Caer Caradoc Hill in Shropshire

At the end of September I spent a weekend with my extended family in Shropshire to celebrate the Australian contingent being in the country and my cousin's 40th wedding anniversary of "the best wedding ever" on 30th September 1972!

A house had been rented just outside All Stretton which had a wonderful view of the hills nearby.

Caer Caradoc Hill from The Oaks
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is my sketch of Caer Caradoc Hill which I did late Saturday afternoon after my cousin's husband had climbed to the top in the morning.

The hill is made of Pre-Cambrian rock (see page 3 of the link) and has a whaleback shape.  It's approximately 459 metres or 1500 feet above sea level. From the top you can look north to The Wrekin, a hill in east Shropshire, look east to Wenlock Edge, a limstone escarpment just outside Much Wenlock and south west to the Long Mynd situated a little way down the road just past Church Stretton.

On top of the hill are the remains of an Iron Age Hill Fort (see aerial view plus you can read more about the Iron Age in Shropshire).

The hill is associated with Battle of Caer Caradoc in 50 AD.  King Caractacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe who became King of the Britons between 43-50AD and led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. There are many legends associated with King Caractacus - also known as Caradoc - and one of them is that he made a last stand with his followers on this hill - which is now known as Caer Caradoc. He was defeated and Caractacus was taken, as a prisoner, to Rome.  There he pleaded for his life in front of the Emperor Claudius - and got drawn by nineteenth century artists for his efforts!

Urban Sketchers London SKETCHCRAWL in Greenwich tomorrow

Many of you will have seen Greenwich Park and some of the heritage and very historic buildings to be found in Royal Greenwich while watching the Olympics and Paralympics.

Tomorrow you can sketch them with Urban Sketchers London.  You are invited to join us in Greenwich for a day of sketching around and about.

This is a link to the Cutty Sark DLR Station where people will be meeting up.  Use the TfL Journey Planner to get to the station - and remember to make sure that the DLR option is enabled.

What to sketch in Greenwich

There are masses of places to sketch in Greenwich.  The problem is working out where to start and how much you can fit in on the day!

Below are details about some of the things you can see.  (Why not bookmark this post for tomorrow?)

• Links in the address are to a map of where this is located. The aerial view on the Royal Museums website for Greenwich gives an excellent view of the location of the different museums and what Greenwich has to offer.
• Links in the names of the places are to the website for that place

The Cutty Sark

• Address: Cutty Sark Clipper Ship, King William Walk, Greenwich, London SE10 9HT - 
• Opening hours: Monday–Sunday 10.00–17.00, last admission 16.00.  Note that entry to the ship is by time ticket only
• Did you know that you can now go on board and go beneath the vessel? The rehabilitation of this very famous tea clipper has resulted in vastly improved viewing facilities

The Royal Observatory 

• Address: Blackheath Ave, London SE10 8XJ
• Transport: road | tube & rail | cycle | bus | river
• open daily between 10.00–17.00, last admission 16.30 
• This is at right at the top of the hill in Greenwich Park.  This is also.....
• ... the home of the Prime Meridian aka the Greenwich Meridian

Greenwich Park

• this was used for the equestrian events in the Olympics.  
• There's a stunning view of London from the hill.   
• You can download a detailed map of the Park
• Public access to Greenwich Park this summer is the official statement about which parts of the Park will have been reopened by 15th September. 
• From 14 September the areas of the park which will not be immediately accessible to the public include area in front and to the west of the Queen's Field and an area behind The Children's Playground, near Maze Hill Gate.
• Public vehicles will be permitted in the park from 14 September with vehicle access to Blackheath Avenue and parking possible from this date.

The National Maritime Museum

• Address: Park Row, Greenwich London SE10 9NF Located at the bottom of the hill and south of Romney Road.
• Transport: road | tube & rail | cycle | bus | river
• open daily between 10.00–17.00, last admission 16.30 
• 
  

The Old Royal Naval College 

• This is a site map
• Painted Hall - a good place to go if it's wet - but always worth seeing whatever the weather.
• this provides the classic Canaletto view - but you have to go north of the river to see this! (Or to my blog post - A Canaletto View).  This is not impossible as you can use the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to walk under the Thames.  I've not done this for years but my recollection is that this is only for those who like steps.  To check the current status of the foot tunnel, you can call 020 8921 8334 during office hours or 020 8854 8888 after hours. However the website says this 

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is now accessible on both sides by stairs and lift 24 hours a day. The stairs in the Greenwich tunnel may need to be closed on a short-term basis during parts of the works, but the lifts will remain open.

A Canaletto View (2nd June 2007)
(the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich from Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs)
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencil in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The Queen's House is closed until 22 September.

Greenwich Market provides lots of opportunities for sketching for those who like markets - but can get a bit crowded

Views of the River Thames - from the walkway next to the Thames.

• The Trafalgar Tavern provides a good place to view the Thames or a place to be sketched!

NOTE:  This is the Meetup page for this Sketchcrawl.  You can register if you intend to come on this Sketchcrawl

View from the Chartwell swimming pool

On Sunday we went to Sir Winston Churchill's home at Chartwell and I did a sketch I've been meaning to do for some time.

It's of Sir Winston Churchill's swimming pool - and the pool and wood beyond.  I gather Sir Winston was rather fond of damning and channeling water to create streams and pools.  I certainly did this one listening to the water running down the hillside beside me

View from Chartwell Swimming Pool
11" x 16" pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The view from Standen

Standen is a Arts and Crafts National Trust property in Sussex with interiors influenced by architect Phillip Webb and designer William Morris.  It's immaculate.

We visited when thwarted by the M25 gridlock from getting to where we planned to go and we looked around for another place to visit instead.  We were very pleasantly surprised by our choice and plan to go back again soon!

This is the view from the long grass terrace which overlooks the view down to the High Weald and the Weir Wood Reservoir (the light blue strip in the middle).

The view from the long terrace at Standen
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

If you'd like to see some of the Arts and Crafts gems which are inside the house you can browse the database for the collection online - highlights from the Standen Collection - then click the link on the page to see more

Vita Sackville West's Tower at Sissinghurst Castle Garden

We went to Sissinghurst Castle Garden last month and I had a second attempt at sketching the tower where Vita Sackville West used to write her novels and gardening columns.  I love it!

Vita Sackville West's Tower at Sissinghurst Castle Garden
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 14"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Here's my photo of the sketch at the point at which I was umming and aahing about adding in garden to the right - which in the end I decided to do as the sun came out!

Time out to have an internal debate as to whether to use two pages!

My second sketch was actually done first - and while we had eat our sandwiches and completed the crossword of "he who must not be bored".  I'm allowed to have a go at the clues he can't get!

In front is the great grass lawn which we had learned earlier this year actually covers the remains of the French soldiers who were buried there when the Castle was used as a prisoner of war camp during the Seven Years' War.

The main challenge with this one was not so much the drawing as the very dark values which inevitably had to be worked on when I got home.  It takes time to get a good intense dark! Here's where I got to on site

I then spent a very long time when I got home developing the intense dark greens which you get when looking at a big tree on a sunny day.  There is a huge amount of crimson in that tree!  It's started to make me think about developing some swatches for tree colours which I can carry round with me when drawing trees.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden - The Front from the former French Graveyard
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Sissinghurst is a wondeful garden to visit between March and October - it changes all the time and the compartment gardens are always fascinating.  If you'd like to know more about the garden check out Sissinghurst Castle Garden - a great garden

The Leaning Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

It wasn't until I got home that I realised that I'd drawn that well known new tourist attraction The Leaning Dome of St Paul's Cathedral while sketching the spectacular views from the roof terrace of One New Change on Friday.

The "Leaning" Dome of St Paul's Cathedral
11" x 8", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I really should learn to repeatedly check my verticals because I know I've got a tendency to lean one way when it comes to verticals!

I used to draw the interior of St Paul's Cathedral and always started by drawing a vertical line right down the centre of my page so I could keep track of the verticals as I looked up and down!

See my website for more drawings of the interior of St Paul's and the view of St Paul's from the South Bank of the River Thames

Audley End

We visited Audley End near Saffron Walden in Essex in early July.  It used to be the home of Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII in the mid 16th century

Tea garden at Audley End
11 x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I spent most of the time on a 'full on' sketch of the house which I haven't finished and which I'm not posting here as I'd like to try and finish it first.

Here instead are a quickie sketch (after the one that's not being shown) of the bridge in the garden and another of the tea garden with the house in the background (see top).

The bridge over the River pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The house is an amazing Jacobean Mansion on the site of a much bigger Tudor mansion. (More about the house) which in turn was located on the site of a Benedictine monastery.

Apart from the grandeur of the main house, it's a house to visit if you enjoy looking at the kitchen, laundry etc as it has a particularly good services wing (More about the Services Wing in the 1880s) and stable yard (More about the stable yard) which has been described as the the "grandest surviving stables of the early 17th century"

I particularly enjoyed the walk around the gardens and the visit to the walled kitchen garden.

Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/audley-end-house-and-gardens/
TwitterL https://twitter.com/EHaudleyend
Opening Times and Directions

Chiswick House - and a "lost" phone

Tree at Chiswick House
11.5" x 8", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook

© Katherine Tyrrell

Last Friday was one of those fine mizzle days (being the product of mist and drizzle) - as if somebody is spraying you with a fine wet mist.  Which is not much good for sitting outside and sketching because the paper gets wet and then the surface changes and the drawing tools don't work.

However I sat under cover at the Cafe in the grounds of Chiswick House and sketched the tree next to Chiswick House with the drawings of Caspar David Friedrich in mind. I have a wonderful book  - Caspar David Friedrich: The Art of Drawing - in which he draws (and paints) lots of trees and other motifs within the landscape.)

This was the sketch I was doing when my mobile phone slipped out of my pocket.  (It now looks like I might get it back next week.........fingers crossed!)

It's of the Italian Garden which is a Parterre garden with a the large Araucaria araucana (Monkey Puzzle tree) at one end, swags marking the boundaries and Bay Trees clipped to form balls.

Italian Garden at Chiswick House
8" x 10" pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in small Moleskine Sketchbook
© Katherine Tyrrell

Italian Garden
This semi-circular garden, bordered with evergreens, with geometric flower beds cut in grass was designed by Lewis Kennedy and laid out in 1812 for the 6th Duke of Devonshire. It became an example of the massed bedding system and 19th century experiments into colour theory. The garden has been beautifully restored and provides an elegant setting to the 6th Duke’s Conservatory.

Italian Garden Parterre

The Gardens are particularly relevant to artists because of their history in relation to the Landscape Movement and to New Yorkers in particular.  Read more about the history

But there is more to Chiswick House Gardens than mere beauty. This is also the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and the inspiration for great gardens from Blenheim Palace to New York’s Central Park.Originally created by Lord Burlington and William Kent in 1729, the garden was inspired by the sights of the Grand Tour and romance of classical Italian landscape painting; it was conceived as a single, living artwork.About the Gardens

I know I'll be going back to Chiswick:

• (hopefully) next week - to pick up my phone
• next February - to see the wonderful collection of Camellias in the Glass Conservatory.  They must be absolutely amazing then in full bloom.

The property is maintained by English Heritage.  You can download documents relating to Chiswick House Gardens

Site Plan for Visitors
A downloadable map and site plan showing some of the main features around Chiswick House Gardens
 pdf (2,201.89kb)

Map of Chiswick House Gardens
A visitor map of Chiswick House and Gardens
 jpg (1,147.21kb)

Chiswick House Gardens
Description and map for a 1.5mile walk around Chiswick House Gardens
 pdf (481.48kb)

National Gallery - drawing children drawing art

Constable and the National Gallery Children - Room 34
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Yesterday I met up with Jackie Simmonds (Jackie Simmonds Artyfacts) at the National Gallery.  We were going to have a chat about a few things over lunch at the National Dining Rooms so I suggested we meet up in the morning to sketch in the galleries.

Room 34 is always a favourite - because it has the best British paintings with the most comfy seats!  (see floorplan of the National Gallery / Level 2).  I've sketched there before more than once

Just after 10am when the Gallery opens, the rooms are more or less deserted - with a few art fans wandering around.  Then the small children arrive!

It seems to be a requirement that they must all have a very bright sweater on unless they are incredibly well behaved.  They split into small groups and then learn about a painting and/or draw it.

At the top of this post a teacher is explaining to her group about Constable's painting of Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows

Below a group of children are deep in concentration drawing a painting by Turner.  They are, of course, all moving all the time as well.........

Can you guess what the painting by Turner is before you click the link?  I've only given you a little clue........

Now draw this Turner painting....
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The Fighting Temeraire Class
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

These were a group of very behaved young ladies in school uniform - who were all great at putting up their hands in response to questions related to The Fighting Temeraire by Turner. (Teacher's Notes)

I can highly recommend art galleries for practising quickie sketches of people.  Nobody stays still for too long and you haven't got a chance of ever catching a likeness.  However it does make you look at what makes a good group composition.

Other blog posts about sketching - paintings and people - in the National Gallery include:

• Drawing Monet
• Drawings from the National Gallery
• Drawing Heads - Velaquez and the Prince's Drawing School
• Activities in London Galleries and Museums
• A 'Day to Draw' at the National Gallery
• Sketching at the National Gallery: "Manet to Picasso"
• Renaissance Faces - in my sketchbook
• Looking at the Turners in the National Gallery
• Canaletto & His Rivals at the National Gallery

Links:

• Room 34, National Gallery
• J.M.W. Turner - Resources for Art Lovers
• Top 10 Art Galleries and Museums
• The Top Ten Museums in London

The Bird Topiary at Great Dixter

The Bird Topiary at Great Dixter
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

One of our Indian Summer Jaunts at the end of September was down to Great Dixter in East Sussex to see the garden in late summer.

We let the satnav do the navigation and ended up having a delightful journey across Kent and East Sussex which I'd never have done if trying to read a map (The other half isn't wonderful at reading maps so we've always taken main road routes hiterto).

We got there at lunchtime and sat and had our sandwiches while sat in the Sunk Garden next to the Barns.  Then took a leisurely trip round the garden to see what had changed before I started the sketch at the top of the post.

The original plan had been to sketch the topiary birds in my Moleskine A4 sketchbook to see how they worked and then sketch them again for "A Postcard from my Walk".

The sun had other ideas!

This was on the 28th September and it was very hot in East Sussex with a clear summer blue sky with absolutely no clouds.  Even the sunlover aka he who must not be bored while I sketch couldn't cope with sitting in the sun for longer than 20 minutes as it was just too hot!  (The BBC ran a slideshow the next day In pictures: Autumn Heatwave of what people had been getting up the previous day during the Indian Summer and the Guardian was writing about how retailers were having to switch back to summer mode)

So my sketch for the postcard had to be done at home based on my sketch in the garden - which in turn also had to be finished off at home re the dark tones at home as it takes forever to get the right dark green.  The trick is to do a bit in the garden and then know how much more needs to be the same colour to complete the sketch!

The Topiary Birds at Great Dixter

Here's the link to the post about the sketch on A Postcard from my Walk - Great Dixter, Sussex

The garden is now closed but opens again in April next year.  It's one of my favourite gardens and is definitely worth a visit if you are every in the area.

Links:

• Great Dixter - a great garden - information for those wanting to pay an actual or virtual visit
• Great Dixter - the website

Autumn Colour at Sheffield Park

Sheffield Park - 29th October 2011
pen and ink and coloured pencil, 11.5" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Following on from my last post about our visit to Sheffield Park at the end of September (see An Indian Summer (and ice lakes) at Sheffield Park), this is just a tiny sample of the Autumn Colour I saw at Sheffield Park when we visited again at the end of October.

I've never come across a National Trust property before which increases its charges to non-members for a specific period of time in the Autumn - but that's what happens at Sheffield Park.  "He who must not be bored while I sketch" noticed it on the sign so we were rather glad we'd just had him made up to the other half of a Joint Membership of the National Trust.

The garden is 120 acres (49 hectares) and has four lakes which means about a third of it is water.  In Autumn it becomes very specicial because it is, in effect, an arboretum - a collection of trees of both native species and ones from overseas.

In terms of history, the park was first laid out by Lancelot "Capability" Brown (1716-1783) in the 18th century and was subsequently remodelled by Humprey Repton (1752-1818).  There's little indication of they did although it seems likely that Brown cleared some trees and undergrowth to open up the landscape and Repton attended to the part of the garden which is nearest to the house.

‘Such is the power of vegetation at Sheffield Place, that every berry soon becomes a bush, and every bush a tree.’Humprey Repton

The first Earl of Sheffield was responsible for the balustraded bridge (1882), the cascade and the Middle Lake. He also started the arboretum.

A gentleman called Arthur Gilstrap Soames (1854-1934) acequired the house in 1910 and was responsible for introduction of the vibrant colour in the garden - and all the visitors!

He planted trees which were North American in origin, such as the Tupelo Gum and Scarlet American Oak which contribute signiifcantly to the autumn colour.  Other trees which he also planted in abundance included Conifers, cypresses and Japanese maples - with the acers also contributing very significantly to the autumn colour.

Clumps of lakeside rhododendrons were planted next to the lakes - and were a favourite of Virginia Woolf - and beds of autumn gentians can be found in the garden.

Certainly it's a very fine place to see and to paint in Autumn - particularly given the reflections of the colours of the trees in the water of the lakes. The photographers are also rather keen on it. I think I saw more heavy duty expensive cameras with huge lenses on our visit than I've seen for a very long time.

This sketch was done from the north eastern edge of the top lake - looking across the lake.

Arboretums are certainly a great place to paint and draw landscapes in Autumn - if they have the right type of trees!

Links:

• National Trust - Sheffield Park Garden
• article - Autumn Beauty

An Indian Summer (and ice lakes) at Sheffield Park

At the end of September and beginning of October we raced around the south east of Britain visiting gardens during the wonderful warm temperatures, sunshine and blue skies of an Indian Summer.  One of the places we visited was Sheffield Park.

Indian Summer at Sheffield Park
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils - 11.5" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The visit on 30th September was memorable for the number of chaps wandering around in long shorts.  It was a ratio of about 3:1 - and a lot of them weren't youngsters.  Which is how I came to persuade "he who must not be bored while I sketch" that maybe adding some long shorts to his summer wardrobe wouldn't be such a bad idea! :)

He also declared Sheffield Park Gardens to be one of his favourite places.  The lack of children shouting and screaming on a Friday afternoon being a major bonus!

I think he'd forgotten that the last time we went to Sheffield Park Gardens was to celebrate his birthday in the midst of winter - when the lake was frozen and there was virtually nobody there!  We had all our cold weather togs on at the time - quite a contrast to the hot days at the end of September (See Ice Lake at Sheffield Park)

We visited Sussex in January for a birthday treat and walked around the wonderful Sheffield Park gardens on a day when it was literally freezing! This was the view of the ice lake which had formed - looking back towards the house

Ice Lake at Sheffield Park
Coloured Pencil 20cm x 30cm
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Both views were done from exactly the same place - at the end of the second lake (I forget its name) with the view of the Ice lake being more towards the house and the view at the top looking more towards the northeast side of the Lake. I had brilliant blue skies on both occasions but the temperature varied by 25+ degrees centigrade!

The view from Greenwich Park Hill

This Easter has been the warmest and sunniest for a very long time. So on Easter Monday we took ourselves off to Greenwich Park and sat on the hill, basked in the sunshine and looked at London.

Easter Monday - The view from Greenwich Park Hill
11" x 16", pencil and coloured pencils in Folio Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

We have a rule which states we never ever get in a car and drive out of London on a bank holiday - especially if it's sunny.  The queues of traffic trying to get back into London in the evening can be horrendous.

So we did the next best thing.  We drove down to the bottom of the Isle of Dogs, admired the Canaletto view of the Old Royal Naval College from Island Gardens and then caught the Docklands Light Railway through to the other side of the River and emerged next to the huge renovation scheme which is the Cutty Sark (it was the victim of a fire - and according to the website will reopen in 2012).

Painted Hall

James Thornhill

We then walked through the ground of the Old Royal Naval College - now the University of Greenwich - a central location within the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We paid a visit to the Painted Hall and admired the paintings commissioned by James Thornhill
 (seen on the right in one of the paintings - with his paint brushes and palette). 

Thornhill started his commission in1708 and did not finish until 19 years later in 1728!  What's remarkable about the Hall is it he used a lot of trompe l'oeil to achieve the effect of sculpture.

This Hall - just in front of this painting - was also where Lord Nelson's body lay in state for three days following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.  30,000 people came to pay their respects before the coffin was moved up the river by barge for the funeral at St Paul's Cathedral.

Having had our history lesson for the day, we then walked across the road and entered the park and walked up the hill until we found somewhere high enough up and reasonably flat where I could sketch.

The main purpose of this expedition was to try out the new portable chairs I'd bought.  In the event I found out that they set up and fold up easily, go in a bad which is easy to carry and are exceptionally comfortable to sit for sketching purposes when the ground is not completely flat!  (Review to follow on Making A Mark Reviews).  Which means they'll be going to Provence!

The sketch shows the view while sat a smidgen to the east of the Greenwich Meridian, just below the Royal Observatory - the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

I'd been watching the excellent documentary on LS Lowry the night before and decided I had to have a go at some matchstick men as here were an enormous number of people in the park sunbathing and enjoying picnics and games.  I discovered matchstick men are not as easy as they look!  I've included nowhere near as many people as were actually there!

I also discovered on the way home that the way to climb hills with my dreadful foot - which is still causing problems - is to walk up backwards.  I looked very silly but it was a lot less painful and a lot faster!

Next time I must remember to sit nearer the top of the hill!

Then home via Waterstones, where I found three new art books to buy(!), and the DLR.

My postcard from my walk

Butterflies in the Natural History Museum
7" x 5" pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This was the sketch I couldn't post.  It had been physically posted to California and was due to make its first appearance on the new blog I'm participating in with my Sketchercise pals - A Postcard from my Walk.  

It was published last Sunday - see Postcard from Katherine Tyrrell, London

The postcard is of the butterflies which you can see at the very top of the new Darwin Centre Cocoon in the Natural History Museum  - just outside the lift.  There were lots of different specimens and all I had to do was work out an arrangement which seemed to satisfy my eye.  Let me know if it satisfies yours! :)

A Postcard from my Walk

A Postcard from my Walk records a monthly postal exchange of sketches on postcards between 14 members of the Sketchercise group over the course of 14 months - until every person has sent a postcard to every other person.  The aim is that we produce a postcard while taking exercise - and then, rather than posting it online on out blogs, we post it in the letterbox!

The idea was the brainchild of my friend Ronell van Wyk who lives just outside Tours and right next to the River Loire in France.  She had us all organised and raring to go in no time at all!

Many postcards are travelling many miles before they reach their destination as we live all over the world - as you can see below!

• Albrecht Rissler - Germany
• Alison Staite - England
• Bridget Hunter - Scotland
• Cathy Gatland - South Africa
• Charlene Brown - Canada
• Desiree Dianne Habicht - USA
• Felicity Grace - Switzerland
• Katherine Tyrrell - England
• Liz Steel - Australia
• Martin Stankewitz - Germany
• Pat Reese - USA
• Robyn Sinclair - Italy
• Ronell van Wyk - France
• Vivien Blackburn - England

Over the coming months we'll all be posting about how we are all addressing the issue of creating a sketch on a postcard, what that means for us in terms of adjusting to a different scale and how we're managing to wangle our favourite media into a postcard sized support.  Albrecht is an old hand at mail art projects and will doubtless be able to provide expert advice. 

I'm about to embark on experiments with mountboard!  Plus I'm thinking about trying out Daniel Smith's watercolour ground and seeing how that works with the media I use.  I'll be posting about how I get on in future posts.

The new Darwin Centre Cocoon at the Natural History Museum

The landmark Darwin Centre is now open to the public. Museum visitors can explore world-class science in action in a dramatic new public space.

The Darwin Centre is a state-of-the-art science and collections facility. The building is the most significant expansion at the Museum since it moved to South Kensington in 1881.

Natural History Museum - Visiting the Darwin Centre

Irrespective of what it contains, the new Cocoon - where I sketched my butterflies from specimens on display - is worth visiting just for its stunning architecture.  See architectural highlights here.

I spent a long time with my head tilted upward staring at its shape and wondering how they built it - and what on earth it was like inside.

This page on the website explains what's inside the Cocoon.

In reality visitors only see a part of the inside - as the pathway winds down a slope past various exhibitions. It was fascinating to have windows which let you watch real people doing real things to real specimens!  I have to tell you Macs seem to rule at the Natural history Museum!

There's lots of emphasis on technology and the Interactive Experience and being part of the whole process.  I have to confess my first attempt at packing for an expedition in a rain forest was pretty useless but I tried again and got much better at it.  It also taught me a lot about what the naturalists use to preserve specimens these days - which was fascinating given my interest in botanical art.

Original botanical specimens - as seen in the Cocoon, Natural History Museum
(note the butterfly)

My one piece of advice is be very careful as you approach the window on your left as you get out of the lift.  Even if you don't suffer from vertigo. the extent of the sheer drop on the other side of the window will make you go weak at the knees!

and finally......

Today this blog is featured in the Daily Universal Register page of The Times newspaper!

See what the Times has to say about me and my sketches!

I'll do a proper post about this later.

Links:

• Sketching the Dodo at the Natural History Museum 
• Making A Mark - Natural History Museum - new "Images of Nature" Gallery

Looking at the Turners in the National Gallery

Looking at the Turners
11" x 17", pencil and coloured pencils in large Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is a sketch I did on Friday evening while sat in Room 34 in the National Gallery - which comprises British paintings completed between 1750-1850

The sketch is of people looking at the paintings by JMW Turner - plus a couple of guards who are looking after the paintings in this very large room.  They include:

• Calais Pier (on the end wall)
• The Fighting Temeraire (nearest on left)

Turner was of course born a very short distance away in Maiden Lane.  This is inbetween Covent Garden Piazza (where I sketched in the morning - see previous post) and the Strand.

Turner was born near Covent Garden in London and entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1789. His earliest works form part of the 18th-century topographical tradition. He was soon inspired by 17th-century Dutch artists such as Willem van der Velde, and by the Italianate landscapes of Claude and Richard Wilson.

He exhibited watercolours at the Royal Academy from 1790, and oils from 1796. In 1840 he met the critic John Ruskin, who became the great champion of his work.
Turner became interested in contemporary technology, as can be seen from 'The Fighting Temeraire' and 'Rain, Steam and Speed'. At the time his free, expressive treatment of these subjects was criticised, but it is now widely appreciated.

The bulk of his work - which was bequeathed to the nation on his death - is looked after by Tate Britain.  However a few of the most famous paintings hang in the National Gallery - and this room forms part of my high speed tour of the National Gallery for visitors to London.

Room 34 also contains paintings by John Constable, Gainsborough and Reynolds.  Click the link to read more about it.

Links:

• J.M.W. Turner - Resources for Art Lovers
• Room 34, National Gallery  
• The Top Ten Museums and Art Galleries in London

Liz Steel and Borromini at Kew Palace

This is a long overdue post about meeting up with Liz Steel (Liz and Borromini) and Alison Staite (Art Journey) at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in September.  Of course Borrowmini - as you can see below - was also there as well.

Liz and I sketched Kew Palace while Alison took photos!

Borromini inspects Liz's watercolour sketch of Kew Palace
photo by Katherine Tyrrell

Here's my sketch of Kew Palace

Kew Palace
11 x 17", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Large Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

We talked non-stop from when Liz arrived, all through the visit to the Waterlily House, all through the sketching, through our very late lunch in the Orangerie and didn't stop until I had to leave to go and get ready for the Threadneedle Dinner that evening.

Well if somebody is only over from Australia once in a while you don't want to waste any time!

Here's an action shot of Liz sketching lunch - see the crockery and the sketch in the same shot!  I loved her sweatband/brush wiper - that's a new one on me.

Liz sketches lunch - note the neat brush wiper!

I do so enjoy meeting up with people I've got to know online.  So often they are exactly as I expect them to be.  It was great meeting up and I hope we get to do it again sometime.  Maybe next time in Australia!

Kew Palace

Kew Palace is looked after by the Historic Royal Palaces Trust.  It was reopened to the public not that long ago after a very long and throrough restoration which took some 10 years.

Kew Palace is the oldest building at Kew Gardens and used to be known as the Dutch House.   It was used royal monarchs and their family between 1728 and 1898.

• Queen Caroline leased several parcels of land and buildings in the hamlet of Kew which included Kew Palace while her husband King George II worked on extending Richmond Gardens.
• Their son's wife Princess Augusta established the botanic gardens at Kew
• Her son, King George III lived in various properties at Kew.  He bought Kew Palace in 1781 as a family home. 
• In 1818, Kew Palace was closed after the death of George III's widow, Queen Charlotte
• In December 1896, Queen Victoria agreed to Kew's acquisition of the Palace, providing there was no alteration to the room in which Queen Charlotte died. 
• In 1898, the Kew's Department of Works acquired the Palace and it was opened to the public.

At the rear is the Queen's Garden.  This has been developed in the style of a seventeenth century garden and has only plants associated with the period.

Link: 

• The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
• Kew Gardens - Kew Palace

The Victoria Tower from College Garden

Victoria Tower, Palace of Westminster - from College Garden
pen and ink and coloured pencils, 11.5" x 8"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is a sketch of the Victoria Tower which is part of the Palace of Westminster.  It's the big square stone tower, 98.5 metres/323 feet tall, at the southern (opposite) end from Big Ben. The Union Flag flies on the top when Parliament is in session and inside they keep all the Parliamentary archives.

I recently went sketching in College Garden which is part of the precincts of Westminster Abbey with my Draw London Group.  This is a view which you don't often see of the Victoria Tower and is from the inside of College Garden immediately west of the Tower

Most UK readers will be familiar with watching parliamentary reports on television from TV correspondents interviewing MPs standing on College Green which is just the other side of the medieval wall at the far side of the garden inbetween the Garden and the Tower.

College Garden used to be the infirmary garden of the monastery adjoing Westminster Abbey, and it is said to be the oldest garden in England under continuous cultivation.

Ahem....the Victoria Tower is not falling over. I made the fatal mistake of not checking my verticals when I started to draw and I have a distinct tendency to get leaning structures if I don't do this!

Lunch at the Academy Restaurant at the RA

After the Press View for Sargent and the Sea, which opens today at the Royal Academy of Arts (see my review Sargent and the Beach on Making A Mark), I went for lunch in the Academy Restaurant on the ground floor of the RA.

 Lunch in the Academy Restaurant at the RA

pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils, 8.5" x 11.5"

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Of course I drew the inevitable sketch of people talking over a meal to add to my collection of similar sketches - see:

• the list of blog posts in Interior landscapes with food - a Sketchbook and 
• the sketches themselves in the Interior Landscapes Gallery on my portfolio website. 

The Academy Restaurant has some rather wonderful murals and some recent restoration work now illuminates them much better than I've ever seen them before

Academy restaurant
Designed by Norman Shaw in 1885 and recently renovated by London-based architects MUMA. The Academy Restaurant is an ideal setting for art lovers to relax and enjoy a delicious buffet menu amid celebrated murals by Fred Appleyard, Harold Speed, Gilbert Spencer and Leonard Rosoman. The Murals have been illuminated for the first time, fulfilling the original intentions of the artists.
Royal Academy of Arts - Restaurant and Café

I've uploaded some photos of the murals to Flickr and you can see a slideshow of the Academy Restaurant Murals here.

3 Robert Street

 3 Robert Street, London

11.5" x 17", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Large Moleskine Sketchbook

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

 

This is the building from which I drew the River Thames - see Storm clouds over Westminster.  I was in the room on the fourth floor (in the roof) on the left hand side.  This used to be JM Barrie's sitting room and study and which has a magnificent view of the Thames.

3 Robert Street is an original part of the Adelphi Terrace development designed and built between 1768 & 1774 on the banks of the Thames by the Adams Brothers led by Robert Adam.  Robert Street is in fact named after Robert Adam.  It's a listed building - and one I used to work in around about 20 years ago.

When designing the Adelphi, Robert Adam was reputedly influenced by a visit he made to the ruins of the palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia.  The link is to a digitzed version of the book he compiled as a result. 

I had been trying to get all four floors plus a bit of pavement in - but ran out of space so the ground floor has been chopped off.  I find it much more difficult when having to look up at a building (and down and up and down and up) to judge distances!  Somehow it's a lot easier when you're looking straight ahead!

The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square

The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square - just before the lights were switched on
10" x 8" pencil in Moleskine
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Last night, at around 6 o'clock, I was stood on one of the grass platforms outside the National Gallery sketching the scene in Trafalgar Square in the dark! I could barely see to write annotations never mind draw!

The lights on the 80 year old spruce tree in Trafalgar Square, which is sent each year as a present by the people of Norway, were due to be switched on by the Mayor of Oslo.

My sketch is of the crowd and Trafalgar Square in the darkness while the huge crowds waited for the choristers and the Mayors of Westminster and Oslo to arrive.

It was certainly a very nice ceremony when it started spoilt only by a very silly police car which had its siren blaring the whole time the Mayor was speaking.

The article on wikipedia about the The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square explains the history of the annual gift which has taken place each year since 1947.

I think all the London Mayors get invited to the lights ceremony. I draw this conclusion because I was very tempted as I left the Square to take photographs of the huge numbers of mayoral cars which were double parked on the double yellow lines on Duncannon Street. Of course if you've been invited by the Mayor of Westminster I guess it comes with some sort of dispensation on parking!