Our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend -- It's nearly here!

 

It's nearly here!

The Urban Sketchers London

10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend

Friday 22 - Sunday 24 July 2022

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

We've been working hard for months, and at last the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend is nearly here. We have a shiny new logo and a stunning new book, our sponsors are second to none, and we've planned a weekend of non-stop sketching, all for you.

The weekend starts with a free warm-up sketchwalk on Friday afternoon, followed by our official launch Friday evening. The launch is for ticket holders only and is sold out, but the event will be live-streamed and recorded on Instagram at @urbansketcherslondon. Join us virtually at 18.00 on Friday 22 July 2022 for our London by Urban Sketchers book launch, and talks by travel and current affairs illustrator George Butler, and Mario Linhares, founder of Urban Sketchers Portugal. 

Join us on Instagram for our live-streamed broadcast

at 18.00 BST on Friday 22 July 2022

Our celebrations continue Saturday and Sunday from morning to night, with eleven free sketchwalks, twelve workshops, Night Sketching sessions and Drink & Draw. We'll wrap up the weekend on Sunday afternoon with a grand finale sketchwalk and group photo at St Paul's Cathedral.

The button below will take you the full 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend programme. Most events are now sold out, but keep an eye out for developments on this blog and our social media accounts. 

If you're taking part in the 10 Year Anniversary Weekend, we encourage you to post your sketches on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter, remembering to tag us and use our hashtags:

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

May we offer a few suggestions for your to do list?  

We're not biased at all, but we think our brand new book London by Urban Sketchers is a stunner. You can order it here. 

We also have three download links for you: two illustrated lists of all our 10 Year Anniversary workshops and sketchwalks, and a text-only summary of all the weekend's activities in pdf form. 

Download the workshops list 

Download the sketchwalks list

Download the programme summary pdf

And finally, with a flourish we present all of the sponsors who have made our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend possible. Urban Sketchers London salute you!

10 Year Anniversary Event Host

tp bennett architecture, design, planning

One America Street  SE1 0NE

10 Year Anniversary Book Sponsors

10 Year Anniversary Product Sponsors

Logo Competition Sponsor

See you at the celebrations!

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook      @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

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Our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend -- It's nearly here!

We drew Twickenham - Sunday 26 June 2022

Group photo by Jimmy Lu

[By Helen Hayhoe] 

Fourth time lucky! We finally converged in Twickenham, having swerved lock downs and train strikes.

This time we met near the station, by the River Crane, before meeting again at the Thames. A peaceful path with fallen trees and hedgerows made a good start to the day.

Fallen Tree at The Exchange, Twickenham
Sketch by Mike Whalley

Twickenham Riverside has a lot to offer. We were delighted that the Open Studio weekend on Eel Pie Island enabled us to walk over the footbridge and into that iconic spot.

Bridge to Eel Pie Island
Sketch by Anthony Mark Peters

I didn’t blame the café in car-free Church Street for suggesting that we moved along from the best locations, but not before some great work was done. Café Sunshine on Diamond Jubilee Gardens provided an excellent vantage point to look across the river.

Church Road, Twickenham
Sketch by John Boaz

On the river bank the tide crept higher, inviting the geese to chat but we didn’t get our feet wet. The boatyards and the constant flow of people and rivercraft were very engaging.

Boatyard
Sketch by Chris Green

View down the river
Sketch by Katy Evans

As a finale, the Naked Ladies (Oceanids) of York House provided a surprising spectacle, and we finished the day at Champions Wharf with a wide range of sketches which celebrated the varied joys of Twickenham. And not a rugby reference in sight. 

The Oceanids
Sketch by Helen Hayhoe

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10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend 

The Urban Sketchers London 10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend on 22- 24 July 2022 offers workshops, sketchwalks, and many other urban sketching activities. Read about the full programme at the link below. See you at the celebration!

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured! 

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

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We drew Twickenham - Sunday 26 June 2022

To remind: Let’s draw Twickenham - Sunday 26th June 2022

 

Eel Pie Island - virtual sketch in 2020 by Sasala Wickramasinghe

***In case you missed our original post***

This month we draw Twickenham

On Sunday 26th June 2022

Due to potential travel disruptions caused by planned RMT strike action on Saturday 25th June 2022, we have changed our meeting to Sunday 26th June 2022. All other timings and places remain the same.

There is no cost, just turn up with your drawing kit.

For all the details, see the blog post for this event.

The day is led by Helen Hayhoe and Zane Karklina.

See you in Twickenham!

⧫ ⧫ ⧫

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured!

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

To remind: Let’s draw Twickenham - Sunday 26th June 2022

London by Urban Sketchers - Book is ready to preorder now

London by Urban Sketchers ready to preorder 

It's nearly here! Published to mark the 10th anniversary of Urban Sketchers London, this 120-page book leads us on a journey around the sights and streets of London through the selected works of more than 100 Urban Sketchers from the UK and around the world.

London’s world famous sights, its backstreets and suburbs, its galleries and museums, cafes and pubs, parks and construction sites, its history and its modernity are captured in pens, inks, watercolours and digitally to show the city in diverse and distinctive ways. Works span from our first sketchcrawl in 2012 to the post lockdown days.

London by Urban Sketchers, which is generously sponsored by Da Vinci, Derwent and Hahnemühle, is a celebration of drawing, a souvenir of one of the world’s great cities and an inspirational handbook to get you drawing too.

Published in July 2022 and priced £16, it can be preordered now. 

Copies can be posted (plus postage and import duties) after 25 July 2022 or collected at Urban Sketchers London's 10th anniversary celebrations on 23-24 July 2022 Event Hub. 

Raffle 

All orders to be collected there will be entered into a free raffle to win prizes including various urban sketching books and other mystery prizes.

Event Hub location

tp bennett architecture, design and planning

One America Street SE1 0NE

Open hours

Saturday 23 July 09.00 - 16.00

Sunday 24 July 09.00 - 14.00

With grateful thanks to our book sponsors

10 Year Anniversary Celebration Weekend 

The  10 Year anniversary celebration weekend on 22- 24 July 2022 offers workshops, sketchwalks, and many other urban sketching activities. To read about the full programme and book into a workshop or sketchwalk follow the link below.

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured! 

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

London by Urban Sketchers - Book is ready to preorder now

To remind: Let's Draw Camden Market - Saturday 21 May 2022

 

Sketch by Ben Collins-Sussman visiting from Chicago

= In case you missed the original blog post =

This month we draw Camden Market

There is no cost, just turn up with your drawing kit.

For all the details, see the blog post for this event.

The day is led by Alison Gardiner, Christine Milewska, Mike Barber and Sasala Wickramasinghe.

See you at Camden Market!

⧫ ⧫ ⧫

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured!

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

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To remind: Let's Draw Camden Market - Saturday 21 May 2022

Let's draw Twickenham - Sunday 26 June 2022

Eel Pie Island
Virtual sketch in 2020 by Sasala Wickramasinghe

[by Helen Hayhoe and Zane Karklina] 

**Please note - change of date**

Due to possible RMT strike action on Saturday, 

we will meet on Sunday 26th of June 

In June we draw Twickenham

We are delighted to be able to meet face to face in Twickenham again, having compromised twice before — first with a virtual sketch in 2020, then a late postponement in 2021.

We are mixing it up to include a location by the River Crane, just across the road from Twickenham Station — you'll find a bonus there for railway lovers. Then we walk a short distance to the banks of the River Thames. Sketch the water, the boats, the bridge, the people walking by the river. Look across the river to the fabulous Eel Pie Island. Visit the Naked Ladies statues combing their hair above their stony pool. 

For locations on this sketchcrawl, see our Google Map below. 

The 'Naked Ladies'
Sketch by Katy Evans

Key times and meeting points

11 am

Meet outside The Exchange, opposite Twickenham Station. In The Exchange there is a café and loos, and beside it is an open area with seating and a splash fountain, with a riverside walk beside the River Crane. 

1 am          

Throwdown at The Embankment, Twickenham Riverside. Meet at the bottom of Water Lane, within sight of the bridge to Eel Pie Island. 

3.30 pm    

Final Throwdown at Champions Wharf Play Beach, a raised area with playpark and sculptures, and a curved seat for our throwdown. 

Afterwards
There are many cafés and pubs nearby where we can catch up with one another afterward the final throwdown.

More information and ideas for sketching

The Exchange

Cross the road from the station and meet in the courtyard to the right of the Exchange. Here's a map of the local area showing the location of the Exchange.

You may see children splashing in the fountain, or you can walk by the side of the building to find the River Crane, which leads into Twickenham Rough, a linear nature conservation area on the site of old and new railways, with fallen trees and nature to sketch. 

The Exchange
Sketch by Helen Hayhoe

Church Street

Turn back towards the station and right into Twickenham. On the way to the River Thames at Twickenham Embankment, explore Church Street with its independent shops and cafes and St Mary’s Church.

Church Street, Twickenham
Cal Hoy

Eel Pie Island

At Twickenham Embankment itself you will see the arched bridge to the iconic Eel Pie Island (mostly private). From the Embankment there is plenty to sketch, including the boatyard.

Twickenham Riverside
Sketch by Daniel Lloyd-Morgan

Champions Wharf

Champions Wharf, just beyond The Barmy Arms pub has lots of seating and a great view of the river. Follow the path in the corner of Champions Wharf into York House Gardens, which features the Italian Oceanides Statues, aka ‘The Naked Ladies’.

View from Champions Wharf
Sketch by Lynne Flinders

White Swan Pub

A 15 minute walk along the Embankment is the picturesque White Swan Pub, perched by the river.

Orleans House and Gallery

Very near to the White Swan is Orleans House and Gallery, which should be open. The house and the gardens are beautiful to sketch, and the Stables Cafe offers refreshments.

Octagon Room at Orleans House
Sketch by John Swanson

Marble Hill House

The grand Marble Hill House is nearby, the grounds being restored to their former historic accuracy. 

Marble Hill House
Sketch by John Webb

Location map

See you at Twickenham!

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured! 

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

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Let's draw Twickenham - Sunday 26 June 2022

Let's draw Camden Market - Saturday 21 May 2022

Sketch by Ben Collins-Sussman visiting from Chicago

[Alison Gardiner, Christine Milewska, Mike Barber and Sasala Wickramasinghe write]

In May we draw Camden Market, one of London’s busiest retail destinations attracting up to 250,000 people each week

The market, which dates back to the early 1970s, started with a total of 16 traders selling antiques, jewellery and arts and crafts. Now Camden Market is home to hundreds of small businesses bringing to the area the multicultural diversity that we’ve all come to love.

Apart from independent retail, Camden has a rich heritage of music and fashion. Dingwall’s Dance Hall and the Roundhouse revolutionised London’s music scene in the 1970s, with iconic gigs by bands such as The Sex Pistols and Blondie. The boom in the music industry brought alternative fashion trends -– Camden market became the place to hang out and shop for hippy flares, leather jackets, slogan tees, and battered old Dr Martens footgear. 

Photo by Sasala Wickramasinghe

Today Camden Market has evolved and expanded into a diverse community of creative sellers, street food traders and independent stores next to the Regent’s Canal which runs through the heart of Camden. However, the punk rock heritage is still preserved in the fancy shop facades along Camden Road.

The day is free of charge, no need to book, just turn up with your artist’s materials.

Key times and meeting points

Meeting points and local landmarks are shown on our location map at the end of this blog post.

11 AM

Meet at The Quay in Hawley Wharf by the brand new Hawley Wharf shopping centre. It is just across the road from the Camden Market entrance. 

Arrive at Camden Market by the road bridge over the canal on Camden High Street.  Find the jewellers called "e & e" at 218 Camden Lock Place NW1 8AB. To the left of the jewellers is a ramped path going down to the canal towpath. Follow the ramp down, and then go back under the road bridge and follow the towpath. The meeting place at Hawley Quay is about 100 metres along the towpath, where there is a large open space by a newly developed commercial site.

Follow this link to the Camden Market Hawley Wharf website for a detailed site map

1 PM

Meet again at The Quay in Hawley Wharf. 

3:30 PM

Meet at the same place for the final throwdown.

Afterwards

For those who would like to stay on for a drink and chat (and sketch!) afterwards, we will head to the Ice Wharf Pub on Camden Lock, with outside seating and views over the canal towards the market.

Options for drawing

· The Market – Inside the market are independent shops selling clothing, antiques, and jewellery. Further along the road from Camden Lock, the Camden general shopping area is packed with fashion, craft and unique shop fronts, offering lots of colour and distinctive frontages.

Sketch by Alison Gardiner

· People – No shortage of people in Camden! On weekends the market gets very busy, especially on a good day. There are plenty of subjects to capture –- look out for weird and wonderful characters, from hipsters to punks. There are many eating establishments with external seating that also offer many people-sketching opportunities.

· Street scene – The streets are heaving with people, buses and railway bridges.

· Architecture – Canalside, there are existing and former commercial buildings, some of which are warehouses converted into chic residential blocks.

Sketch by Mike Barber

· Regent’s Canal – Draw the canal with its locks, boats, and barges.

Sketch by Christina Milewska

· Street art – Look out for colourful graffiti and street art, including a piece by Banksy on Oval Road, by the entrance to The Pirate Castle clubhouse.

· Primrose Hill (residential) – Sightly further afield from the Camden Lock site is the chic residential area of Primrose Hill. Here there is attractive late Victorian and Edwardian housing with pretty shop fronts giving a ‘village feel’. This area is much more sedate than Camden Lock, if you’re looking for a more serene area to sketch.

Sketch by Alison Gardiner

· Primrose Hill (park) – This green space provides fantastic views across central London. But please note this is a good kilometre walk from Camden, so you would need to allow 15 to 20 minutes to walk to and from the Camden site to return for our throwdowns.

Sketch by Christina Milewska

Practical information

The nearest Tube stations are Camden Town (5 mins), Chalk Farm (10 mins) and Camden Road (8 mins). Several bus routes (Kings Cross, 214; Victoria, 24; West End, 274; East London, 393) are also available.

There are plenty of independent cafés, restaurants and street food stalls inside and around Camden Market -- you’re spoilt for choice!

The toilets inside the market -- on the upper level of the Market Hall -- tend get very busy as the day progresses. The toilets in the Hawley Wharf shopping centre are newer, cleaner and quieter. Apart from these, most cafés and restaurants also have toilets which people can use.

COVID-19 visit information

Since COVID-19 and its variants remain, even though restrictions have been lifted, it's sensible to take all necessary precautions to keep ourselves and fellow sketchers safe throughout the event. The risk of infection for outdoor events is low, but basic guidance still applies:

· Please do not attend if you feel unwell

· Wear a face covering when you're close to others

· Give people space, and

· Practice good hand hygiene.

See you at Camden!

This event is run by Alison Gardiner, Christine Milewska, Mike Barber and Sasala Wickramasinghe. 

Location map

#usklondon10years  #urbansketcherslondon

Follow Urban Sketchers London on Instagram and use the hashtag #urbansketcherslondon to have your drawings featured!

Instagram    @urbansketcherslondon
Facebook    @USKLondon
Twitter         @UrbSketchLondon 

If you haven't yet joined the mailing list for the Urban Sketchers London blog, sign up here to receive all our latest news and events.

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Let's draw Camden Market - Saturday 21 May 2022