We drew the Charterhouse and Clerkenwell 17 June 2017

We met on Saturday 17 June to draw at Charterhouse Square and in neighbouring Clerkenwell. Here is a gallery of photographs of the day taken by Gafung Wong.

We drew the Charterhouse and Clerkenwell 17 June 2017

Charterhouse Square

Wow! What a wonderful day, sun, heat, over 60 sketchers and I sensed, Hercule Poirot too.  Add a Royal Flypast - perfection. Florin Court was my chosen challenge aka Whitehaven mansions the Belgian detective's fictional home. Designed by Guy Morgan and partners, it was opened in 1936.

If you want to live there, think big: a 300 sq ft appartment facing east (i.e., not over the square) sold in 2016 for c £400,00. [John Webb]

Charterhouse Square

Let’s draw Richmond-upon-Thames - Saturday 15 July 2017

Sketch of the view by Helen Hayhoe

Join us for a day of drawing by the river in beautiful Richmond-upon-Thames.
Richmond is one of the greenest parts of London, offering parks, gardens and natural open space. The River Thames winds through and you can draw it’s boats and bridges. There are interesting little streets, and buildings old and new. You can choose to sketch the busy market area, or find a quieter corner.

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

Sketch of Hollyhock Cafe by Helen Hayhoe

Key times and meeting points for the day:

11am: We meet at the Hollyhock Café in the Terrace Gardens between Petersham Road and Richmond Hill. You can take the 65 bus route from either Richmond Station (alight Robin’s Court stop) or Kingston (alight Nightingale Road stop.

1pm: Meet on The Richmond Riverside in front of the steps to Heron Square (if wet in the archway to the Square) to share work.

In the afternoon there is the option to draw from a boat on the river. If you want to do this, you need to pre-book – see under ‘Transport’ below.
3.30pm: Meet in the south corner of Richmond Green by the two telephone boxes between The Cricketers and Princes Head pubs to review the afternoon’s drawings and take photographs.
Then, for those who wish, we can go to the One Kew Road bar opposite Richmond station for conviviality and chat.

Options for drawing at Richmond-on-Thames:

We meet at the Hollyhock Café in the Terrace Gardens between Petersham Road and Richmond Hill.
We’ll wander the short walk up the hill to the Terrace and the view of the sweep of The Thames made famous by painters and writers through the centuries. More prosaically now the view includes Twickenham Rugby Stadium, Boeings on the final approach to Heathrow airport, and its control tower. http://www.richmond.gov.uk/the_view_from_richmond_hill
Behind are the residences of the like of Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger and Sir John Mills; great buildings for those who prefer structures to country views.

Sketch of the Roebuck, Richmond Terrace by John Webb

Then wander down the Hill past boutique shops or through the side streets behind . . . there’s lots to draw.
We’ll meet at 1 pm on The Richmond Riverside in front of the steps to Heron Square (if wet in the archway to the Square) to share work. There is a huge variety of eateries in Richmond including in the Saturday Market in the Square.
In the afternoon sketching in Richmond town with its numerous alleyways and Church, along the towpath or on The Green meeting at 3:30pm in the south corner of Richmond Green by the two telephone boxes between The Cricketers and Princes Head pubs to review the afternoon’s productivity.

Sketch of South Corner, Richmond Green by John Webb

Thence for those who wish to the One Kew Road bar opposite Richmond Station for conviviality and chat.

Transport

The nearest station is Richmond Station, on the District line and mainline railways. For those arriving after 11 am or who prefer not to climb through the Terrace Gardens, the 371 bus from Richmond Station (or from Kingston) to the American University stop in Queens Road will deliver you to the south end of the Terrace Gardens.

Once again there is an option in the afternoon to paint from a boat moored on The River opposite Quinlan Terry’s Richmond Riverside development. This will be provided by Mark Edwards, Riverside Boathouses – who built The Gloriana – and is at a cost of £6 per head. If you wish to join this please email John Webb (jwebbpilot@gmail.com) before Thursday 6th July.


The day is run by John Webb and Helen Hayhoe

Let’s draw Richmond-upon-Thames - Saturday 15 July 2017

Brunel Road, Chigwell

Cute little road of Victorian terraced houses and atmospheric trees in the background. These sort of scenes just cry out for a bit of pencil; match made in heaven for me! 

Brunel Road, Chigwell

Marble Hill House

Built in 1724 - 1729 this gem on the banks of the Thames in Twickenham was the home of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk and Mistress of George II.  It became the hub of a social circle that included cultured neighbours like Alexander Pope and Horace Walpole.  There is a pretty fine set of early Georgean paintings inside.

I've sketched it a few times from different angles but today fancied getting up close for the gutsy angular perspective enhanced by my low sketcher's stool. Bit of a challenge.

Marble Hill House

We drew Sloane Square 20 May 2017

At the Venus Fountain in Sloane Square

[By Evelyn Rowland in London] Lots of sketchbooks filled with lots of lovely stuff. As usual, nippy weather didn't put people off and we found loads of interesting features to have a go at. So, here's a few who were there at the beginning, and those who stayed to the end, which I think was everybody. Many thanks to Nicky and Jo for being there, and investigating draw-able places. On to the next one!

We drew Sloane Square 20 May 2017

Gunthorpe Street, Whitechapel

Realising the Edwardo Paolozzi exhibition at The Whitechapel Gallery was ending, I hurried up there last Saturday and got the bonus of serendipity.

Having taken the wrong exit from Aldgate East, I glanced Christ Church Spitalfields through the archwayed entry to Gunthorpe Street and felt the sketcher’s urge. Originally George Yard, the street was one of many alleys along Whitechapel High Street, itself a revealing mix of signs, symbols, shops and solicitors' offices. Knowing nothing of its history, I dug about to find what I suspected. The joy of today’s sneak view masked an earthy past. Its claustrophobic mixture of lodging houses, stables and narrow courts gave it a mean reputation. In 1822 it was described as a "notorious rendezvous of thieves" and went on to be the scene of every conceivable crime, including inevitably a bit of Jack the Ripper’s work. 
George Yard was renamed Gunthorpe Street in 1912, after John Gunthorpe who was rector of St Mary's Whitechapel in 1471.

Gunthorpe Street, Whitechapel