Wednesday 23 July 2014

Living the dream


Last year I did lots of sketching of people and places along the Sydenham Artists Trail which is run as part of the Sydenham Arts Festival and showcases many talented artists and crafts people living in this part of south east London.  So it was very exciting to be asked this year if I’d like to be an ‘Artist in residence’ at one of the venues. 
The venue was the Alexandra Nurseries, a small garden centre very close to where I live and somewhere I knew would provide lots of material for sketches. 


It’s an unashamedly pretty place where flowers and plants are packed in and is very popular as a place to stop for coffee and cake even if you have no interest in gardening.  

The building used to be the Estate House for the nearby Alexandra Cottages which were built between 1866 -88. 


The drawings here took about 14 hours spread over two sunny July weekends.


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Tuesday 22 July 2014

Sketching Wren's City: Saturday, August 2nd

Sketching Wren's City
Sketchers of London! I hope you are well. I would like to invite you to join me for another 'themed' sketchcrawl on Saturday, August 2nd. I really enjoyed last years 'crawl around the Whitechapel of Jack the Ripper, and this year I really wanted to indulge my life-long love of the London of Sir Christopher Wren, the late seventeenth century architect and scientist, by seeing how much of his City I could sketch in a day, and I invite you to do the same.

We will start at 10:30am at the base of The Monument just off King William St (the nearest tube is Monument), and from there we will sketch solo or in groups, as you prefer, taking in as many of the great Wren’s buildings as we can fit on our pages, before reconvening by the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Wren’s masterpiece, at 4pm, to look at each others’ sketchbooks. From there you can have a quick pint at the Old Bell on Fleet Street, the only pub built by Wren on our ‘crawl.

WHEN: Saturday August 2, 2014
START: 10:30am, The Monument
FINISH: 4:00pm, outside St. Paul’s Cathedral

As always this sketchcrawl is free and open to anybody with an interest in urban sketching, artists of all levels and ages are welcome. All you need is something to draw with and something to draw on (oh and maybe a snack). I will again be providing hand-drawn maps with a handy guide to the Wren church buildings for you to choose your own route. I hope to see you there!

Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/1525438077677897/

- Pete Scully
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Saturday 19 July 2014

44th Sketchcrawl - London Portobello Rd

Let me introduce myself on this my first post for USk London. I am Isabel Carmona, architect and artist (watercolour and printmaking) and live in Newbury now although I spent 6 years in London pre 2002 and know it well. I am also part of USk Spain, helped as interpreter at last year's USk Simposioum in Barcelona and have recently organised the Oxford Workshop with Swasky and Miguel Herranz.

Last Saturday 12th July, we spent a great day at Portobello Rd a large group of us as part of the 44th Worldwide Skerchcrawl, an event that occurs every four months.
Special thanks to the group of Urban Sketchers Spain and Oxford that came following on from the Oxford Workshop.
The end of the day at The Castle saw at least 30 or 40 of us discussing and enjoying seeing each other's sketchbooks.

My sketches were quick as the sun was very strong and also I wanted to capture the people and the activity of the street, with street musicians and a great mix of people. I can still here the tune of the odd musician by Starbucks.
 
 
I look forward to future events!

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Monday 14 July 2014

Slow crawl through the market - 44th urban sketchers world wide day out


214 Portobello Road W11. Pencil and watercolour 210 x 149 mm Evelyn Rowland

A very hot afternoon down the coolest street in London. The last drawing before the obligatory drink in the pub opposite. I think the traffic lights would have been better off with a coffee.

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Thursday 10 July 2014

Sketchcrawl: Portobello Road on Saturday 12 July

James Hobbs, from the
Old Street sketchcrawl
There's a London sketchcrawl this weekend on Saturday 12 July 2014 organised by Urban Sketchers who are running this week's Oxford workshop.
The plan is to meet at around 11am at Charlie's Portobello Road cafe, at number 58, and finish at the Castle pub (number 225) at around 4pm. It's a great opportunity to meet Urban Sketchers both from London and internationally.
There's more information about the sketchcrawl here, and a plan of the route here.
The weather forecast is looking good for Saturday, so we hope to see you there.

Note: Saturday 12 July is also the new closing date of the London Urban Sketchers show at Timberyard Old Street. Last chance to visit!
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Thursday 3 July 2014

Now the day is over ...

South Woodford High Road from the Bus Stop. Pencil 105 x 149 mm Evelyn Rowland
A little view of everyday life, well on a Thursday and Friday morning at any rate, while waiting for a W14. These are evening shadows though, as I finished it around 8.30 pm. 


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