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

Images from today's Sketchcrawl at Bankside and Tate Modern

Here's a few pics from today's Sketchcrawl in the Snow at a sub-zero Bankside... which continues until 5pm today.

Sub-zero outside Tate Modern for London sketchcrawl.
Most of hardly outdoor sketchers have headed back in to warmth.

...and the Turbine Hall slope of Tate Modern

London's urban sketchers in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall

...plus intrepid plein air sketching by Adebanji Alade!

A quick run out of the studio to participate
in London Sketchcrawl around Tate Modern.

Sketches to follow!

Images from today's Sketchcrawl at Bankside and Tate Modern

Next Sketchcrawl - January 19th 2013

Hi everyone,
A number of people have been asking about when and where the next Sketchcrawl will be – well, the date of the 38th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is fast approaching, and we will be a part of it too, on Saturday 19th January.

We'll be meeting at the Tate Modern, at 12 noon, in the big entranceway (the Turbine Hall).

As with the last venue, there's plenty to draw inside and out: the Millennium Bridge, the Globe, St Pauls, the crowds of tourists, the Thames, as well as the fascinating space that is the Tate Modern itself of course.

There's already a Facebook event page, started by Gillian Reid; and Tom from Drawing London on Location has set up a Meetup event.

Meeting point: at the top of this ramp, by the doors

Thanks to James Hobbs for the picture for the flyer.
Look out for details of further sketchcrawls coming up soon.
Hope to see you there!

Next Sketchcrawl - January 19th 2013

Presents!

Merry Christmas everyone!
Did anyone get any good London based urban sketching related presents this year?
I was surprised with "Hugh Casson's London", first published in 1983, which I can thoroughly recommend as a wonderful collection of watercolours true to the spirit of the urban sketching manifesto.

I've been looking to snap up a cheapish copy of Ronald Searle's amazing "Looking at London" (1953) for a while now, I discovered the books of David Gentleman this year, and I also want to check out Geoffrey Fletcher's London.
But I'd be interested to know if anyone can recommend any other books by artists whose focus is on location drawings of London? I haven't seen too many books that are comprised entirely of this, and I'm always excited to discover them.

Presents!

New Oxford street

A sketch of the corner of New Oxford street and Tottenham court road. I rested my sketchbook on the handrailing next to the pedestrian crossing.
I was staying in the St. Giles hotel, just a block away, and went there before breakfast to draw this. On the left you see the Dominion theatre, which features the "we will rock you" (Queen) musical.

New Oxford street

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the day came, as the rain drove down in biting winds, our booking of a November cruise along the river seemed a bit daft. It was supposed to be an architectural cruise, with a guide pointing out sites of architectural interest. The commentary was indeed informative, but the weather meant all our views were through steamed-up windows.
The  mulled wine was barely warm and the  mince pies were cold... I only managed 2 drawings. Curiously both of them include a view of ther appalling new tower that has gone up at St George's wharf, Vauxhall. Not the best day out.

Towards Vauxhall from Westminster.  Dilute inks

Approaching Vauxhall Bridge. Pencil