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 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?).

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!

An invitation to a Private View and a Sketchcrawl

Next Thursday evening, the Private View for the third exhibition of drawings by Urban Sketchers London takes place at Timberyard's Old Street branch on the evening of Thursday 10 April.

All those fellow sketchers who know me and can get to it are invited! I'll be there on the night sketchbook in hand! Leave a comment below if the date fits your diary (sorry for the short notice!)

Timberyard, 61-67 Old Street, London EC1V 9HW

Drawings by (top) Katherine Tyrrell
(bottom Jhih-Ren Shih

In addition to an opportunity to meet the artists - and maybe sketch with them - there will be live jazz from students at the nearby Guildhall School of Music.

The work of the six artists, Thomas Corrie, James Hobbs, Isabelle Laliberté, Jhih-Ren Shih, Katherine Tyrrell and Zhenia Vasiliev, ranges across everything that makes London the beautiful city it is: architecture, parks, its inhabitants, its iconic views and the forgotten and often overlooked corners of the city that stopping to draw can often bring into focus. The exhibits range in styles and approaches, but are all drawn from observation.

"Drawing in a sketchbook makes you slow down and look at your surroundings in a more reflective and inquiring way," says James Hobbs, an advisory board member of Urban Sketchers and the author of the newly published book Sketch Your World. "And cafes like Timberyard are popular places to relax, draw and share those images through social media."

Thomas Corrie and his friend relax
after hanging his artwork

Exhibitors include:

• Architects Thomas Corrie and Isabelle Laliberté
• James Hobbs, freelance editor and author of Sketch Your World
• Katherine Tyrrell, who has a book about drawing published later this year
• Digital designer Zhenia Vasiliev
• Graphic designer Jhih-Ren Shih

Private View: 10th April 2014 (evening) at Timberyard www.timberyardlondon.com

61-67 Old Street, London EC1V 9HW

Exhibition: The show continues until 30 June and follows the second exhibition by different members of London's Urban Sketchers at the Seven Dials brand of Timberyard branch earlier this year. 

See the video taken during the hanging of the exhibition.

Sketchcrawl (date to be announced): There's also going to be a Sketchcrawl - using Timberyards as a base - in the near future but we've still to agree a date! Everyone is welcome to the event – the date is to be announced on social media shortly. The cafe will be the starting point for a planned sketchcrawl – a relaxed gathering of artists of all backgrounds, ages and abilities – that will work its way, around Old Street and the Barbican, stopping to draw on the way.

Urban Sketchers London: The group is part of a growing worldwide community of blogging artists – www.urbansketchers.org – who draw on location in and around the cities and towns where they live and visit. For more information about the show and London's Urban Sketchers visit urbansketchers-london.blogspot.com or follow @urbsketchlondon on Twitter

Urban Sketchers: Urban Sketchers was started by the Seattle-based reportage artist Gabriel Campanario in 2007, and now has regional blogs in more than 30 cities, an annual symposium and more than 32,000 Facebook followers, and it raises funds for artists grants and scholarships.

Urban Sketchers London - new exhibition at Timberyard (Old Street)

Urban Sketchers London has a new exhibition - its third - at Timberyard (Old Street) which is one of those very trendy coffee shops with great food and even better coffee.

Thomas Corrie, Isabelle Laliberté, James Hobbs and Jhih-Ren Shih

The six members of Urban Sketchers London who made the trek to Clerkenwell this morning to hang their sketches are:

• James Hobbs - author of Sketch Your World
• Thomas Corrie
• Isabelle Laliberté
• Zhenia Vasiliev
• Jhih-Ren Shih
• and me!

Most of the sketches have been hung in the basement. They're a great range of styles - as you can see from the video (below) and include those of three people who will be featuring in my new book about drawing and sketching! I've included short profiles of them below - with some photos which are looking awful because I adjusted a setting - and forgot to change it back!



There's going to be a private view sometime very soon for those in London who follow my sketches and those of other urban sketchers - I'll let you know the date as soon as it's confirmed.

In the meantime here's my pics of some of the work

Thomas Corrie produces some stunning pen and ink drawings of architectural features which take his fancy.

I am an architect and I draw to help me see and understand buildings and cities. Every year I take part in 28 Drawings Later, a challenge to draw something for every day in February. To keep focused I decided to use entrances as a theme for my sketches and I travelled to every location on my bicycle, usually in the morning before starting work. I sought out places I had not previously visited as well as going to some familiar sights.

Thomas Corrie with his drawings produced using pigment ink liners in a 200mm sketchbook

Jhih-Ren Shih (a.k.a. Lion Ren on Flickr) is an MA student from Wimbledon College of Art who had a very nifty app on his iPhone for testing out whether he had got his frames level!

I started sketching around five years ago. I saw a book talk about the urban sketch that evokes me to depicting my daily life. As a foreigner from Taiwan, I’m very exciting when I came to London, the exotic atmosphere intrigue me to drawing more and more sketches here. I like to explore to city with my sketches, especially when I found some scenes interesting or special. It not only just record my daily life in UK, also help me to communicate with the places I been to. 

Works by Isabelle Laliberté

Isabelle is an architect.

I have always drawn and painted a little, but joining Urban Sketchers in 2008 really freed my practice.  Sketching allows me to have richer memories of my travels.  Unlike a photograph, which is done in an instant, a sketch allows me to absorb more 'meta-data': the weather, the sounds, the smells, the light and the people are all embedded into a sketch.  As an architect, I have a natural tendency to draw the built environment - not only do I love buildings, but they tend not to move around so much...

James Hobbs is the ex-Editor of Artists & Illustrators, the current Editor of Discover Art and the author or Sketch Your World - which has now been published in the UK, USA and Asia.

Drawing in a sketchbook can change your view of the world. I usually carry an A6 and A5 sketchbook around with me, along with a small selection of permanent marker pens. The urban landscape, particularly that of my adopted home of London, is for me an endlessly diverting and energising subject. I sometimes use these drawings to make colour digital prints, which I sell in limited editions. 

Zhenia Vasiliev and Naomi Hobbs were a fabulous support in hanging my work. (I fall over too easily these days!). Unfortunately my photograph of his work is too bad to show.

For me, as both a graphic designer and illustrator, artistic practice is about a process of thinking rather than producing a finished piece. I love to think about the visual appearance of things - and drawing helps me with this, so sketching is a big part of my profession

my sketches of Syon Vista and Syon Reach

Skating on the Natural History Museum Ice Rink

Sketch of the skaters and Christmas Tree on the Christmas Skating Rink at the Natural History Museum - complete with penguin stability aids for the little ones

Wishing all regular readers of Travels with a Sketchbook
a Merry Christmas 

and Happy Sketching in the New Year

Skaters at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 8" x 10"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've been saving these up since the beginning of the month when we visited the museums in south Kensington with London Urban Sketchers!

Christmas Skating Rink in front of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell 

Note the novice skaters clinging to the edge in the background.  The children had penguins to cling on to as they skated around - they seemed to work very well

Click this link for details of the skating rink at the Natural History Museum

Urban Sketchers London - Sketchcrawl #3 in South Kensington

Today's the day of the third Urban Sketchers London Sketchcrawl - and everybody is welcome!  

Details are on the flyer below.

• start in the Central Hall (the one with the skeleton of the dinosaur) of the Natural History Museum at 11.00am
• finish inside at the Victoria & Albert Museum at 4.30pm (when it will be dark outside)

There are also opportunities to draw skaters on the ice rink outside the Natural History Museum - and below is the sketch I did last time I visited and sketched in Winter!

The nearest tube is South Kensington (Circle, District and Piccadilly Lines) which is right opposite both museums.  Couldn't be easier! (This is the map of the planned closures on the Underground this weekend)

PS If you're planning on sketching outside bring your thermals - it's cold!

Greenwich Park Panorama

This is my very big sketch of the panoramic view from the top of the hill in Greenwich Park on the day of the Urban Sketchers had their 2nd Sketchcrawl.

The panoramic view from the top of the hill in Greenwich Park
- complete with Equestrian Arena for the Olympics 2012
pen and ink and coloured pencils,
11" x 48" (3 double page spreads in Moleskine Sketchboook)
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

It was sketched in three double page spreads.  I'll start unpicking the panorama tomorrow and then  I can show you the constituent parts!  It includes:

• the Shard, St Paul's Cathedral and the City of London
• Canary Wharf, the Old Royal Naval College and the Equestrian Event Arena used for the Olympics and Paralympics
• the O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome)

For the record I was also sat about 30 feet east of the Prime Meridian ie 0 degrees longitude!

I got it all drawn out while I was there and most of the colour down.  However as always it takes a little longer to get the dark values reinforced which I've been picking away at last week when i had a moment.

I only saw this for the first time myself about 10 minutes ago!  Up to now I've been hoping three double page spreads would join up!

I'm thinking I maybe need to return with a roll of drawing paper so I can draw the landscape the way they used to be drawn in the past.

"Let's Draw London" Sketchcrawl is TODAY 26th May 2012

We have delayed the Urban Sketchers London first sketchcrawl until Pete Scully - our North London blogger pal who now lives in California could join us.

Today we'll be sketching the area around Temple and Fleet Street.  Which means I'll be at Temple Underground station at 10:30am this morning!  Sketches and report back later.  You can read more about the Sketchcrawl in Reminder: Let's Draw London Sketchcrawl this Saturday on our Urban Sketchers blog.

PS Here's some photos by Barry of our Book Launch as Cass Art last Saturday - Launch of the Art of Urban Sketching in London

London Launch of The Art of Urban Sketching - Cass Arts Islington

You are invited to the London Launch of The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Around The World which contains work by London based correspondents.

'll be with my fellow founder members of Urban Sketchers London at Cass Arts Islington on the afternoon of Saturday 19th May for an event to celebrate the launch.

Cass Arts Islington

WHAT:  An afternoon of demonstrations of how we sketch and what we use for sketching.  We'll also be encouraging you to sketch and answering your questions.  Cass Arts has created a Facebook event page for the book launch - see The Art of Urban Sketching Book Launch

WHO: The founder members of London Urban Sketchers are listed below with the demonstrator for each timeslot listed first

• 12.30 Zhenia Vasiliev Zhenia Vasiliev and me 
• 1.30 Adebanji Alade Adebanji Alade, My Art My Passion for Sketching and Zhenia
• 2.30 myself - Katherine Tyrrell Travels with a Sketchbook and Adebanji
• 3.30 Olha Pryymak Olha Pryymak and James
• 4.30 James Hobbs Hobbs blog and Barry
• Barry Jackson Prof Shorthair will be around all afternoon

WHEN: Saturday 19th May 2012 - 12.30pm - 5.30pm

WHERE:  Cass Art Islington, 66-67 Colebrooke Row, London N1 8AB Click the link for a map of where this flagship art store is located.

• Nearest Tube station:  Highbury Islington
• Nearest Train Station:  Essex Road (North London Line)
• Buses: Put "Colebrooke Row Borough of Islington, N1" into the TfL bus maps and it will identify all the buses that run near to Cass Arts.  The click the number of the bus to see the route and the bus stops. I'll be on the 205!
• These are the links to:
  
  • the Transport for London map of the Planned weekend Tube closures for the weekend 19/20 May 2012.  This is the link to the Transport for London pdf file which shows the service disruptions this weekend.
  • Use the Journey Planner on the TfL website to work out the best route to the store on Saturday afternoon.

A very popular book!

We intended to have this launch to coincide with the launch of Urban Sketchers London on 1st March - but then realised that we'd be trying to have a book launch with no books.  The Art of Urban Sketching had proved to be so popular that it was almost impossuble to get hold of a copy by March!

A second reprint had to be ordered within six weeks of it going on sale - and we've had to wait for the new books to arrive!

Don't live near London?

If you don't live near London you can keep an eye on other Urban Sketchers events in your part of the world by following Drawing Attention on the main Urban Sketchers blog

The new 'Urban Sketchers London' blog

I've been a member of Urban Sketchers from the very beginning - having joined in October 2008.  I'm very pleased to say that I'm now also a founder member of the new Urban Sketchers London blog - which you can find at http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.com/.

Banner for the new Urban Sketchers London blog

The other founder members of Urban Sketchers London who are participating in this new blog are:

• Adebanji Alade - Adebanji Alade, my art, my passion for sketching
• James Hobbs - Hobbs Blog
• Barry Jackson - website/from the sketchbook - and Flickr
• Olha Pryymak - Ohla Pryymak
• Zhenia Vasiliev - Zenia Vasiiev News
• and me Katherine Tyrrell - Travels with a Sketchbook

Once, we've got settled into the new blog (and I've sketched a cup of tea on location somewhere in London!), more London sketchers will be joining us.

We'll be telling people interested in joining the London Urban Sketchers how they can do this in due course - in a post on the new blog!

It's worth noting that all the sketches you will see on this new blog will always be drawn in freehand, on location in front of the subject.  They will always be real places - and we'll always tell you the location of the scene which has been sketched.

Any new members will need to sign up to sticking to the Urban Sketchers Manifesto - see below.

Urban Sketchers Manifesto

• We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation. 

• Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.

• Our drawings are a record of time and place. 

• We are truthful to the scenes we witness. 

• We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles. 

• We support each other and draw together. We share our drawings online. 

• We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Why not subscribe now to make sure you don't miss a post.  The subscription links are in the right hand column of the blog - just below the Urban Sketchers Manifesto.

Video of Urban Sketchers in Lisbon (Day 1)

This is the first video from the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Lisbon - enjoy!

Urban Sketchers in Lisbon (day 1) from Patrícia Pedrosa on Vimeo.

Sketching with Liz Steel and Borromini

Liz Steel sketching St. Paul's Cathedral - with Borromini
11" x 16", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I spent a very enjoyable day yesterday at Tate Modern with Liz Steel and the little bear (Liz and Borromini).  We sat at the windows overlooking the Thames on the seventh floor of Tate Modern, opposite St Paul's cathedral and sketched and talked and talked and sketched and drank tea, ate lunch, drank more tea, sketched more, talked more.  A really fine day.

The funny bit was when our respective plates of Griddled fillet of salmon with broad bean, pea & mint risotto had been served and we both pulled out our sketchbooks and started to sketch.  The waiter came up and asked us if everything was OK - to which we both chorused - "Yes - we sketch our meals!"

Here's my sketch - which is both dishes and Liz's sketch of both dishes.

Griddled fillet of salmon with broad bean, pea & mint risotto x 4
11" x 16", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Liz goes home on Thursday after another epic trip around Europe.  You can see her trip uploads to Flickr here.

"Travels with a Sketchbook" recommended by "The Times"

Learn How to Sketch - links to information and advice on my website

Just in case you missed the news - I'm absolutely delighted to announce that this blog Travels with a Sketchbook AND my advice on how to sketch were both highlighted and recommended by "The Times" newspaper last week!

That's the London newspaper with the name which was borrowed by every other newspaper with 'Times' in its title all around the world!

You can read the piece - included in the "Daily Universal Register" page below.  It's very pleasurable to read people's perspectives on your work when they are as good as this!

extract from the "The Times" newspaper 25th February 2011

I can't walk very well at the moment - so I found the article online and "he who must not bored while I sketch" bought me a copy of the newsprint version.  I had the page it was on memorised by the time he turned up with it! :)

It was nice to see that Urban Sketchers got the the "If you liked this then you might like this too" slot.

Tomorrow - I'll be highlighting my article about Ten reasons to sketch with coloured pencils which will be published by Derwent's LovePencils blog on Tuesday 1st March 2011.


Links:  Making A Mark - Press and Media coverage

A Little Art Break in Brussels

Part of the Grand Place in Brussels
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

How many places are two hours by train from central London? Well quite a lot of southern and central and eastern England - but not Cornwall or Yorkshire or my home area of north west England. However I've still not quite got used to thinking about where I can now get to on the continent in two hours.

I was recently thinking about days out with "he who must not be bored while I sketch" and my eye was caught by an advert for the Eurostar Little Break Big Difference and I started looking at the website to see where I could get to and how much the tickets cost.

I was seriously disconcerted when I got an email 20 minutes later inviting me to go on a little break in Brussels via a Eurostar Little Break with a group of fellow art bloggers. Apparently I am (I quote) "a well respected and reputable art blogger". This bit was just surprising rather than disconcerting! ;)

It turned out it was complete coincidence at one level and two examples of the same marketing campaign at another. Eurostar had engaged a communications agency called we are social to engage bloggers and others using social media sites in what a difference a little break can be. I'm being completely up front about this as I didn't have to pay a bean for the trip - apart from the £15 taxi fare when I managed to sleep through two alarms and woke up with 35 minutes to get from my bed to St Pancras! (You guessed right - I made it! I also managed to brush my teeth before leaving but my hair brush came too)

Anyway, this post is about my Brussels Art & Culture Day Trip along with a group of other art and design bloggers.

[2018: Updated to remove dead links]

Travel

We took the 7.53 Eurostar from London St Pancras which takes 2 hours and gets into Brussels at just before 11am (after you've added on an hour for the time difference). You can get earlier trains with the 6.59 being the cheapest.

Melina and Mo on the Eurostar
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

We returned on a train leaving just before 8pm from Brussels Midi, Eurostar's station near the centre of Brussels and got back about 9.50 local time. So after allowing for travel to and from the station and checking in that gave us just under 8 hours in Brussels. That's a decent amount of time to see a fair bit of whatever interests you.

Try out different combinations of times out and return to see what's the best deal you can get. I've taken a long hard look at the fares and it looks like it's possible to travel there and back very cheaply but you'd probably need to stay a night to take advantage of the cheapest fares. I didn't find their website very friendly as to their current £59 return. The thing that's so odd is that the campaign is about "Little Break , Big Difference" and yet there's no part of the website which seems to spell out what are the current deals are for different destinations. Every time I clicked the icon on the website it wanted to take me to Paris!

Tips for taking a break in Brussels
Going with a group of people is rather different from going on your own. My itinerary would have been quite different if left to my own devices and I'd be writing about different aspects of Brussels - however let's look at what I learned.

Just because it's a foreign country don't get too ambitious! Check out things to see/do in advance and stay in one area. We spent a little bit too much time on the Metro for my liking. It's a really good system but there's no English on the signposting and you can spend a lot of time working out where to go and walking long distances inside and underground.

I'd highly recommend researching Brussels using the Brussels tourist website and then picking an area which has the most to offer for your particular interests and tastes. Use the Metro to get there and then walk around for the rest of the day.

Wear shoes for lots of walking - It's really easy to cover large parts of the central area very quickly just by walking. However do make sure you have trainers with nice thick support for your soles as there's lots and lots of cobbled streets. Don't be fooled by the cobbles either. We found ourselves wandering around the Place Royale thinking it was a pedestrian area before we realised all those cobbles were actually a road and there were cars bearing down on us!

I noticed that the tourist website has some MP3 guides for various walks which can be downloaded in advance.

Get to the museums early - We visited the brand new Magritte Museum in the morning (read my review here - Exhibition review: Magritte at the Magritte Museum) and it was busy. I returned to the area in the afternoon and saw people queuing out the door to get in and later still 'tickets sold out' signs.

Fortunately several of the art museums are grouped together around the Place Royale. Don't assume their opening hours are the same as at home - I got caught out by there being no admissions after 4.30.

Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts
on the Rue de la Regence
(Palais de Justice in the distance)

Here are just a few of the things you can see all year round:

• Jacques-Louis David's painting of The death of Marat plus paintings by the Belgium Impressionists at the Museum of Modern Art (for everything after the 18th century!!!)
• sixteenth century paintings by renowned Flemish artists plus a room dedicated to Hieronymus Bosch (Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony) in the Museum of Ancient Art
• The Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art - which is pretty unique! You can see one of my fellow travellers excellent set of photographs of the graffiti street art in Brussels in his Flickr set of Street Art In Brussels

Remember also to make time for the museum bookshop. I went there first and lingered a little too long. However when your first love is art books...........

Check out the summer events - for people who like to take their holidays in town there is Bruxelles les Bains (Brussels on Sea) - complete with sand by the canal - in the port area of Brussels. We went there for lunch and chose a Peruvian BBQ from the amazing number of food stalls.

Lunch at Bruxelles Les Bains
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

There's also the Brussels Summer Festival which seems to take over the grand buildings, squares and parks of Brussels. It happens each year and the programme spans hip hop, folk, reggae and electronic music, street performances, stand-up comedy and kids' entertainment. Those staying overnight can enjoy the concerts which seem to start around 8 or 9pm each night - and you can see scenes and hear music from these on the official website for the Summer Festival. I had it playing in the background while I did my last minute website search on saturday night!

However, it's loud and those who are not fans of loud music might like to avoid the city while the festival is on!

Focus on what's unique to the place - My personal preference is to always spend time on the things which are unique to that particular place - like in the art museums - and then grab a sandwich or bite to eat in their cafe.

While it was interesting to see the beach area they've developed (see above), it really could have been any city in Europe. I also wasn't particularly enamoured with the food on offer but then I'm a bit of a foodie and probably a bit pickier than most people.

I like to eat food associated with the place - preferably from places which aren't targeting tourists - and my aim is always to eat one new thing that I've never had before every time I go abroad! (I've some fond memories of waterzoii which I had on a previous visit to Brussels). This time I got to sample cherry beer which was a definite first for me.

Mehrdad and David at the Cafe Leon
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The art which is here all year round is what I always focus on first. However I also very much enjoy studying the local architecture - and Brussels has a lot to offer from that perspective. The Grand Place has some simply stunning architecture from the seventeenth century and the area in the centre is very old. There are also some excellent examples of Art Nouveau architecture. The link lists the various hotels and other buildings in Brussels which are listed as great examples of art nouveau designed by Victor Horta.

An Art Nouveau Chocolate shop and an Art Nouveau Museum (of Musical Instruments)
all photos copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I didn't have much time for sketching but now have a better idea where I might go. I did manage a quick sketch sat in the Grand Place at the end of the afternoon. I decided I needed to rise to the challenge of all those buildings and all that gilt!

I've also done a Flickr set - see Brussels 15th August 2009. I hasten to add that not one bit of chocolate passed my lips however I did have a small break from the diet to try out the local beer - which is very, very good!

Meet new people! I have to say though that one of the best bits about our trip was meeting up with a range of art and design bloggers who I might otherwise have never come across. I picked up a few tips during the day - for which many thanks.

Here are the people who came on the trip or we met there.

• Alex from 30gms/ Fibre Design - http://30gms.com/
• Mehrdad from Aref Adbi - http://www.aref-adib.com/
• Mark and Tom from UK Street Art - http://www.ukstreetart.co.uk/
• Radim from Brand Nu - http://www.brandnu.co.uk/
• Gordon from Middleboop - http://middleboop.blogspot.com/
• Mo from Fresh Eyes On London - http://aglimpseoflondon.blogspot.com/
• David from David the Designer - http://davidthedesigner.typepad.com/
• Lux and Jourik from Happy Famous Artists - http://www.happyfamousartists.blogspot.com/

A French phrase book is probably a good idea for those who don't speak French well as there is very little English used in the city despite it being one of the HQ cities for the European union.

Thanks again to Sarah and Violette and Melina for looking after us so well, staying calm when I fell over (again!) and to Eurostar for sponsoring the trip.

Links:

• Brussels International Tourism - excellent website (three languages - including English) and very good small guide book
• Magritte Museum - opened in June 2009. Musee Magritte Museum, Place Royale 1 Koningsplein, 1000 Brussels / tel. : 32 (0)2 508 32 11
• Eurostar - Brussels
• Brussels Summer Festival - official website with information - and music!

Anyone for skating?

Somerset House Ice Rink
pencil and coloured pencils in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I visited Somerset House a little while as they were setting up the outdoor ice rink. It wasn't yet open but it had some people skating nevertheless. Unfortunately I found it completely impossible to find anywhere you could see what was going on while outside - so retreated back inside Somerset House and found a staircase with a window which let me look down on the rink and the skaters. However it did mean I had to sketch standing up which severely limits my sketching time so I think I need to get out and see a few more rinks!

Judging by the photograph on the Somerset House Ice Rink website I maybe ought to try going back after dark!

The best rink in London for looking down on skaters is the one at the Natural History Museum as it has a great viewing platform.

The other one I can get to easily is the ice rink at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich - but that's not taking place this year for some reason - which is a pity as it's a good one for seeing skaters up close. See Boxing Day ice skating at Greenwich

Trees at Tate Modern

Yellow Silver Birches and the Thames (at Tate Modern)

8.5" x 11.5", pencil and coloured pencil in Daler Rowney sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Yesterday, after I heard Cin's news (see end of story), I had that 'there's no time to lose' feeling - and saw three exhibitions in one day, sketched the Thames from both sides of the river and finished up buying some books about Edward Seago. Keeping busy also seems to help when you have very sad news.

I remember watching Melvyn Bragg's amazing interview with an incredibly lucid and articulate Dennis Potter just before Potter died of cancer of the liver/pancreas. He was swigging morphine for the pain, announcing he had christened his tumour Rupert (after Rupert Murdoch who he detested) and talked about his plays and how he was was in a rush to make sure he could finish his last plays.

He also described how his senses were heightened by the news that he didn't have long left and how he was finding he noticed things in a completely new way. I'll never forget how he described the blossom which he saw outside his window in Ross-on-Wye as being "...the whitest, frothiest, blossomest blossom that there ever could be".

I suspect the same thing happens to many people who know somebody who's dying or has just died. I know it always happens to me - and it's always about the visual.

Yesterday, I had lunch in the restaurant on the 7th floor of the Tate Modern. It has the most spectacular view of the City of London skyline.

As I looked out the window, my eye kept being drawn by the intense yellow leaves of the silver birches which are planted in serried ranks in the forecourt of the Tate.

The trees had been demanding to be noticed from the point when I'd sat on the other side of the Thames sketching. Having noticed the trees yet again, I had to try and draw the trees - and the wash from the boats which juxtaposed wonderful diagonal lines against the slim white trunks of the birches.

This is a drawing for Cin as she can't come and share the view right now.

[ UPDATE: Cindy Woods - learning daily (1956-2008) ]

Drawing on the London Tube

I like drawing on the tube but I find it works best and I can do slightly longer drawings (up to 10 minutes) if:

• I've got a corner seat
• I've remembered to include the small sketchbook
• The people opposite are absorbed in a book - or just taking some 'time out'.
• .....and, ideally, it's not the rush hour (ie nobody is standing and I've got a much better view of fellow travellers)
  

I tend to try and draw people about 8-10 feet away so that my sketching doesn't crowd their space. People who are nearer tend to work out what I'm doing. Plus I'm generally working on about two or three at the same time.

Repose
7" x 5", pencil in Derwent Safari sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I really enjoyed sketching this lady. She had that oh so typical tube pose of arms folded across her chest and eyes closed. Plus she was great at sitting still!

I also really like it when my subject is wearing something with interesting folds and creases. If I have the time and the opportunity, I tend to work up the head using value hatching and then work the clothing just using line.

This post is also being posted on Urban Sketchers

Meet a correspondent for Urban Sketchers

Urban Sketchers blog

Yesterday I was featured on the new Urban Sketchers team blog and today I'm featuring an introduction to Urban Sketchers on my main blog - see Urban Sketchers officially starts tomorrow.

I thought I'd give readers of this blog a bit of an insight into where I'm planning to go with my posts about London plus the story behind the photo of me which appears on the Urban Sketchers post about me.

The photo

Gabi, who created Urban Sketchers, told me he needed a paragraph, a sketch and a photo of me for an introduction. I looked at all recent photos of me and concluded that although they were realistic and useful for sending to fellow sketchbloggers that I was meeting up with for the first time, they were hardly flattering. They certainly weren't blogging material.

So last week I decided a new photo was needed - at which point I got the most dreadful head cold - and you all know how you look when you have a cold! So I crossed my fingers and hoped it would clear up quickly and thought about how to do a photograph.

On Wednesday, I was over the worst of the cold and "he who must not be bored while I sketch" (HWMNBB) and I went across to Greenwich for the afternoon for a brisk walk in the park and an hour with the books in Waterstones.

I'd had the 'brilliant' idea that since this new team blog was about Urban Sketchers I should try and get a photo of me at the top of the hill in Greenwich Park, next to the Observatory - standing on the Prime Meridian with a goodish chunk of the River Thames and London behind me. Neat idea - huh?

Plan of Greenwich Park - showing all major buildings
and the Prime Meridian (re Greenwich Mean time)
(click to see larger version)

There was a slight flaw with this plan. HWMNBB is not, he will readily admit, a photographer. But I'd already worked out how to deal with that. I'd take a photo of him to judge where I should stand and how he should focus on me. That took three photos. Then he was to take over and reproduce the shot with me in his place.

Well that took about ten photos. First he took photos before I was ready. Then I realised that my hair looked a state as I'd just pulled off my hat (it was a cold afternoon). Then he couldn't get the size of my head right relative to the back drop (options of lots of sky or lots of park at this stage). Then I decided that the post 'bad head cold' look meant a slightly more distant view might be better after all............on the other hand then you couldn't see me either..........

We had by now gathered a small audience of teenage girls who were thoroughly intrigued by what was going on. Oh the joys of having one's photo taken in public!

Fortunately I decided that it might be an idea to try some smiling (with/without teeth), non smiling and profile shots. It was a good job too! Somehow he'd omitted to mention that I'd managed to get lipstick all over my teeth ( I only usually wear lipstick for photos!) and the smiling without teeth ones made my eyes look dreadfully small with puffy bags!

Fortunately the profile one came out OK and even managed to obscure the bags and do a good job of hiding my double chin.........

Photo of a fusspot with a cold
by "he who must not be bored
while I sketch and is never ever
taking another photograph again!!!"

So this is me - with the River Thames and City of London appearing just above my fringe and Greenwich Park and the Queens House behind my head.

Incidentally the walkways with the columns either side of the Queens House (the white house designed by Inigo Jones just to the right of my bun) is the place where the BBC filmed Amy Dorrit (for the new series Little Dorrit) walking against a backdrop of columns in the first episode last Sunday.

Just behind it and next to the river is the old Royal Naval College, designed as a naval hospital in the 17th century by Sir Christopher Wren which is also frequently in use as a film set. Then beyond these buildings and on the other wide of the river you can see the new financial centre at Canary Wharf which was filmed extensively as the credit crunch erupted in Britain last month.

Blogging about London

I'm thinking of trying to develop a panorama of sketches of the two sides of the Thames and wondering whether I should invest in one of those panorama Moleskines. Either that or lots of separate sketches in the same format which join up. But what's the best format? I'm mulling that one over.

I also want to produce a book of where to sketch in London and I intend to develop a series of hand drawn maps of locations - showing places to go to sketch and what you can see nearby. I'll be reserving the maps for the book but I do already try and provide links to Google Maps for locations.

I'm also going to be developing a map of locations where I've sketched - although I'm not quite sure whether I'm going to use geograph or paintmap. I'll be reporting back on my comparison of the two systems and any other options which people alert me to.

If anybody has any comments or recommendations about software I'd love to hear them - please use the comments function.

Links: Meet the correspondents: LONDON > Katherine Tyrrell