Sketchcrawl - Old Spitalfields Market

Staedtler Pigment Liners, Tombow Brushpen and
Neocolour II Wax Pastels in 7.5" x 7.5" Handmade Sketchbook

Urban Sketchers London Sketchcrawl at Old Spitalfields Market today. My friend, Ella, came with me; it was her first one and we had a great day. It was warm and dry and there were plenty places to sit, eat and sketch. It was such an interesting venue; thank you USK London organisers.

I didn't have time to do the art deco building in the distance but will another time; it's beautiful.

Almost finished my sketch

(my subject in background)

Lunchtime and end of day comparisons

So many interesting places to sketch

Impressive view

272. Dotty and Scratchy

Pilot G-Tec and C4 pen in re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

I thought you might like to see my first marks on the page when I'm sketching. I learned many years from a video by Charles Reid to put little dots on the page in order to  map out the image and recently heard Marc Taro Holmes (Urban Sketchers) say exactly the same thing. If you look closely, you'll be able to see where I changed my mind a few times about the placement of the sea edge, wall, etc, before actually settling on the final shape of it. To dot out a straightish line for the horizon, I anchor my little finger under the sketchbook and run the pen from left to right. (I do the same up and down for my street poles - see post 273.)

It's helpful that the pen is water-soluble so a little of it dissolves into the paint. If it starts to look muddy, I just lift it out with kitchen towel but most times I actually like to see those marks on the page, as in the clouds.

(Day 23 of Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30'.)

256. Manchester Art and Jazz - Business Cards and an Interesting Encounter

Business Cards from three of the many interesting people we met

What's the odds of meeting someone in Manchester, from Hong Kong, currently living in Texas, and who had been taught bookbinding in London by the same teacher as me? Small world!

Didn't get around either to riding or sketching a tram so a photo will have to suffice.

255. Manchester Art and Jazz - Alongside the Canal and Yummy Food

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

We decided to take an alternative route back to the hotel and discovered the Gay Village - very colourful with lots of bunting and lively people.

Later, we saw the Lauren Kinsella Ensemble - really thoughtful lyrics, beautifully sung against lovely music.

We went for quite a long walk afterwards and then sought out a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. Apparently there is an 1847 restaurant in Brighton too - will definitely be checking that out! Highly recommended! 

254. Manchester Art and Jazz - Nino De Elche

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

This was not an 'urban' sketch because I only wrote the script above while we were out. The lead musician just poured out his soul and I felt it inappropriate to sketch while he was giving such a poignant performance. I just took a sneaky photo and drew from it on my return.

This gentleman spoke only in Spanish but I was able to understand a lot of it from my little knowledge of Italian. He, too, read some poetry but mostly sang, cried, gasped, etc., throughout the concert. 

The guitarist created amazing sounds by attaching little portable fans to the guitar and varied the effects by switching them on and off and changing the speeds. Molto interessante!

253. Manchester Art and Jazz - Thankful and Pear

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Neocolour II wax pastels in

a re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

Love pears and these didn't disappoint. A juicy pear each morning followed by a couple of jazz concerts - great menu!

252. Manchester Art and Jazz - Turtle Bay Caribbean Food

Faber-Castell 0.7Grip Plus in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I had Vegetarian 'Rundown' which was absolutely yum! I sketched the salt and sauce bottle while we waited for our meal.

I'm so glad I popped to the loo as the whole of the upstairs area was decked out to look like Jamaica and the loos were a tribute to Bob Marley.  It totally put me in the mood for my upcoming trip to Jamaica in mid-August.

251. Manchester Art and Jazz - Alabaster Deplume

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

OK, now this was different! Gus (in the middle) offered up very interesting poetry as well as playing the saxophone. Paddy (on the right) had various percussive instruments all of which he used.

250. Manchester Art and Jazz - James Beckwith Trio

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

Another great set and it was evident that these guys were good friends as they seemed to get on really well with each other. I was taken up with getting the piano right and also the Manchester Jazz Festival logo so didn't get around to the other two musicians.

249. Manchester Art and Jazz - At the Peveril of the Peak Pub

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

I shouldn't laugh really but the guys on the left were so drunk! The one facing us was an older gentleman in a very snazzy suit who 'danced'(!) and sang very loudly to all the songs - yep, he knew all the lyrics - all night long! The two young guys were at the bar just long enough to buy their drinks.

Everyone was sketching everything!

248. Manchester Art and Jazz - Sketching Outside the Pub

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

It was a pleasure to run into James ("Jim") Richards outside the Peveril in the Peak Pub - one of the two pubs where the sketchers met up in the evenings.

I have his Craftsy video and watch it frequently; it is well worth a look as his sketches and paintings are so cheerful as well as skilfully executed and he's a very good and popular tutor. My husband enjoyed chatting to him about New Orleans jazz and blues because that's the reason he came with me to Manchester! 

247. Manchester Art and Jazz - Peter Edwards Trio

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

This was the first concert we attended - the guys were great so we bought their CD. You can see the 'set' down the left hand side. Afterwards, the Peter (at the piano) asked if he could photograph my sketch and he also signed it - great!

246. Manchester Art and Jazz - Real Pizza

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

 
Well, excitement on top of excitement - we went to Manchester because the annual Urban Sketchers' Symposium was being held there at the Manchester School of Art. In addition, the Jazz Festival was on at the same time, together with the Beer Festival. This meant that Manchester was buzzing and around every corner at various times of the day, there were sketchers, music lovers and beer drinkers - sometimes all three were combined!

We were amongst the many that did not have a Symposium ticket but went along (so glad I did) as there were several sketch crawls and so much to sketch in the city centre.

This is the first of a few sketches I did - mostly at the jazz concerts - it is unfinished because we wanted a front seat at the concert where I could sketch the musicians and their instruments with a clear view.

222. Violinist 1 and 2 plus a 'Shout out' for USK

Schmincke and Unison Soft Pastels plus Charcoal

on Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper

The Pastel Society had their annual Art Evening at the Mall Galleries this week and, almost at the last minute, I ordered a ticket and went along - last year, they had a classical guitarist but I spent the evening drawing Kimono instead. (See post 121 or click the 'Kimono' label.)

This year, the musician was a frantic (but oh my goodness, so skilled) violinist and there was another beautiful Kimono lady (lying down) plus, out back, a life model. I chose the violinist for two reasons: her gorgeous ultramarine blue, linen dress and the fact that she was moving all over the place. Even when she sat down, she didn't sit still! A couple of people told me they found this difficult, of course but to me it was an amusing challenge.

Something occurred to me on the way home: whenever in the past I've attended such events, I've sat an drawn (or painted) one or two pieces of art and returned another day to view the exhibition. This year, in the three hours, I did four sketches (three figure and one still life) then walked round and viewed the whole exhibition before going home. This is surely thanks to sketchcrawling with Urban Sketchers. On a sketch crawl, especially the London ones, there are people flying back and forth in front of us and so much to capture that we are forced to work rapidly. Add into the mix the fact that at 1:30pm and again at 4:00pm, we reconnect and photograph our artwork so there is a constant subliminal countdown to finish something and appear with your artwork in the group photo! However, sketchcrawls are so much fun that we are not stressed! What this amounts to is that, personally, I've become quicker and more decisive - who knew?!

So, thank you 'Urban Sketchers London' and 'Drawing Outside Northampton' - your training has been and continues to be priceless!

Schmincke and Unison Soft Pastels plus Charcoal

on Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper

Our model (Anna, I think) took a break and sat down before walking around looking at everyone's sketches.  Even as she sat, she was wriggling about so much that it was a job to even capture the violin. Had I thought of it, I'd have sketched it on both sides of her, rather than waiting for her to revert to one of her many positions. She was fantastic, playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons, amongst other lively pieces, for three hours straight minus two five minute breaks - an amazing young woman!

219. USK - Sketching the Wallace Collection 2 of 2

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen, W&N watercolours and Tombow brushpen

in Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5" (x2).

This sketch was done in the Wallace Collection Restaurant with USK London on Saturday. As usual, Katherine made us sketch the fare before consuming it. I don't like strawberries, cream, etc, so just had a pot of (lovely) tea and sketched someone else's cream tea.

The restaurant staff were really encouraging, walking around and commenting on our sketches and we were so pleased they allowed us to paint at the tables (not inside the galleries though!).

One newbie and two regulars - I always love the international flavour of Urban Sketchers London! In our little group of four (above), the only continent not represented was Australasia but I bet further down the table (below), there was at least one. (Almost 20 of the 30+ sketching on Saturday stayed for cream teas.)

218. USK - Sketching the Wallace Collection 1 of 2

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen, Unipen 0.05 and 0.5 pens and Tombow brushpen

in Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5"

With Urban Sketchers London at the Wallace Collection yesterday.  Can't believe I only did two sketches all day but I must admit I enjoyed doing this immensely. The more I sketched, the more I saw to sketch, like the reflections in the mirror and all the intricacies in the  gold ornamentation - everything is like that there! As you can see from the photos below, the bottom half of the sketch should should have been longer to prevent the hearth bit looking so stretched widthways but hey… we were 'sketching'!

212. Sketchcrawl 23.01.2016

Pilot C4 G-Tec pen and Winsor & Newton Watercolours 
in Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5" (x2)

Up four flights of stairs(!) and I arrived in the rafters in 'Project Space' (in an art gallery) this afternoon and this is what we did. A complex scene and I made a ton load of errors; nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon thanks to the Urban Sketchers group in Northampton.

207. USK Market Sketch 3 - Fish

Staedtler 0.05 Fineliner pen in
Stillman & Birn Alpha Sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5"

This fish vendor was, as my friend, Victoria​ said, a "ball of joy" and a great end to our day. He was very accommodating and was happy for us to sketch him and his wares. NB. It didn't smell (important for me a vegetarian!) which means the fish must be really fresh there!

206. USK Market Sketch 2 - Parma Ham and Cheese - Really?!

Staedtler 0.05 Fineliner pen reinforced by

Unipin 0.5 pen on Stillman & Birn Alpha Sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5"

Yep! I know! Why was a vegetarian at the Parma Ham stall??  Because, like everywhere else in this lovely market, it was beautifully laid out. I was taken by the sign writing again but didn't have time to do more than a few lines.

205. USK Market Sketch 1 - Borough Wines

Lamy Safari fountain pen on

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 5.5" x 8.5" (x2) 

Saturday 7th November was three years since my dear Dad died and he used to love to visit Leather Lane market in London near where he worked before both my parents retired and returned to Jamaica. It seems fitting therefore that the Urban Sketchers London sketchcrawl on that very day was "Let's Draw Borough Market." It was a lovely day, at a fantastic venue with great company (including my friend Vic who made sure I laughed a lot). My Dad would have loved it there!