Thamesmead

Thamesmead's Southmere is now being demolished - a place where Kubrick's 'Clockwork Orange', 'Misfits' from Channel 4 and some of Aphex Twin's music videos were filmed, and a nice place to be at! We visited it not so long ago to discover its community spirit, - while there, we have actually felt ourselves in a very unusual London. That's a sketch from the cafe in the middle of it, near the lake.

Thamesmead

New members of the Urban Sketchers London Flickr Group

some of the sketches in the Urban Sketchers London Flickr Group

This is the Group Pool of the Flickr Group associated with Urban Sketchers London.

These are the new people who have been accepted as members of the Urban Sketchers London Flickr Group. I've included links to their current photostreams - obviously their individual Flickr accounts are not all sketches nor are they all of London.  However you can see the type of sketches people are producing - just as you can in the group pool.

• Nick Kobyluch - see http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickk-drawings/
• Shih Jhih-Ren aka Lion Ren - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lion_ren/
• Michelle Salamon http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellesalamon/
• Jonathan J Dixon http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjdixon/
• Paul Alcock http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulalcock/with/9314616669/
• Meredith Moore http://www.flickr.com/photos/95995132@N03/

If you'd like to join the Flickr Group please read the rules - see the rules towards the bottom of this post.

I'm afraid they're a tad on the stern side as we've had some examples of people who didn't read or ignored the rules and swamped the Group Poll with images which did not fit the scope of this group!  So we decided to be crystal clear!

Then, if you think your sketching fits with what we want to see and share all you need to do is apply to join!

• You do need a Flickr account - but that's free.  
• Plus we need to be able to see examples of your sketches of London.  
• If you've got a lot of diverse images please don't make us search.  Instead you can create a set of London sketches and give us the link to that.

Please note:

• we process applications to join in batches so you won't get an instant response
• you don't need to be a member of our Flickr Group to join our sketchcrawls. However we do like to see your sketches from the sketchcrawls in our Flickr Group so please highlight if you've been on one.

Post sketches of London ONLY

Urban Sketchers London says: Please note that this Group Pool is for sketches done from observation and on location in London ONLY. It is also essential that all members of Urban Sketchers London on Flickr read the rules - as requested - before posting to the group. The purpose of the Group Pool is to show off what London looks like. Thus the Urban Sketchers London Group Pool is NOT the place for any sketches which are: * done on holiday (ie not in London and not of London); and/or * of your friends in your own home; and/or * the interior of your home in London; and/or * people who are posing for you; and/or * done from photos RULES FOR POSTING: Members draw London from the window of their homes, standing in the street, sitting in an art gallery, from a cafe, at a park or on the river - but sketches and drawings must always be done on location, not from photos or memory. Make sure all your posts comply with these rules: • You did the drawing from observation and on location IN LONDON, not from photos or memory. Please Note: Membership may be terminated without notice if you repeatedly post sketches to the group pool of places other than London. • You have written the location of the sketch IN LONDON in the headline or caption or placed the image on your public Flickr map. * The only photos of places which can be posted to the Group MUST relate to Urban Sketchers London Sketchcrawls - and be taken on the date of the sketchcrawl • No sketches from figure drawing sessions or posed models * No objects or figures without a location context which is a place in London will be posted to the Group Pool (ie sketches of people in locations are OK; sketches of people in isolation are not) If you have any queries please do get in touch and we'll be happy to clarify whether or not a sketch is OK or not. If you post any sketches which do not appear to comply with Group rules you will be asked to removed them. We only ask once and there are no reminders. If you fail to remove all sketches which do not fit with the theme of this Group your membership will be suspended until they are removed. Don't worry if all your sketches comply with the rules but please do review your sketches uploaded to the Group Pool if you think you may have made a mistake. Urban Sketchers London (Moderator)

New members of the Urban Sketchers London Flickr Group

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

Sketching day 5th October in the East End

Hello everyone.
On Saturday the 5th October at 12.00 noon there'll be a few of us urban sketchers outside the Museum of Childhood (right next to Bethnal Green tube station) and we will be meandering our way over to the Geffrye Museum (by Hoxton overground station), sketching anything interesting along the way. It would be great if you could join us!
The route is about one and a half miles but there will be plenty of stop offs. Last entry (entry is free) to the Geffrye Museum is at 4pm, so we aim to get there before then, hopefully more like around 3pm.

Start point: Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green

If you want to look around the Childhood Museum before we leave, it would be best to arrive before 12, as we will set off not long after. There's a couple of historical spots and the like along the route, but mostly it's about exploring and seeing what takes our interest!

One other thing, if you have one of those lightweight portable folding chairs, it might be an idea to bring it along, as there may not be a great deal of places to sit and sketch.

Everyone is welcome, so invite as many people as you like, and don't forget to bring your sketchbook and pencils!

Hope to see you there!

Sketching day 5th October in the East End

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington

The park at Stoke Newington is worth a visit if you're near these parts. It had a makeover recently and is looking better than ever. This coming Sunday, 29 September, it is hosting events marking the anniversary of the opening of the New River, which passes through the park and was built to bring drinking water to the city from Hertfordshire 400 years ago. I like that it's still called the New River, despite its age and the fact it is no longer functioning as a water supply. Why bother changing it now?

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington

up the archway road

On my full last day in London, I took the tube down to Archway to meet my cousin Dawn Painter for some sketching around Highgate. This was my old neighbourhood before we moved to the States., and I still love it around there. I used to live on Hornsey Lane, a few doors down from the bridge above, Archway Bridge. Of course, this bridge is better known as Suicide Bridge. Unfortunately, it's a name more commonly earned than I realised before I lived there. Dawn and I sketched beneath the bridge, beside the busy Archway Road, where the 134 bus charges down on its way into central London. Because I lived higher up Highgate Hill I would not come up this way much, so it was fun to come back and explore a bit more. We popped into one store full of second hand stuff where I saw a full set of Worzel Gummidge dvds. We grabbed a sandwich at Tescos and sat opposite the Jackson Lane building, an arts centre not far from Highgate tube station.   We walked further up to Ripping Yarns, an amazing antiquarian bookstore stacked to the brim with wonderful books. Hardly enough room inside to turn around. They specialize in old children's books but also have lots of other books as well. We spent a lot of time in there, I was looking through many of the old annuals, Roy of the Rovers, the Beano, Topper, all those I used to have on my own shelves. We sat opposite the bookshop and sketched it, and then it was time to go. I had to pack my bags to fly back to America.

up the archway road

60 Cleveland Street, London

The Post Office Tower. Fineliner 210 x 148 mm Evelyn Rowland

The first recognisable London building I recognised. To a five year old living in the wilds of Suffolk, it was the most exciting thing imaginable. I always look fondly at it when heading down Oxford Street or as today, enjoying it from the fourth floor in John Lewis, where it is seen to rise above a cluster of chimney pots, from a previous century.

60 Cleveland Street, London