Unknown and Unloved

South of the river. Pencil 210 x 149 mm Evelyn Rowland

Unknown                           Strata Tower

Another crane makes it onto the roof, its jib straining heavenwards as if waiting for the Second Coming.

My opinion of the Strata Tower is factual and official. In 2010, it was voted 'Britain's ugliest new building' by readers of Building Design magazine. If the Pinnacle ever gets off its concrete stump, God help us all.                                                    

Unknown and Unloved

Signing Sketch Your World: Saturday 17 May

On Saturday 17 May I'll be at Cass Art art materials store in Islington, London, from 2pm to 4pm signing copies of Sketch Your World, and ready and willing to chat about drawing, urban sketching, art materials and more over a stack of sketchbooks I'll be taking with me. Bring your own sketchbooks, too, if you're OK about that.

It's free, relaxed, and taking place at 66-67 Colebrooke Row, Islington, London N1 8AB. (Map here.) Angel tube station and the cafes of Upper Street are nearby. (The cup final doesn't start until 5pm, if the football matters to you.)

More information can be found at the Cass Art website.

Signing Sketch Your World: Saturday 17 May

Sketchcrawl - Old Street to Shoreditch - 24th May 2014

Come and join us on Saturday 24th May at 11am (downstairs) at Old Street Timberyard Coffeeshop for our next sketchcrawl. Fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Sketchcrawl - Old Street to Shoreditch - 24th May 2014

Holding Court

Pleasures of Past Times and Antiquarian Maps in Cecil Court, Charing Cross Road. I drew the top one on a last mini sketch crawl and thought I'd draw him a friend. If you don't already know Cecil Court, that is good because this narrow little street needs to be stumbled upon accidentally. Adds to the charm.

Holding Court

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

Jamie Oliver's Union Jacks, Covent Garden

   

Pencil 149 x 210 mm

An unexpected cool place to draw in Covent Garden. There is usually a limit on how much movement I can cope with when it comes to live sketching but I considered it a point of honour to get these guys down. This is one of three which earned me a scrummy pizza, made by the delightful larger than life chef, Pascale. The others are on www.evelynrowland.co.uk/cafe-society

Jamie Oliver's Union Jacks, Covent Garden

The hidden river

Now that the weather's getting milder, it feels like time to get out of the studio and do some outdoor drawing. That's the impulse I felt yesterday. But where? Selecting a location to draw when you have so much choice is difficult. I ended up deciding to explore a bit of North London's history that I hadn't yet visited - the New River Path in Islington.

The New River, if you don't know it yet, is fascinating. A man-made river, opened 401 years ago to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to the rapidly expanding city, it winds its course through north London  suburbs into the heart of Islington, from where it was piped into the city itself. Much of the river's course from Haringey inwards is now covered over and the river is piped below busy streets and housing estates. But there are stretches still running at the surface, and in Islington one such stretch has become a delightful local amenity, the New River Path. I had a pleasant afternoon sitting by the riverside, listening to ducks, answering schoolchildren's questions, and drawing...

The hidden river