4th Annual Exhibition by Urban Sketchers London - at Timberyard Soho

The fourth exhibition by London Urban Sketchers - and the third at branches of Timberyard - opens next week on Monday 2nd November.

It's really great to be one of the launch exhibitions at a brand new branch of Timberyard in Soho - and for the exhibition to be on until the end of April 2016.

I've been busy for the last few weeks organising the exhibition alongside the core team for the exhibition of James Hobbs, Nathan Breville and Evelyn Rowland.  James does liaison with our exhibition and event partners, Nathan and Evelyn are doing the really big job which is the hang next weekend and I'm doing admin and marketing. I organised the call for entries and selection. My next job is labels! (see How to make labels for an art exhibition)

Urban Sketchers London at Timberyard Soho

From Blackfriars Bridge by James Hobbs

WHERE: Timberyard Soho
AT: 4 Noel Street, London W1F 8GB
OPEN: Monday to Friday - 8am-8pm; Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm
WHEN: Monday 2nd November - 30th April 2016.
@timberyarduk, @urbsketchlondon

Timberyard create workplaces for creative people fused with speciality tea and coffee.

It's very appropriate that our exhibition should be associated with these brilliant coffee shops because very often after a sketchcrawl we go for a coffee. Then we admire each other's sketches and spend much time chatting about sketching kits!

Linked Events

You can get involved with any one of our three linked events planned at present - we may have more in 2016!

• The Private View is on 3rd November between 6.30 and 9pm and regular readers of this blog are most welcome
• There is a Sketchcrawl on Saturday 14th November - starting and finishing at Timberyard - Liberty's (Great Marlborough Street) to the BBC (Langham Place) - 
• There is also a Book Event on 25th November - of which more later.  I'll be signing my book alongside James Hobbs and Isobel Carmona with their books. Plus we'll have the latest books by other Urban Sketchers.

Selected Sketchers

As well as me, these the names of the other urban sketchers whose sketches are included in the exhibition: Sangeeta Bhagawati, Elizabeth Blunt, Nathan Brenville, Julie Bolus, Isabel Carmona, Jo Dungey, Katy Evans, James Hobbs, Isabelle Laliberte, Daniel Lloyd-Morgan, Choon Low,  Dolores Kitchener, Tom Ledger,  Paulina Little, Simone Menken, Olya Osipova, Simon Privett, Nick Richards, Evelyn Rowland, Sue Smith, John Swanson, Marissa Lee Swinghammer, and Tony Underhill.

The sketches are a mix of ones done on our regular monthly sketchcrawls and those sketched while people have been out and about London. Links in the names are to their websites or blogs. Do please take a look at their other work.

Previous Exhibitions

The Art of Sketching - our first exhibition at Foyles

Previous exhibitions:

• 2012: the first exhibition also celebrated the launch in the UK of the book about The Art of Urban Sketching 
• The Art of Urban Sketching - at Foyles in London and 
• USk London blog: Urban Sketchers London exhibition opens at Foyles
• 2014 Timberyard Seven Dials (January 2014): the one I missed due to writing my book was at the Seven Dials branch of Timberyard - see 
• USk London blog: Urban Sketchers London Exhibition! (Seven Dials) and 
• Urban Sketchers Exhibition Private View
• 2014: Timberyard Old Street (March - June 2014) - 
• Urban Sketchers London - new exhibition at Timberyard (Old Street) and 
• Usk London blog: Urban Sketchers London exhibition at Timberyard Old Street 

Some of the exhibiting artists at our last exhibition at Old Street 
Thomas Corrie, Isabelle Laliberté, James Hobbs and Jhin-Ren Shih

Sketching at the exhibition for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015

My book has a section on sketching in Art Galleries and Museums (pages 102-103 of my book Sketching 365) - and that's because this is an activity I love to do!

6 Tips about sketching in Art Galleries and Museums
from Sketching 365

This is a photograph of the sketch I did on Monday of the people visiting the Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition on its first day open to the public at the Mall Galleries.

Sketch of visitors to exhibition for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition
at the Mall Galleries 14-19 September 2015

I did it very fast - while I drank my cup of tea! It was done in my usual Moleskine sketchbook using a Pilot G-Tec-C 0.25 Hyper Fine Gel Rollerball Pen which delivers a 0.13mm line - which you can also see in the photograph.  

This one had brown ink which gives a much less 'in your face" line when compared to black ink. Turner liked brown ink as well! (see Review of Ruskin's Turners at the Fitzwilliam Museum).

I'm not using watercolour because the ordinary Moleskine sketchbook absolutely detests watercolour!

You can read my review of the exhibition for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015 in Review: Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015 on Making A Mark 

Have you ever tried this with a sketch?

Superimposing sketch on scene - on the terrace at Chartwellwith Crypotomeria Japonica (Japanese Cedar) in the background
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils

Have you ever tried superimposing your sketch on the scene that you are drawing? Below I've written my explanation of how I did this. It's not difficult but you can make it easier to do....

I normally sketch across a double page spread of my Moleskine to provide an 8" x 10" image. However yesterday, after dropping off my drawings for hanging at the Florum exhibition in Sevenoaks (opens on Saturday 12th September), we went to Chartwell.

Sat on the terrace I pondered as to what to draw while "he who must not be bored while I sketch" read the City pages. That's when I realised that I had brought out the sketchbook I finished last Saturday! (Have you ever done that?)

I was reduced to searching through it for half pages which I'd not used.

Given that Chartwell is a "big view" place I was somewhat perplexed as to what to draw - and then decided to draw HWMNBB against the house and the very large Japanese Cedar (Crypotomeria Japonica) in the background.

Then decided to have a go at the trick where you superimpose your sketch over what you are drawing.  The trick is twofold:

• when you start the sketch make sure you have a horizontal and/or vertical lines in the sketch which you can line up against the scene - in my case the horizontal line was the top line of the tree shadow and the vertical line was the outside edge of the arm
• then use one hand to position the sketch over the scene and line up your lines in the sketch with the lines in the scene.
• finally use another hand to take the photo. This is when you realise a third hand might be useful! It means you must use a camera or phone which you can get level and click with one hand.

I nearly got it right. If the sketchbook had been level I would have got it almost spot on!

HWMNBB says he doesn't look like that at all - and I have to confess something went very wrong with the mouth and jawline! Top half is not bad!

The Paragon at Blackheath

On Saturday I went on a long walk to join up with London Urban Sketchers who were sketching at Blackheath (see map at end!)

I got there in time for lunch and then spent the afternoon sketching The Paragon which started life as seven pairs of houses linked by colonnaded sections built as part of the Cator Estate. They've now been split into flats. My friend Jean and her husband live in the one on the left

Western end of The Paragon at Blackheath
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchboook

We sat for most of the sketching in the afternoon under leaden grey skies - wondering if we'd need to whip out umbrellas very fast. It was certainly cold. Then just as I was getting to the end of the drawing the sun came out and produced one of those very pale turquoise skies.

Then the clouds came over and it went back to being grey!

I finished the drawing while sat in the cold but added the colour when I got home. I also need to add more grass cutting lines!

More sketches - from lunch and tea - to follow.

These are the people who came to Blackheath on Saturday - I'm taking the photo.

London Urban Sketchers at Blackheath - the end of the day lay down of sketches and group photo

This is the map of my walk. The walk from Cutty Sark Station on the Docklands Light Railway is very pleasant as it takes you through the park (uphill for most of the way) and then across the heath - so only a tiny bit of traffic for the whole walk.

From the station to the Princess of Wales pub (where we had lunch) in Montpelier Row in Blackheath is 1.4 miles and is uphill for half the distance. It's supposed to take 28 minutes and burn 114 calories - which (according to my invaluable Citymapper app) apparently equate to 0.6 packets of crisps or O.6 pints of beer. Just so you know....

The walk from Greenwich Cutty Sark Station to Blackheath.
(click to see a larger image)

A slimming Tuna and salad sketch at the V&A and a long walk

The thing about making a big effort to become healthier and slimmer by losing weight is that -apart from showing the continuing downward trend on the  Weight Chart on my iPhone Health app to my GP - I need to be seen to be sketching healthy meals!

So this is my Seared Tuna and Green Bean and Mixed Leaf Salad from lunch at the Cafe at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London last Thursday!  This was drawn over lunch using pen and ink and then coloured at home afterwards as I didn't have my pencils with me because I was on a "reviews day".

Seared Tuna and Green Beans and Mixed Leaf Salad
pen and ink and coloured pencils

and this is me drawing my lunch!

I managed to be good and avoid an awful lot of temptation! (the link is to a sample menu!).

I then walked around the V&A and straight through the shop - without buying anything(!) - and then walked from the V&A to the Mall Galleries. Below is the map. Note the calorific values!

V&A to the Mall Galleries is just over 2 miles and takes 43 minutes
expending according to my Citymapper app

174 calories or (just to get a real perspective on this) 1.7 BANANAS!

Walking down Constitution Hill - Green Park on the left and Buckingham Palace on the right

Here's my blog post about the exhibition I saw when I got to the Mall Galleries - Rosa Sepple sells 50+ paintings in 4 days!

Sketching Cambridge: Magdalene College and Magdalene Bridge

Magdalene Bridge - sketching the sketchers and the Scudamore Punters
pen and ink and coloured pencils, 9" x 12"
on Arches HP Block

On Sunday 23rd August I drove up the M11 to Cambridge to join the Urban Sketching Cambridge Group ( also at https://www.facebook.com/uskcambridge) which is based there.

They had got permission to sketch inside Magdalene College.  For some reason I spent all my student years in Cambridge without ever knowing anybody in the east part of the college so this was a novel experience for me.

They were planning on a couple of hours sketching before lunch - and I wanted to see the Watercolour exhibition at the Fitzwilliam in the afternoon so I needed to be speedy!

I decided to focus on just doing pen and ink sketches and then adding colour when I got back home.

I started by sitting in the corners of one of the courtyards of Magdalene College and sketched the sketchers.

Magdalene College: Pen and ink sketches of Cambridge Urban Sketchers #1
11" x 8" in a Moleskine Sketchbook

Next are the two sketches above completed with colour - using coloured pencils - when I got home. I'm not sure who I've sketched in #2 below!

Magdalene College: Pen and ink sketches of Cambridge Urban Sketchers #2
pen and ink and colour pencils in Moleskine sketchbook

Magdalene College: Pen and ink sketches of Cambridge Urban Sketchers #3
Sketching Sue Smith under the Pepys Library Portico (or is it a Loggia?)
- the words at the top say Bibliotheca Pepysiana 1724
pen and ink and colour pencils in Moleskine sketchbook

I then moved around the river side of the college and drew from the wall which separates it from the River Cam and the extremely busy Scudamore Punt station. I listened to lots of different punter guides explaining the college and the bridge and Cambridge generally to those on guided tours while sat in a large punt.  I also watched a few novice punters receiving their instruction on what to do when taking out a punt for the first time.

If I'd had more time I'd have loved to have drawn the comings and goings of the punters beneath me - especially the bit where those who knew the rules came up against those who didn't!

It's not too far to Cambridge - so I shall be back sketching with the group again - although maybe not every outing.  I saw some amazing sketches at lunchtime - not least the panoramic sketches done by Peter Wenman

Panoramic sketchbook by Peter Wenman held by
Peter Wenman on the left and Yasemin Gyford on the right

It was also great being back in a place which holds lots of memories from being a student 40 YEARS ago!  I walked with a friend down Trinity Street and Kings Parade to the Fitzwilliam Museum with a constant chorus from me of

• "That's just the same!" (e.g. Heffers and all the colleges and Fitzbillies - even if I did forget precisely where the latter was!) and 
• "Oooh, that's changed!" (e.g. The Copper Kettle looks completely different and whatever happened to Eaden Lilley who did my graduation photo?).

Admiralty Arch and Horse Guards

On the 16th August I organised the London Urban Sketchers sketchcrawl to St James Park, The Mall, Horseguards and Trafalgar Square.

Below are my sketches - and a little bit of history about the two important London buildings I sketched Admiralty Arch and Horse Guards. Both are Grade 1 Listed Buildings - meaning they are very important in terms of both architecture and heritage.

I've already written about the sketchcrawl for London Urban Sketchers and I'm not going to do it again. However you can READ more about the sketchcrawl:

• the results August 2015 Sketchcrawl - Notes, photos and sketches and
• the plan Let's Draw - Trafalgar Square, The Mall & St James Park - Sunday 16th August 2015
• plus view the map of the locations

Plus you can SEE more photos of both sketches and the sketchers that I took in the London Urban Sketchers - August 2015 (Mall) album on our Flickr account. You can also see the sketches done by other people that have been posted to Flickr in the Urban Sketchers London - Group Pool.

Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch - drawn while sat in the middle of The Mall (16th August 2015)pen and ink and coloured pencils

What you do on a Sunday morning after the VJ 70th anniversary commemorations the previous day!- sit in The Mall behind the traffic cones and draw something you could never normally draw from this perspective!

I focused on the drawing and added more colour when I got home- building up layers to get intensity of colour can sometimes take a bit of time

Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII - to commemorate the reign of his mother, Queen Victoria - which is why her name is written in Latin at the top on The Mall side.

It used to be used as government offices and Ministers used to have flats at the top but it's now been vacated and let for use as a hotel (which as yet has not yet happened).

The central gate of Admiralty Arch is typically only ever opened to allow the Monarch to pass through. If you sit the other side of it is a great place to get a full view of The Mall when the traffic is normal - unlike when we were there and most of The Mall was coned off for pedestrians only.

Horse Guards

This is my sketch of Horse Guards and the Parade Ground - which is where they held the drumhead service for the VJ 70th Anniversary.  It's also where they hold the trooping the colour every year on the Queen's Birthday.  You can see a drawing of what it looked like in 1695 at the end of this post.

Did you know that Horse Guards houses the space used for the Tilt Yard used by the original Whitehall Palace?  (see a map of this in 1680 at the end of this post)

I had great plans to include the London Eye but needed a different perspective or a wider sketchbook! I think I'm going to go back and have another go. It's a view I walk past regularly and I've always wanted to have a go.

A view of Horse Guards and the Parade ground (16th August 2015)pen and ink in a Moleskine sketchbook

Plan of the Palace of Whitehall 1680 
- right click and open in a new tab to see a much LARGER version
The Tilt Yard is at the top. The map has the river at the bottom and the parkland at the top.

View of the Palace of Whitehall by Leonard Knijff, c. 1695-7
- right click and open in a new tab to see a much LARGER version
Thames is at the bottom of the picture and the space now occupied by St James Park is at the top
You can just see the entrance to Horse Guards in the middle

The VJ Day 70th Anniversary Drum Head Service on Horse Guards Parade Ground

PS. I've been very slow getting sketches on to this blog of late - and am now trying to catch up. It's not that I haven't been sketching - just that I haven't been scanning and photoshopping and blogging!

The Shard from Greenwich Pier

Yesterday I did this sketch of The Shard and London skyline on the River Thames from a seat in front of the Old Royal Naval College/Hospital at Greenwich - just beyond Greenwich Pier.

So first here's the sketch. There were amazing clouds yesterday. I was half tempted just to sketch the sky!

The Shard from Greenwich Pier
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 10 x 8inches
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Next is the Moleskine Sketchbook with pencils as I was finishing

Sketchbook and pencils - nearly finished
As you can see quite an assortment of pencils are used - I'm not a dedicated one brand only person.

then the sketchbook again - but this time with the view

The Shard is in the distance and Greenwich Pier is in the foreground
He who must be bored while I sketch holds up my sketchbook for the photo with the view
(He was reading 'Shakespeare' by Bill Bryson - while I sketched. Looked interesting!)

and finally a pic of the place where I was sketching

We were sat on the seat just in front of the Old Royal Hospital - which is now the University of Greenwich.
I was looking up the river past the end of the pier on the left
If you sit at this spot you usually get the sound of somebody practising a musical instrument
coming out of the windows behind you!

London Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl - Let's Draw St Paul's to the Thames - 26 April 2015

I'm organising the next London Urban Sketchers' Sketchcrawl. You can find all the details and maps and some suggestions of possible subjects or views to sketch in this post Let's Draw St Paul's to the Thames - 26th April 2015 on the Urban Sletchers London blog.

Everybody is welcome - the only requirement is that you stick to the terms of the manifesto (see end).

Here are the basics:

• On Sunday 26th April 2015
• Starting: 11:00 on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral
• Lunch at 1:30pm on the Roof Terrace of One New Change - where we might just try a "Draw the Dome in 15 minutes Challenge"! (I think I've been watching too many episodes of "The Big Painting Challenge"!)
• End at: 3:30pm at Paternoster Square

St Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge from Tate Modern

URBAN SKETCHERS' MANIFESTO

1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.
4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
6. We support each other and draw together.
7. We share our drawings online.
8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

RI 2015 Private View - and sketchbooks on show

I usually have a sit down half way through a Private View, pull out my sketchbook and my favourite Pentel G-TEC-C4 gel ink rollerball in brown ink and have a quick sketch with my cup of tea.

I'm into line sketching at the moment - no shading, no colour, just line.

Time out at the Private View
Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours at the Mall Galleries 24 March 2015
8 x 10", pen and ink in Molekine Sketchbook

You can read about the 203rd Annual Exhibition of Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours #1 - Prizewinners and Events on my main blog Making A Mark.

There's a lot of RI member artists bringing in their sketchbooks to the exhibition as part of the events programme (see the list below) and as you can imagine a lot of them will be sketching using watercolour.

Saturday 28 March - usually a very busy day in the gallery as the Art Societies arrive by the coachload

• David Parfitt - Showing sketchbooks and iPad drawings 11:00am – 4:00pm
• David Poxon - Showing sketches and photographs 11:45am to 4:00pm

Wednesday 1 April

• Ian Sidaway - Showing a selection of sketch books 11:00am – 3:00pm

Thursday 2 April

• Jean Noble - Showing a selection of sketchbooks and photos and critiques of visitors' paintings

Saturday 4 April 

• David Parfitt - Showing sketchbooks and iPad drawings 11:00am – 4:00pm
• David Poxon - Showing sketchbooks and discussing working methods 11:45am - 4:00pm

Wednesday 8 April

• Ian Sidaway - Showing a selection of sketchbooks 11am – 3:00pm

Lunch at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast

After I had finished my talk and panel discussion last Thursday I took myself and my travel sketchbook off to The Merchant Hotel. This is a 5 star hotel which houses The Great Room Restaurant in what used to be the Banking Hall in the Headquarters of the Ulster Bank in Belfast.

As many of you know I'm very fond of sketching food and in particular nice meals in different parts of the world.

Cherubs looking down on diners

I arrived about 1.30 and the restaurant was full. At first, it seemed unlikely I would be able to get a seat. However keen to enjoy some fine dining and a wealth of things to sketch I persisted and was rewarded with a table.

The banquette was very comfortable and the service was extremely high quality after a minor hiccup.

So here - in order - are my sketches and a photo or two.

All sketches were done 
at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast 

on Thursday 12th March 2015

 in pen and ink and coloured pencils 
in a Moleskine Sketchbook 
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

First my sketch of the cherubs decorating the tops of the walls around the room. I decided I liked the one with wings coming out of his head!

Next my starter which was a Seafood Ravioli

Seafood Ravioli, Portavogie Lobster and Irish Scallop Ravioli and Shellfish Bisque
Merchant Hotel 12 March 2015

This was a beige colour - but delicious! Next course was a dish of Roast Irish Cod Fillet with Ham Hock.

Roast Cod Fillet, Smoked Ham Hock, Saffron Potatoes, Chargrilled Leeks and Mussel veloute
at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast 12th March 2015
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook | copyright Katherine Tyrrell

and finally... my dessert - White Chocolate Parfait.

White Chocolate Parfait, Yellow Man and Orange Poached Figs
at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast 12th March 2015

Tea in the Great Room Restaurant

Corner of The Great Room Restaurant

I didn't get round to sketching my cup of tea at the end of the meal - due to the need to get to the airport - but it was beautifully served.

This is the link to an example of the Lunchtime Menu. (If I were to make a suggestion for one way in which they could improve - I love restaurants which update their menus on their website as fast as they do in the kitchen - and don't just leave the same menu up all year round)

You can find The Merchant Hotel in Waring Street, Belfast in the Cathedral Quarter.

You can find out about the history of the building here.

More of my sketches from Belfast

• Cicchetti at Coppi
• Sketching the Sessions at the Ulster Festival (tomorrow)

More of my sketching meals sketches

Cicchetti at Coppi

One of the highlights of my recent visit to Belfast for the Ulster Festival of Art & Design was the food which can be enjoyed in the vicinity of the Faculty of Art & Design.

On Wednesday lunchtime I enjoyed Fish and Chips while sat in a booth next to Dara Ó Briain at the Canteen at the Mac (I sleepwalked past!). The Mac is a new arts venue in Belfast - behind the Art School. It has fabulous looking and tasting food (here's the lunch menu). It tastes even better when you've had no breakfast because you were up so very early to catch a plane to Belfast!

Then on Wednesday evening after my talk, Julie Douglas and I met up with John Angel and his wife Megan and we went for a late dinner at Coppi in St Anne's Square, behind the Cathedral.

I did a super fast sketch of the Cicchetti I had for a starter - and then had a go with colour when I got home. Very tasty!  I followed up with Pork Saltimbocca Prosciutto, Roast Chestnut, Sage Butter & Bitter Leaf Insalata - but was too tired to sketch by this stage!

Cicchetti (pronounced “chee-KET-eeh”) are small dishes of food - not unlike Tapas - but Italian in origin and typically served in traditional "bàcari" in Venice.

Cicchetti at Coppi in Belfast 
(spelt incorrectly on the sketch)
Clockwise from left: Crispy Squid, Arrabiata Mayo & Lemon, 
Lemon Chicken Spiedini, Roast Pepper Salsa and Polenta Fritti, Candied Fennel, Goats Cheese & Balsamic

Plus I do like a restaurant which goes to the trouble of telling you which dishes are vegetarian, gluten free, contain nuts etc.

I've got a set of food sketches coming up next - from lunch at The Merchant Hotel on Thursday after my sessions were finished.

Reference:

• Coppi - Restaurant St Anne's Square, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast BT1 2LR
• Coppi - Menu
• Belfast: Coppi - TripAdvisor

Sketches from Victoria and Albert Museum Sketchcrawl

Only a week late this time - here are the sketches from the London Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl at the Victoria and Albert Museum last Saturday.

It was so sunny that I say in The John Madejski Garden - the courtyard with a pool in the centre of the Museum - all afternoon drawing people sat in the sun.

Sitting in the sun, The John Madejski Garden, Victoria and Albert Museum 7th March 2015
pen and sepia ink in Moleskine Sketchbook (11" x 16")

I started with the chap sat next to the external corner of the building (top left) and then worked my way across the page relating one person to another. Of course they were never all present at the same time as people came and went as I drew - and some of them moved rather a lot while I was drawing! Which accounts for why some are half finished!

I also drew some London Urban Sketchers. On the left is Jean Edwards (a drawing a day) and on the right is Pavel Miller. You can see what Jean and Pavel were sketching in the Tweets below my sketch - they were both sketching the architecture of the V&A at the time.

London Urban Sketchers hard at work
Pen and sepia ink in Moleskine sketchbook

@UrbSketchLondon @makingamark2 #thedailysketch an enjoyable and productive day at the V and A https://t.co/Vq97fkNXOi pic.twitter.com/9itVWhuRD9
— jean edwards (@JeanEd70) March 7, 2015

Awesome day sketching in the sun with @UrbSketchLondon at the @V_and_A can't wait for the next one! pic.twitter.com/aGBwIQ3eOv
— Pavel Miller (@PVMill) March 7, 2015

Sketchcrawl at the British Museum (February 2015)

I always seem to be late posting sketches from Sketchcrawls! These are three from last month's Urban Sketchers London visit to the British Museum.

I avoided the architecture and stuck with the artifacts in the cases and a rather splendid sculpture above one door.  Some of them are very difficult to draw - but I'm not showing you my failures!

Painted Statue of a Woman 2000-1600BC (Old Babylonian)

British Museum 7 February 2015

Not quite sure what the name is for a statue above a door This is Indugud (c.2,500BC) - it looked like an eagle and stags to me but it was about 25 feet up in the air!
British Museum 7 February 2015

These are African Masks made from all sorts of things - but wood is very popular
The masks at the top are of Women and the ones at the bottom are of wild animals
British Museum 7 February 2015

Today there's another sketchcrawl at the V&A Museum in South Kensington which I'm leaving to join now.  It finishes at 3.30pm so still time to get along and join in!

Meet me and get 'Sketching 365' signed at the Mall Galleries TODAY!

I've only just realised I have completely forgotten to highlight on this blog that I've got my "meet the author and get your book signed" event at the bookshop in the Mall Galleries this afternoon (5th March)

Meet @jameshobbsart & me & our sketchbooks at the bookshop in the @mallgalleries @ 3pm TODAY we're signing our books! pic.twitter.com/lqsw4HMT3U
— Katherine Tyrrell (@sketching365) March 5, 2015

You've got a few hours to get up to the Mall in London and catch James Hobbs and me, see our sketchbooks and get your copies of Sketching 365 and Sketch Your World signed by us!

There is even a reduced price deal for anyone buying both books before 4pm today.
We're also very happy to answer any questions you may have about sketching and how you are getting on with your own sketches.

We'll be around until 7pm after which I think we might be joining the Pastel Society's Art Event evening.

A Cheshire Garden on St David's Day 2015

A Cheshire Garden on 1 March 2015
pencil and coloured pencils in a Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook  12" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've been drawing my mother's garden in Cheshire for some years. I sit next to the French window into the garden and have the benefit of armchair, warmth and cups of tea while I draw the scene outside the window.

Sunday, 1 March 2015 - St David's Day - is nominally the first day of Spring in the Meteorological calendar - or so the BBC weatherman informed us!

The the weather was very good in the morning and very dim and grey in the afternoon!  Of course, the major benefit of staying in one place is that I can get up the next day and continue a morning sketch from where I left off the previous day. However, by midday, as we travelled to catch my train from Crewe, the weather had turned to sleet!

This isn't finished and I might tweak it a little bit more - but I'm loath to do too much now I'm back in London and don't have the garden in front of me.

You can see more sketches of the same garden - at different times of the year - on this blog. See:

• A Cheshire Garden in Spring - and some new plants (May 2011)
• A Cheshire garden in summer (August 2010)
• A Cheshire Garden in July (July 2011) This one features as a large image on the Section Title Page of my new book 'Sketching 365'.
• The Winter Garden (December 2011)

If you're wondering about the size of the bird table it moves around depending on the season and weather. In the winter months it's always very close to the door into the garden so Mother can feed the birds easily.