Wednesday, September 29, 2010

St Pauls from Tate Modern on a grey day

St Paul's Cathedral and the City of London from Level 7, Tate Modern
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils, 11 x 17"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
One of the great views in London is from the bar/restaurant on Level 7 of Tate Modern across to St Paul's cathedral and the skyline of the City of London.  Lots of Wren churches peeping out inbetween office blocks in varying shades of "blah".

Yesterday, after the press preview of the Gauguin exhibition which opens at Tate Modern tomorrow,  I sat up on Level 7 and draw again a view I've drawn before.  This time I managed to get boats on to the Thames - and they actually look like they're moving.  Plus I discovered that the colour of the Thames is actually a dull pink moving through to a drab grey/green.  Maybe because I was sat looking at it undeneath the red brick of the City of London School 

The thing is when I'm drawing urban landscapes on a very grey day, I always find I'm looking for ANY colour which stop it being an unremitting grey.

The other very entertaining part about sitting in the bar at the Tate is the fantastic variety of foreign tourists who come and sit next to you and talk about all manner of things under the sun. They all seem to love the cream tea though.  I was good and drew a line and contented myself with Jasmine Tea!

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking us along, Katherine-- another good Tea & Landscape with you.Those boats DO look in motion. Interesting how a color like that brick will turn the water near it into either reflections or contrast.

    And that menu was to die for, especially the cream tea. I would NOT have been as good as you were.
    annie

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  2. Thanks Annie

    It's an awful lot easier if you don't look at the menu! ;)

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  3. Lovely piece Katherine! Wish I could have sat and had tea with you. I heard about that exhibit from Janet Weight-Read, she's been pretty stoked about it. I haven't had a proper tea since the last time I was in British Columbia...sigh.
    Margo

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  4. It's a real challenge to find the colour on a grey day - You've done beautifully. Count me as one who'd also have loved to be there.

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  5. Hi there, I've just come across your blog and really like it. I also sketch and blog regularly too so it's nice to meet a fellow traveller.

    Cheers Heather

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  6. Beautiful drawing! Delicate!
    http://www.geraldorobertodasilva.blogspot.com/

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