban Sketchers Exhibition 2015

Lunchtime for London Urban Sketchers at the Orangery in Kew Gardens in May 2015

London Urban Sketchers' Exhibition 2015 - Reminder & UPDATE

Call for Entries: Urban Sketchers Exhibition 2015

This post explains WHO can submit WHAT for the London Urban Sketchers Exhibition that's being held between 2nd November 2015 - 30th April 2016 at the new branch of Timberyard in central London which also opens in November.

The post includes just some of the images people who have been on London Urban Sketchers 'Let's Draw' sketchcrawls this year.

Who can submit sketches?

We will only be hanging sketches by people who have been ACTIVE participants in London Urban Sketchers in 2015 i.e. since January 2015 when we introduced the monthly "Let's Draw" events which have been very successful.  The entry form will ask you which ones you attended.

London Urban Sketchers at the end of our visit to Kew Gardens in May 2015

How do we define active?

We had a discussion about this and agreed that we are looking for people who have:

• been to a number of our Let's Draw events in 2015;
• and/or consistently posted their sketches to our Flickr Group Pool (the easiest place to see what people have done)
• and/or consistently posted to the blog
• and/or consistently posted to the Facebook group
• and/or contributed to the running of the group

We've already compiled a list of people who we think qualify - and know your name. If you want to know whether you are on the list please ask.  We're also very happy for people to make the case for why you might be eligible

The entry form will ask you to identify what you've done this year.

London Urban Sketchers at the British Museum in February 2015

What can you submit?

Subject matter

The first and most obvious condition is that you can ONLY submit sketches which conform to the principles of The Urban Sketchers Manifesto:

1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.
4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
6. We support each other and draw together.
7. We share our drawings online.
8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Obviously if you came with us on a Let's Draw event we know this to be true!

This means that you can't submit drawings made after the event. However you can submit work where you finished the sketch later e.g. by adding colour.

Next we aim to get a good mix of sketches which represent both us and London. So we will be looking to select sketches which are drawings of:

• different parts of London
• different types of buildings
• different types of places - parks, events and people as well as buildings
• different styles of sketching
• different media used for sketching.

So think about what you have done. We will be looking to select the best of a unique view.

Sketches (or prints) can be for sale but they don't have to be for sale. If sold during the show they will be replaced. Which means if your work is not chosen for the initial batch of work hung it may well be still hung during the course of the show - which continues until the end of April 2016.

We'll also have a portfolio of details about the artists for visitors to view!

Some of the people who sketched the Mall, Horseguards and Trafalgar Square in August 2015

Eligible Media and Size

All sketches MUST be

• 2D and sketchbook size as we want to hang as many works as we can
• usual sketching media. (We're looking to get a good variety of different media including pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, coloured pencils, marker pens, digital colour etc. If in doubt email us.)
• framed using a neutral frame which can be hung easily. (white, black, neutral paint, plain wood - we will provide more details to artists whose artwork is selected)

The entry form will state the maximum size for a framed sketch. Current thinking is no bigger than 30cm x 40cm but variations for a panoramic format (used vertically or horizontally) will also be fine if external dimensions do not exceed 150cm in total.

Printing a sketch

We realise that not everybody will have a loose sketch. Also that many of us would regard taking a page out of a sketchbook as sacrilegious!  We're therefore happy to accept very good quality prints of a sketch - so long as the work indicates it is a print and not an original.

Do bear in mind that unless you have access to professional scanning and/or printing that means that you're limited to sketches which are smaller than A4 - or reducing sketches so they can be printed using an A4 printing.

[Note: We'll be providing advice about scanning and printing later in a separate blog post]

Number of entries

At this stage we're looking to active participants to suggest THREE of their best sketches. See also selection and fee.

There is no entry fee but there will be a hanging fee of £5 per work hung to help cover costs.

Lots of us drew St Pauls and the Thames in April 2015

Selection

We'll be making a selection from online images - so we need you to make sure that the image online is the best you can make it.


We aim to do the selection pretty quickly so that we can give you two weeks to get your work framed. You'll find the dates in the timeline below.

Timescale

The sketch needs to have been done in 2015 AND posted and shared online on Flickr, Facebook, your blog, this blog.

Key dates are as follows:

• Wednesday 30th September - deadline for asking for an entry form (but we may extend this date)
  
• Saturday 10th October - DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES (you'll get a reminder at the Sketchcrawl!)
• make sure all images are online 
• Return entry forms and a photo of yourself (see below for entry forms)
• 15th October - target date for notification of selected artwork - giving you two weeks to get it framed
• 29th - 31st October - Deliver artwork
• Sat 31st October and/or Sun 1st November - Hang the exhibition
• Monday 2nd November - Exhibition Opens
• Tuesday 3rd November - Private View
• Saturday 14th November - Exhibition Sketchcrawl - see London Urban Sketchers 2015 Exhibition + sketchcrawl
• 30th April 2016 - Exhibition Finishes

London Urban Sketchers in Hampstead in June 2015

How to submit your entry

Entry Form and Fee

You first need to get hold of an entry form which we will need to email to you as we cannot attach a Word file to this blog.

Email London Urban Sketchers (see below) by 30th September with your name, an expression of interest in exhibiting and let us know which email address you would like us to use to send you an entry form and a note of the conditions of entry.

This is a picture and the link is not live!

Our entry forms will also ask for a photo of you and some outline details of your background in sketching for our portfolio.

You must also have your images loaded onto Flickr or Facebook so we can review what is available. Membership is free and we can help if you have problems with loading. We will create special albums for nominated work - see the entry form for details.

There will be a £5 hanging fee per work for those having work hung which is to cover the costs of the Private View to which you will be able to invite people.

We will update people via the blog and Facebook as the exhibition progresses.

Help with the Exhibition

We'll be looking for help with the exhibition. Specifically help with:

• the delivery of artwork, booking in and storage prior to hang
• hanging day - particularly if you have practical experience
• Private View - nibbles / drinks etc.
• Taking the exhibition down and handing out to artists

We'll be asking on the form whether you can help and what tasks you think best suit your talents!

Call for Entries: Urban Sketchers Exhibition 2015

Posers' paradise

The courtyard of Somerset House has become the regular venue for London Fashion Week.  I’ve drawn there before and find it completely fascinating.  A temporary catwalk fills the central area, whilst a host of fashionistas parade around with photographers clamouring to snap both the stylish classics and the outlandish art college creations.

The Vivienne Westwood show was due to take place at the end of the afternoon so there was a good turnout even though the weather was chilly.  There were a variety of hats, lots of fun fur and, of course, plenty of cool types in shades. 

Posers' paradise

Animating London

For the last six months I've been working on the graduation project for my animation course at Central Saint Martins. I wanted to make a short film that combined storytelling with my love of location sketching.

I started drawing London initially because I was looking for a way of re-engaging with my favourite places, after having lived here for a while and struggling somewhat to always appreciate it as much as I used to. That led to meeting other urban sketchers and getting involved with a whole community of artists, all drawing and painting their surroundings and everyday life, for all sorts of reasons, and creatively I've found that a fantastic atmosphere to be a part of. I wanted to try to convey the excitement of drawing and how it can bring places to life.

I was also very interested in how to tie together hand-drawn animation, which is tightly planned out and time consuming, with location sketching, which is by its nature spontaneous and relatively quick. There's been a lot of different takes on animated sketchbooks — probably the most famous is Bastien Dubois's Oscar-nominated "Madagascar, Carnet de voyage". I was also inspired by the work of a fellow Urban Sketcher from Berlin, Bo Soremsky, who animates many of his location drawings.

I ended up settling on a documentary style with a cartoon version of myself as the presenter, allowing me to impose a narrative, while using as much as possible from my sketchbooks. I visited the locations several times to work out a framing for the characters to move around within, and once I was happy this was all working, I went back and did a full sketch on site.



Sketching the background for my Crystal Palace scene

It was quite a different way of working, because I had to be much more conscious of compositional elements, particularly the aspect ratio of my film, and also omitting the people walking by, concentrating solely on the landscape. Normally, backgrounds in animation would be drawn using photo reference and/or the artist's imagination, but for this project I was keen to do as much drawing as possible from life and on location, which added a welcome unpredictability to how things would look in the finished film. I wasn't concerned with creating a 'perfect' drawing so much as creating a record of the actual visit, mistakes and all.

The original drawing from my sketchbook before starting the project

The drawing I used as a background, done on location with much more attention paid to composition

Returning to redraw scenes, it was interesting to note the changes that had occurred in the intervening time. In the Strand, the view that I drew six months ago has now completely changed with the demolition of an entire building. At Crystal Palace Park, the fence had been replaced, and foliage cut back. Comparing the two drawings now, I also see I drew the dinosaur in the first one with a smile, and the second time looking rather grumpier. Completely unintentional, but perhaps a reflection of my psyche at the time — who knows!

Another interesting dimension to presenting drawings in film is the use of sound. I was able to work with sound artist Sophie Mallett who recorded many of the ambient sounds for the scenes I sketched at those particular locations. Of the project, she said: "I imagine that site recording is the same as sketching on site. There's an activity tying you to the place that makes you physically stay longer than you normally would. There's a sensation of the space changing over that time, as you move past a superficial understanding of the place to a personal experience of it... The project meant that I stayed longer, listened more, and through the 'lens' of the microphone heard more than the typical London cacophony."

I've posted a clip from the film above, but you can see the full three-minute film along with animations from my classmates and artwork from all the courses at the college, by heading to Kings Cross this week. The CSM Degree Show is open to the public from now until Sunday 23 June...

Animating London

Green Lanes supermarket

Of course, I use supermarkets like everyone else, like this one up the road at Green Lanes in north London, but a minor war has waged closer to home where there a planning application has been made to build one in a street of small, quirky independent shops that give our locality its distinct flavour.
The campaign has already won concessions - there will now be no customer car park, for instance - but the planned store would still be out of scale and out of place. The big supermarkets seem to get whatever they want, and we the people shouldn't be steamrollered. But I can't help thinking that perhaps I'm just turning into a middle-aged, grumpy, Nimby.

Green Lanes supermarket

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

St Paul's Cathedral from Tate Modern

The City of London, St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge
from the Members Room, Tate Modern
11.5" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The Members' Room at Tate Modern is on the sixth floor and provides stunning views of the City of London and the River Thames

You can see what I mean via this virtual tour of the Members Room At Tate Modern - complete view views

This sketch was done sat at one of the tables next to the windows looking out at the view. In the background is the dome and structure of St Paul's Cathedral. In the foreground is the City of London School and the Millennium Bridge.

One of the other attractive features of sketching from a position which is so high up is that you also get a brilliant perspective on some great clouds.

St Paul's Cathedral from Tate Modern

Urban Sketchers London exhibition opens at Foyles

Page spreads from the Art of Urban Sketching and urban sketches by Katherine Tyrrell

Urban Sketches by Barry Jackson, Zhenia Vasiliev, Nathan Brenville and James Hobbs

Urban Sketchers London's first exhibition has opened at The Gallery at Foyles, Third Floor, 113-119 Charing Cross Road.  Page spreads from The Art of Urban Sketching also feature on the walls of the Gallery and the exhibition is called The Art of Urban Sketching.

This week, for those of you are unable to visit we'll be giving you a virtual preview of the exhibition.

Below is an extract from the catalogue for the exhibition.  Every day this week we'll also be featuring the correspondents and their artwork in the exhibition.

You can, of course, only get a really good look if you come to the exhibition!  Plus Foyles also have a very good section about Art on the second floor of the bookshop!

The Art of Urban Sketching

You might have seen them at the coffee shop, on the tube or in the park.  Pen and paper in hand, or maybe wielding a waterbrush and small palette, they are sketching – drawing and painting the world around them; documenting both the magical and the mundane aspects of the city.

Their open sketchbooks show lively streetscapes, soaring architecture, green spaces and intriguing faces – all quickly rendered on the spot – sometimes furtively, sometimes in front of a gathering crowd.

In watercolour, ink, graphite or coloured pencils, urban sketchers draw scenes from their daily lives in cities around the world.

Urban Sketchers began as a Flickr group in 2007 and has since grown to become a website showcasing contributions from correspondents across the globe. A network of regional and countrywide groups of urban sketchers local to an area has also developed – and Urban Sketchers London is one of these.

Our mission is to "Show the World, One Drawing at a Time".

The Art of Urban Sketching – now available to purchase in Foyles – is the first collection of images, advice and inspiration from this growing community.

The book is already on its third reprint.  The first and second print runs sold out within the first three months following publication in the USA earlier this year and has been eagerly snapped up by sketching fans around the world.

Website / Blog: http://www.urbansketchers.org

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/urbansketches/

Urban Sketchers London

Urban Sketchers in London share their drawings of London on our blog (see below). London-based artists and correspondents for Urban Sketchers London who are displaying sketches in this exhibition are:

Nathan Brenville	Ohla Pryymak
James Hobbs	Katherine Tyrrell
Barry Jackson	Zhenia Vasiliev

Blog: http://urbansketcherslondon.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/UrbSketchLondon

Contact: urbansketcherslondon@gmail.com

OUR MANIFESTO

• We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
• Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
• Our drawings are a record of time and place.
• We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
• We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
• We support each other and draw together.
• We share our drawings online.
• We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Urban Sketchers London exhibition opens at Foyles

Meet the correspondents: Nathan Brenville

I first came to London as a student in 2001, and I fell in love with the city immediately. Although I grew up in the North West of England, I think of London as my home. Apart from a brief sojourn in Baker St, NW1, I've lived the best part of ten years in South East London, in various places between Camberwell and Lewisham (as the drunken crow flies), and consequently the places that are dearest to me are mostly scattered around the South East.

It wasn't until around two years ago that it occurred to me to draw any of these places however, but once I discovered location drawing, I couldn't stop. The excitement of capturing places - their architecture, their atmosphere, the colours, the shadows, the people flowing in and out, having on paper your own emotional response to being somewhere at a certain point in time, when that happened there was no going back. The camera and I didn't speak for quite some time, I was pretty angry that it had kept me dependent on it for so long.

The first few sketchbooks I kept of location drawing were mostly all of trips abroad, I found it a wonderful way of engaging with your environment intensely, to soak up as much as you can before having to leave it behind.

But after nearly ten years of living, working and commuting in London I was looking to reconnect with my home environment too, and I decided the best way would be to go back to all of my favourite places around the city and begin to sketch them. I soon discovered there were far more than I'd realised, and sitting there, really looking at places I thought I knew well opened my eyes to much more. I began to investigate the history of the locations, to find connections between sites, to discover just how intertwined all of London is, in its personalities, its fashions, its parks and streets.

The Horniman Museum, Forest Hill

Even better, with living here, I was in no rush to finish my sketches but had the luxury of coming back, of finishing drawings at a later date or drawing it again in a different season, weather, or time of day. I'm three quarters of the way through my London sketchbook (or more accurately, 'My London' sketchbook), slowed down mostly by being back at university, but I feel more excited than ever to be living here; it's fuelled my desire to draw and it's helped me rediscover the city afresh. On top of that, and perhaps best of all, through drawing London I discovered there are other people out there drawing London, or England, Europe, Asia, America, all over the world, one drawing at a time - being part of the Urban Sketchers community continually provides invaluable inspiration and encouragement, so contributing to this blog is really exciting for me.

I will share some of the drawings of my favourite places and their stories, but also other sketchbooks of the new places I find or familiar, unassuming spots that suddenly leap out at me and demand to be drawn. The more you draw, the more you find to draw.

Dulwich Park in summer

I like to sketch the places that don't normally get a lot of attention, the places people pass by without giving a second glance. I usually prefer the everyday London to the tourist London, and delight in drawing (literally) out the hidden histories of ordinary looking buildings, trees and spaces.

You can find a lot of my location drawings on Flickr.

I also have a blog in which I post more general artwork, from comics to animations and various other pieces, at www.tinmouse.com.

I'm currently studying for an MA in Animation at Central Saint Martins.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the other London artists out there on our future sketchcrawls.

Meet the correspondents: Nathan Brenville