Behold, I stand at the door and knock,
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come into him and dine with him,
And him with me.
Revelations 3:20 (NIV)
Urban Sketching 2024
Joined Urban Sketchers on the 1st August 2024
I found this site on the Internet. It was a new experience for me and I thought it would improve my artwork. I would also get to meet other artists and view their work. The artist were at various levels or skills but what amazed me most were the different styles of urban sketching.
An elderly couple walked by and the woman said that it was beautiful
An elderly couple walked by and the woman said that it was beautiful
Postman's Park
Address - King Edward Street, London
This was my first attempt at urban sketching. I drew on my knowledge of pen and wash techniques to achieve it. It was a good day to sketch and there was about 40 artists there. They were friendly and helpful towards each other.
My main problem here was taking the right equipment with me. Water was spilt and paint brushes dropped. The small foldable table was unstable.
There were two sessions throughout the day. One at 11:00 am and one at 13:30. At the end of each session we would meet at the designated area to display our work and have a group photo. This I found amazing because of the different styles and equipment used.
8th September 2024
Chiswick Pier
Chiswick Pier
Address - Corney Reach Way, London
Boats are not my favourite subject but I enjoyed the challenge. It was a great turnout. I was better equipped for this session. It was a long way from home so I only did the first session. There were lots of subjects to chose from including Chiswick House, a beautiful mansion nearby. But since the subject was the pier, I decided to used the parked boats as the subject.
Alexandra Palace
Address - Alexandra Palace Way, London
This was nearer to home so it was my intention to do both the 11:00am session and the 13:30 session. However, it started to rain that day and so I only did the morning session. The rain drops fell on the painting and you can see white spots in the sky where it fell. Also my seat started to sink into the grassy soil and I kept losing my balance. I was unable to finish it properly in the 2 hours allocated because of the rain. I was unable to complete the dark values in the painting because of time pressure. I could have finished it at home but left it as is because of the lesson I learnt from it.
The turnout was good again, with some remarkable sketches. The general public was so inquisitive and it was a pleasure to talk with them.
15th February 2025
Cannon Street
Cannon Street
Address - Cannon Street Station
There wasn't much trees or plants around. But after some searching I found a nice spot with benches. It rained a little but I was able to finish my sketch. The turn out was good again, despite the weather and we met at the station for our 'throw down' session.
Mile End
Address - The Art Pavilion, Clinton Road, London
The Art Pavilion is the main office of Urban Sketchers. From there we went to a park to do our sketching. Afterwards I returned to the pavilion and looked at some on the pictures on display. Most of them were priced and were on sale.
I did not use my watercolour paint on this sketch and instead used marker pens. They were cleaner to work with and quicker to sketch with. However, they lacked the subtle changes in colour value which you get with watercolour paint.
17th May 2025
St. Pancreas
Kings Cross Station
Address - Outside St. Pancreas Renaissance Hotel
The weather was excellent and so I decided to do two sketches, both the morning and the afternoon session. The turnout was huge, I reckon at least one hundred artists. They produced some really great work. Often people from around the station will come and watch me paint and encourage me with their comments. Taking photos of the artist work was difficult because of the turnout.