London Sketchers in Oxford

Last Saturday's outing had exceptional weather in Oxford and the buzz of the place could be felt easily with tourists, graduates and families milling about.
After a hectic week (#oxfordworkshop2015) I enjoyed sketching around my favourite Radcliffe square, this time I  focused not on the central Camera (room) with its great Dome but on the surrounding buildings.

A couple of photos also of the group, first at lunch time and then at the Museum of Oxford where the Urban Sketching exhibition continues until 27th July.

Next month's sketchcrawl details will be published shortly - back in central London - Katherine Tyrrell will lead that one.

London Sketchers in Oxford

Living the dream

Last year I did lots of sketching of people and places along the Sydenham Artists Trail which is run as part of the Sydenham Arts Festival and showcases many talented artists and crafts people living in this part of south east London.  So it was very exciting to be asked this year if I’d like to be an ‘Artist in residence’ at one of the venues. 

The venue was the Alexandra Nurseries, a small garden centre very close to where I live and somewhere I knew would provide lots of material for sketches. 

It’s an unashamedly pretty place where flowers and plants are packed in and is very popular as a place to stop for coffee and cake even if you have no interest in gardening.  

The building used to be the Estate House for the nearby Alexandra Cottages which were built between 1866 -88. 

The drawings here took about 14 hours spread over two sunny July weekends.

Living the dream

Drawings London on Location - Sketching Soho exhibition - Cinnamon Soho

I recently drew a picture for inclusion in a new exhibition at Cinnamon Soho, a modern and popular Indian restaurant near Carnaby Street. The exhibition, curated by Cristiana Bottigella, is a showcase of members of the 'Drawing London on Location' Meetup.com group. There's a lot of overlap between the Drawing London on Location group and Urban Sketchers, and it's worth signing up if you're hungry for more sketchcrawls, as their focus is on regular meet-ups (hence Meetup.com!).

I chose this viewpoint mainly for my vested interests as an animator; I was fascinated by the green building, which used to be Richard Williams' studio for many years, a pinnacle of the British animation industry. On the other side is just visible the red brick of St Patrick's Catholic church, which I also wanted to include for its attractive architecture. In the middle of the square is a statue of Charles II, carved when he was alive, and placed there when the area was first built (and originally named after him as King Square). However, I've still no idea what the odd Tudor-looking hut is for.

The Drawing London on Location exhibition is up from 27th April until 6th September, and takes 'Sketching Soho' as its theme, and features the work of over 20 different artists. You can find Cinnamon Soho at 5 Kingly Street.

Drawings London on Location - Sketching Soho exhibition - Cinnamon Soho

Savoy ... fried chicken and curry

Started drawing this decrepit (yet full of original features) corner of Great Eastern Street this afternoon, after intending to draw the TEA building past the crossroads. After much thought, I still managed to get the paper the wrong way round, and spill water over it.

Savoy ... fried chicken and curry

Bank Tube station, London

Bank Tube station, London, a photo by Lion Ren on Flickr.

A wonderful sketch of the area near bank Tube Station by Shih Jhih-Ren (Lion Ren) - a member of the London Urban Sketchers Flickr Group

See more of his work in the Flickr Group Pool for London Urban Sketchers

Anybody can join the Flickr Group for London Urban Sketchers - which you can apply to join and post your sketches if you've been on a sketchcrawl.

Make sure you post your sketches to your Flickr account first!

Plus Post sketches of London ONLY - and read the rules first which you can find if you click this link

the Group Pool for London Urban Sketchers - which you can apply to join and post your sketches if you've been on a sketchcrawl. Make sure you post your sketches to your Flickr account first! - See more at: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.co.uk/#sthash.jpFvRng5.dpuf

the Group Pool for London Urban Sketchers - which you can apply to join and post your sketches if you've been on a sketchcrawl. Make sure you post your sketches to your Flickr account first! - See more at: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.co.uk/#sthash.jpFvRng5.dpuf

the Group Pool for London Urban Sketchers - which you can apply to join and post your sketches if you've been on a sketchcrawl. Make sure you post your sketches to your Flickr account first! - See more at: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.co.uk/#sthash.jpFvRng5.dpuf

Bank Tube station, London

Posh Banger Boys in SE1

Pencil and watercolour 210 x 149 mm Evelyn Rowland

A very pleasant afternoon at an impromptu pop up sketch session courtesy of James Hobbs. This is number 8 Stoney Street; a  takeaway on the ground floor. I got enticed by a few random chimney pots, window frames and brick arches over the first floor windows. The actual shop part is not quite as romantic as the rest of the building suggests. 

I went back during the week for another go. It was supposed to be a simple little drawing with some nice brick work. Again I learn that the simplest ideas are often the hardest ones to get down. 

Posh Banger Boys in SE1

The Heron and some Cranes

 The Heron and some Cranes. Pencil and watercolour 149 x 210 mm

I went down to the Tate today, to see the Klee's, and after that I popped up to the 3rd floor to paint (as you do.) Then I dropped my rigger brush down one of the grates by the window. I asked the staff to run a recovery operation so I could finish up. If you can't ask an art gallery assistant to get a brush back for you, who can you ask? Needless to say, I didn't use it.

The Heron and some Cranes

Cambridge Heath Road

Cambridge Heath Road Pencil and watercolour 149 x 210 mm

I drew this on soggy afternoon at the start of Nathan Brenville's Bethnal Green Sketchcrawl. Whilst working on this sketch, I kept in mind that intentions matter. I used to make  pencil drawings and then wonder why they appeared to lose something the moment I took a brush to them. Here, I wanted the pencil to be part of the work. This means that the lines here, have a different quality to those in a piece where the intention is a line drawing in its own right.

Cambridge Heath Road

London on the edge ... of E18

East from George Lane Viaduct

Very small watercolours of the in-between the houses and trees of George Lane, South Woodford. I wanted to take a look at the backdrop to my part of East London, giving it the same scrutiny as if painting a building close up. The ill defined becomes the centre of attention; with a touch of foreground to put it in its place.

London on the edge ... of E18

South Woodford Odeon, High Road, London E18

Shhh! its just started! Pencil and watercolour 149 x 210 mm Evelyn Rowland

This delightful piece of Odeon architecture is only a facade. Inside it has been divided into the usual 'screens';  perfectly adequate to view but woefully short on experience. 'The pictures' used to be somewhere to go;  the building was important.   Still, the outside is preserved, at least from the first floor up. 

South Woodford Odeon, High Road, London E18

Sundays are made for: canalside fun

Sundays are made for pizza and canalside fun:

 watercolour pen in moleskine, 15.06.13,  Crate Brewery on river Lee, post-Olympic London

Sundays are made for: canalside fun

Spring at last!

After what seems like forever, the weather's finally getting warmer. My favourite time of year is when the blossom is out in full bloom; some trees are a little early this year but the rest are just starting to catch up. I couldn't resist getting outside today and drawing these trees near where I live, in Brockley - I meant to draw them last year but they blossom for such a brief period that I missed it last time around.

I've not had the opportunity to do much sketching outside lately, so it was nice to make the time, doubly so for being able to sit in the sun without worrying about taking a jacket!

I'll be trying to catch a few more blossom trees before it all gets blown away. Although he was referring to hawthorn blossom, which arrives slightly later, David Hockney's term 'Action Week' applies equally well to the cherry blossom; it doesn't last long, so it's worth making the time for a sketch!

Spring at last!

On the river at Greenwich

I went with my sketching group, The Bankside Group to visit Greenwich and  all round the Royal Hospital and along the river to the Trafalgar Tavern. This hostelry is well worth a visit with lots of history and a great view of the Thames from their bay window.

Highlight for me was painting on the river bed ( fortunately it was low tide), it gives a completely different perspective for drawing and in the distance you can just see the newly renovated Cutty Sark.

Greenwich really is a great place for a sketcher to visit lots to do, great pubs, a lively market place, the Royal Observatory and of course the River Thames.  The Bankside Group meets monthly and try to go to some interesting places all around London.

On the river at Greenwich

the pool of london

Just a couple of weeks now before I am back in London for a visit, so here is a drawing from a previous trip back to the capital, on a sub-zero day in December 2010. You may recall the huge blizzard we had that winter, when the snow stayed on the ground for nearly two weeks. Despite intense cold I still got out to draw as much as possible, and one gloomy afternoon I sat by the Thames, with ice covering the Embankment and frosty Thames air biting my fingers, and sketched HMS Belfast with The Tower and Tower Bridge behind it. The 'Pool of London' this area is called, a natural harbour in the river and much busier in centuries past. To this day, I still cannot look at Tower Bridge and not think of the old Thames Television logo with that memorable little jingle, right before 'Rainbow' or something would come on. My brother once told me that the big guns on the side of HMS Belfast facing north are targeting Scratchwood Services, on the M1 out past Mill Hill, because obviously that's where the big threats are coming from. I don't know if it's true, but it's a nice story.

by Pete Scully

the pool of london

Meet the correspondents: Zhenia Vasiliev

For me, both a graphic designer and illustrator, drawing is rather a process of thinking rather producing a finished piece. I love to think about how things look like, and drawing helps me with this, so sketching is a big part of my profession.

Regrettably, my full-time work schedule does not allow me to do full-scale sketching sessions too often, so most of the time I do a sketch on the go, whenever I am - so any place around London will suit me as a sketcher. I love working on along Regents canal, sketching birds, trees and people in the parks, or make a quick street scene from a cafe window, especially when it's cold outside.

I love trying all of the art materials and exploring how different materials work together in a sketch. When I go out of the house, I just grab something that lies on my work table - a bunch of colour pencils, a waterbrush, a watercolour box or just a ballpoint pen. All the materials are worth exploring and give a new dimension to my work.

Visit my blog and check out my flickr.

Marble Arch, waterbrush, india ink

Traffic jam, colour pencils, from an upper deck of a double decker bus.

Upper street sketch, North London, watercolour

Meet the correspondents: Zhenia Vasiliev