Category Archives: London

Drawing on envelopes – 4 weeks to go (and other travel sketches)

It is only four weeks until we leave for London on holidays. And here is this weeks envelope to my interstate travelling companion.
Royal  Albert Hall .This is just around the corner from where we are staying in London, so we may see it often – Very exciting ! This is drawn in watercolour pencil on a heavy cream envelope. You can see the texture of the paper in the scan
And my travel drawing this week .
A little bit of tweaking to the perfect sketching shoulder bag . I bought my Hedgren bag just over a month ago and wrote about it and sketched it  
I have been wearing and using my bag daily, and kept getting confused as to which of the front two pockets held my pencil roll and which holds my Moleskine sketchbook. As there are only two pocket on the outside, you would think it would be hard to get that confused !- and I need both for the sketch anyway .  But I often want to grab my sketchkit quickly as I see an opportunity to sketch , and want the sketchbook and only one pencil.
Any way all problems solved today – I attached a very used pencil to the zip pull of the pocket that holds the pencils .
I got this idea from my pencil brooches. I have been using watercolour pencils for about 6 years and have not thrown any of the used stubs away. They have been on so many adventures with me! In the last year I have been making brooches and magnets  from my used pencils. At the moment they are just for me to wear (which Is why I am not turning them into any other sort of jewelry) But I am getting together a bit a collection now and may sell them one day …..I wear the brooches to any sketching event or when I am out on weekends. The brooches are a great talking point too. People are fascinated that they are the real thing and were actually used to draw.
 

Drawing on envelopes 5 weeks to go (and other travel drawings)

 
The weeks will begin to fly by now – only a few envelopes left to draw on and mail before I am drawing the real thing. I thought of this concept again this week as I drew these ravens from the Tower of London from a photo in a travel book.
 

Why ravens?

The ravens of the Tower of London are a group of seven captive Common Ravens which live in the Tower of London. The presence of the ravens is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a superstition holds that If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it .

I hope that I get the opportunity to see these amazing birds close up – I wonder if I can get close and will they will stay still enough? I am used to drawing birds that move around – seagulls and ibis as they move . Once you start sketching an object over and over again, you become familiar with it.

 
 
If I start sketching a seagull and it moves away, there will be one nearby that is sitting in a similar position or one will fly in soon  or look at another bird to continue to see how the legs stand or long they are. I  draw with the coloured pencil that is the main colour of the bird and make notes if it is a colourful bird, such as a rainbow lorikeet. There is not enough time to be swapping coloured pencils when drawing a bird (unless it is asleep)  Hopefully the ravens will cooperate – if not I am looking forward to having some scratchy black ink crows on my page.

 
And this weeks travel drawing is of my London travel guide and my pencils. The page did not seem complete without them
 
 

Drawing on envelopes – 6 weeks to go (and other travel drawings)

My artistic countdown to my London and Barcelona holiday continues. Here is this weeks drawing on an envelope, posted to my travelling companion who lives interstate. I am only drawing London themed buildings and icons as my fellow traveller is not going to Barcelona , but staying in England for those days.



St Paul’s Cathedral
This week I drew on a lovely heavy cream coloured envelope. I was also experimenting with a new brown ink in my Lamy Safari Joy ink pen. For years I have been using Noodlers Black Ink and the new one is Noodlers Polar Brown. Noodlers brand have a wide range of ink colours, but not many in the permanent range, that will not run when I use my watercolour pencils and waterbrush.
 
The ink is a glorious sepia brown colour that looks antique. However, I did not feel ‘at ease” using it. I had filled the ink cartridge with  my new colour  earlier in the week . But when I went to do quick sketches in my Moleskine, I hesitated because of the different ink colour. In the past I have often thought that the black ink was too harsh for some pages, especially when it came to writing commentary next to a delicate drawing. In this case, I did not think that St Paul’s Cathedral sketch would look good with watercolour pencil colour added. So instead of  blue sky and white buildings, I went for the antique look.
 
 I think that I have to be more flexible in what I think looks “right” (I could be using green ink all the time !) or alternatively, change the ink in my pen according to my needs.
 
I have bought some currency this week (be quick, as the exchange rate is dropping daily!)
The English pounds were crisp and unused. I then found these two old, crumpled, tired looking five pound notes at home, left over from a previous holiday. I think that they have great character. they were fun to draw with all their creases and little tears.

Drawing on envelopes – 7 weeks to go (and other travel drawings)

It is seven weeks until we leave for London on holidays. And here is this weeks envelope to my interstate travelling companion.
A historic London building. The Tower of London is our list as a “must see” sights. We have both been before but agree that there is so much history associated with this area that it is definitely worth spending more time here and appreciating its place in history.
Also, as I draw these buildings that I am going to visiting and exploring soon, I wonder how I will capture them in my sketchbook. It is one thing to draw from a photograph, but another to be looking straight at the building, with crowds of tourists around you.
I draw buildings and urban scenes in Sydney and I AM going to the Urban Sketching Symposium Barcelona while I am there. I regularly sketch the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge,  so it should not concern me . I think that it is the thought of drawing iconic London buildings specifically , as I am not concerned about sketching buildings  in Barcelona. I (ashamedly) have no real knowledge of Gaudi’s architecture or the older style of buildings. And as I have no preconceived ideas, I have no worries.
It will be interesting to see what my sketches are like the week in London before Symposium and the week after. 

This weeks travel drawing is of some recent books that I have borrowed from the library. 
I still have my general travel guides, but these books are about more specific . I have already started browsing through the and can tell they are going to have some ideas

  • The Stones of London a history in 12 buildings
  • Eccentric London
  • Open House London: an exclusive insight into 100 architecturally inspiring buildings in London

Drawing on Envelopes- 9 weeks to go (and other travel drawings)

 Only nine weeks to go until we leave for London (and Barcelona) . I am drawing on envelopes and posting my travelling companion a letter each week. They live interstate.  This will keep the enthusiasm building (as if we needed that !!)

On this weeks envelope I drew some iconic images of London. We are definitely doing a London bus tour. I have been to London a few times and lived there for a while, and never done one. I still have not been on one at home in Sydney!
 
 
And this weeks major purchase was my shoulder bag for travel. This is a very important item for me, as it also carries my Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook and watercolour pencils. So I had to find one that would suit the way I use my pencils and sketchbook.
 
 
Thank goodness for Hedgren brand. The style is  InnerCity – Fanzine. It has two pockets on the front that fit my sketch tools perfectly. I can access them easily and work with the pencil pocket open and access my pencils. A sketching friend who also sews (and who loves a good project to work on) is reworking my pencil wrap prototype, with a few added extras.
 
Everyone seems to have their own methods and equipment , or looking for the perfect bag!
 
This bag also has a large inner pocket that hopefully will fit everything else I will use on a daily basis. ! bottle of water, purse, sunglasses, other glasses …….