Chinese Pagoda and Fountain in Viccy Park

I sketched outside yesterday - for the first time in a long time.  First the weather earlier this year was bad, then I experienced by second attack of this year's nasty bug and spent five weeks with an extremely bad cough which started on the least exertion.  Then it snowed - and was freezing cold for weeks and then I had a third attack of the nasty bug!

Plus I've mislaid my small Moleskine which does have some sketches of interior scenes on the few occasions I managed to get out.

Which is by way of explanation for why it's taken such a long time to post a new plein air sketch.

Victoria Park - West Lake: Chinese Pagoda and Fountain
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in A4 Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I met Olha Pryymak in the Park yesterday morning for a cup of tea and afterwards sketched this scene from one of the newly restored park benches.  It's unfinished but I'd got to the stage where I was getting chilly and tired and decided it was time to get myself home and into the warm.

You can see the very same fountain and lake  in some of Olha's paintings on her website and her Facebook page

Mansion Pond at Wakehurst Place

Wakehurst Place is Kew Gardens in the country - down in Sussex.  We visited recently and this is my sketch of the Mansion Pond.

Mansion Pond, Wakehurst Place, West Sussex
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

We have a new sketching routine - he does his crossword while I sketch.  Periodically "he who must not be bored while I sketch" asks me for answers to clues.  So far it's working well and I'm getting longer periods of sketching!

About Sketching Trees

I find I have a tendency when sketching plein air to do the big shapes and I sometimes end up losing the sky holes in the trees - plus the edges which indicate the depth and recession.  Plus the changing sky behind the trees does tend to mix things up a bit - first it's white cloud and then it's blue sky!

This is where photography does come in handy for restating those sky holes!  I go round with my battery powered eraser when I get home and pick out the holes again.

Plus my photos help to remind me what was in front of what in places where there's just a big morass of mixed up greens.  Mostly I don't need to be too specific but in this sketch there were a couple of areas where restating the relative values of the foreground and the background helped with the overall structure of the greenery.

I've also started using a Rembrandt Carbon 308/3 Pencil to reinforce darks and I find this very useful for the dark values which you can get with very large pines!

About Wakehurst Place

Interestingly I've got two passes for free admission as I'm a Friend of Kew and a member of the National Trust and Wakehurst allows free access to members of the National Trust within the UK.

The garden has 465 acres of ornamental gardens and woodland comprising temperate zone trees.  There are ponds, lakes and streams in the garden plus lots of shrubs and trees and not a lot of flowers - although it does have a magnificent iris garden and a heather garden.

It is wheelchair accessible in part but also has some very steep inclines which limits the scope for walking for people with limited mobility.  That includes me because when my dodgy feet start to rebel and give up I have to hold on to somebody to walk up steep slopes.

The different status of the paths are usefully indicated on a map when you get there - but this is not obvious from the websites of both Kew Gardens and the National Trust.  However the Kew Gardens/Wakehurst Place does have a downloadable pdf file of a map of the garden at Wakehurst Place - if you spot it.  In my opinion, it's very good - and the paths are well waymarked as per the map - however the map could do with being in a much more prominent place on the website so that people can check out the nature of the garden and its suitability for visitors before visiting.

Map of garden at Wakehurst Place - available as a pdf file
Red marks the very steep paths, yellow marks flattish paths suitable for wheelchairs

Wakehurst Place is also the home of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank which I have still to visit.  The botanical/nature fans will probably like their Seed Bank Blog

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is the largest ex situ plant conservation project in the world. Our focus is on global plant life faced with the threat of extinction and plants of most use for the future. The seeds we save are conserved outside their native habitat.

Address: The address for Wakehurst Place is: Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN.

• Instructions on how to get to Wakehurst Place
• My Garmin satnav thinks it's on the left of the road as we drive south on the B2028 - however it's actually on the right and entrances are reasonably well signposted

Opening Times: From 10am every day except Christmas Eve Christmas Day.  Closing times vary with the season.

St James Park - after the rain comes the sun

Afternoon in St James Park 30th April 2012
pen and sepia ink in small Moleskine Sketchbook, 8" x 10"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

People who don't live in the UK often comments that we talk about the weather all the time.  That's because unlike all those souls who live on massive tectonic plates where the weather tends to stick around for a long time - the UK is an island and a maritime nation and our weather is very much influenced by what's happening to the sea.  Thus the weather can change season from day to day and hour to hour.

However April 2012 was a bit worse than most months.  "Depressing" would be a good description, especially after the wonderful summer weather we had in March.  It rained a lot.  However we still have the hosepipe ban in force as it hasn't rained enough in the last two years.  April reminded us of what rain is like....

April 2012 was the coldest April since 1989, the dullest since 1998 and the wettest since 2000. More remarkably, it was around 1C colder than March, a rare, but not unprecedented occurrence.
The Guardian - The weather in April

Which is why, last Monday afternoon, when I got to sit in the sunshine and sketch in St James Park it felt wonderful!

I was so busy last week I didn't have a chance to post the sketch I did until now - so here it is.  No coloured pencils, just pen and ink in a small Moleskine sketchbook as that was all I had with me.

There are lots of places in London where you can draw people passing by - and the cafe in St James Park - Inn the Park - is one of them.

Autumn reflections at Sheffield Park

My postcard from my Walk for October - trees reflected in a lake at Sheffield Park
pen and ink and coloured pencils on matboard

I was late sending this to Alyson and then she was away in Australia when it arrived - so this has been posted a little bit later than usual on A Postcard from my Walk blog - as my postcard from a walk in October.

I can see I'll be visiting more often now that "he who must not be bored while I sketch" has declared Sheffield Park to be one of his favourite places!

Previous sketches and drawings can be seen in

• Autumn Colour at Sheffield Park
• An Indian Summer (and ice lakes) at Sheffield Park

All I need to do now is take my pastels next time!

The water and birds return to West Lake

At long last, after far too long, the water and birds are beginning to return to the West Lake in Victoria Park in East London.  The swans are back as are are the gulls and the geese - but there's no sign yet of the ducks or the coots.

I sat at the balcony at the Pavilion Cafe last week, ate a veggie brunch washed down with a mug of builders tea, and sketched plein air the view that I've often drawn before.

The water - and birds - return to West Lake
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The water level is at a stage where the birds give a very good imitation of walking on water.  Apparently it's going to take 12 weeks for it to fill to the level it should be.

The sun came out as I sketched and, of course, changed all the colours!

Below is a photo of the birds after somebody dumped some bread into the water right next to me!

Links:

• Victoria Park - beached and neglected?
• Lake Trees and a veggie breakfast
• Cold weather and small quick sketches
• Victoria Park Lake People #4
• Victoria Park Lake and a few birds
• The coldest snap for 20 years

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!

Victoria Park - beached and neglected?

If I half close my eyes it looks a bit like an urban beach!
pen and ink and coloured pencil on mountboard

These are a couple of sketches of the drained lake in Victoria Park in East London.  Which has now been drained for more months and month with no apparent progress in getting it sorted and refilled.

It sits in the middle of my local park which at the moment resembles nothing more than a building site.  All because the Olympics are arriving here next year.

It appears the only concern is whether it will be ready in time for the Olympics (ie by Easter 2012) not whether a decent amount of the park would be ready for enjoyment by the local residents this summer.

So they've fenced off large chunks of the park, emptied the lakes and tried to see how few people they need to have working to maintain a semblance of doing some work.

It used to be one of the best parks in London in which to walk.  It is now a terribly depressing place to visit.  It's also a great big hole in the lives of those people who live locally who don't have gardens and have always relied on the park for their place to go when the sun shines.

But apparently the needs of local residents don't count for much in the eyes of whoever is mismanaging this project at Tower Hamlets Council.

I know I'm not the only resident who is feeling very upset with the way local residents have been treated with respect to the disruption to the park since the beginning of the year.

I can only think it's an indication of the way we are going to be treated next year as the Olympics arrive in my local area.

We've already had pronouncements about the Olympic transport problems for the whole of London from Transport for London.  We've also experienced the gridlock which occurred for hours when they tried out the cycle road race recently.

Apparently we are all in severe danger of experiencing severe gridlock for the duration of the Games.  Plus there are going to be something like three million extra journeys on public transport EACH DAY - this on a system which barely copes at peak times at present!  TfL hopes are pinned on Londoners avoiding the use of public transport for the duration of the Games!

TfL hopes Londoners will walk or cycle to the office, work from home or avoid peak times to cut demand by 30 per cent
Londoners warned to avoid games gridlock

Anyway I couldn't bear to draw the lake exactly as it is and these two sketches make it look an awful lot better than it actually is.

The sketch at the top of this post is now with Cathy Gatland in South Africa as my July contribution to A Postcard From My Walk

The one below has also been posted on Watermarks - a group blog about creating art from water

The Drained Lake - Victoria Park - July 2011
8" x 10" pen and sepia ink in Moleskine sketchbook

Both sketches were drawn from The Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park which is a little oasis in the desert of buildings works in Victoria Park right now!

Coots at Kew

On the 1st June we went to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for the day - and the sun shone. 

We followed our normal routine of walk and then sit - I sketch and "he who must not be bored while I sketch" reads his book and then walk and more sitting/sketching/reading.

He's currently limbering up for retirement next month so was reading a detective novel rather than one of his heavyweight history biographies which are his normal fare.

We sat on "our seat" next to the lake and were visited agin by "our goose" who is very cheeky.

He's got looking at you with Big Eyes off pat.  You know the look - the one that says "Surely you can spare just a little bit of that Taste the Difference Big Breakfast sandwich you've just bought at the Tescos outside the station" look.

It's not so much I have a hard heart as I enjoy my Big Breakfast sandwich and he was about five minutes too late and all I had left was an empty carton and some apples.

Anybody who wants to be overwhelmed by geese flying straight at them should bring bread to Kew Gardens.  On the way home we saw a Mummy and Daddy Goose and a family of four little ones scampering (hurtling?) across the grass to a woman who was showing every sign of getting something out of a plastic bag to feed birds.  The adults had to restrain themselves from taking off they were going so fast.

Coots nesting on the lake at Kew Gardens
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook, 8" a 10"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

My first sketch done next to the Lake was of a pair of Coots who were heavily into nest building.  My attention was attracted by a weird tearing noise.  I realised after a bit that the male coot was visiting the iris planted just next to where I sat and was tearing off leaves to act as nest material.  He then swam very deliberately around the naples yellow weed patches to his mate who was sat on their nest resplendent in her new "just in" iris leaf finery.

I assume she was hatching eggs as she was very loath to leave the nest - although I would have thought any babies would have been born long ago.  Maybe they do year round hatching?

The lake water was interesting to try and capture due to the many different colours of weed, submerged weed, reflections from the far bank and the inky darkness of the lake itself.

The next sketch - which I don't have time to scan right now - is a diptych of the view from the Thames of Syon house and the bend in the River Thames.  It's been painted by quite a few artists and I want to take a look at the history of the view.

Kew Gardens in April

The Sackler Crossing, Kew Gardens Lake - April 2011
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in large folio Moleskine
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

In the last week of April we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.  We have a routine - set off mid-late morning on the tube, buy sandwiches and fruit at the Tescos outside Kew Station, get to the gardens and sit down and have lunch.

Then we start walking round to see what there is to see.  It's always different depending on the time of year - but we do like one particular bench in the garden where the Order Beds are for lunch!

We started off by surveying surveyed the new veggie patches started by this year's horticultural students.  I reckon you can tell who's going to do well during the year by how they've got their bed set up right at the beginning.  Some of them have really thought about the design and the construction and how the different elements inter-relate.  It's a bit like artists doing their prep work prior to creating a painting.

I was very keen to get a good look at the Peonies which seemed about ready to burst - although a few had got going early.

The beds in front of the Palm House were an absolute riot of colour with different varieties of tulips mixed in with other bedding plants.

You can see more photographs curated by Kew on Flickr  from those entered into the 'Signs of Spring' Photo Challenge on the Kew website - here are the chosen few in Your Kew - Signs of Spring

Then we set off to go and find the azaleas and rhododendrons which were coming into flower just as the magnolias and lilacs are coming to an end.Everywhere there were daffodils which had 'gone over' and were often horizontal as they died back.

After admiring the beginning of the azalea blooms we went and sat on our favourite seat next to the lake - where we were entertained by an absolute cacophony of bird noises and wood munching by the gardeners.  (see The Lake and waterfowl at Kew Gardens).  This is where I sat and drew the sketch at the top and wished yet again that I'd sorted out my greens before I went. I had the acids but not the olives so when posting this time I've tweaked it to try and bring out the olive colours which I should have been using!

After this it was a trek across the gardens for a cup of tea at what I I always refer to as the Pagoda Restaurant.  Passing the blossom on the trees outside the Temperate House on the way...

 
It's actually called The Pavilion Restaurant.  Food and drink have much improved of late but it's not cheap - see the new Pavilion menu (pdf)

Tea at the Pagoda Restaurant
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I keep trying to do this sketch every time I come and never ever get it right.  I've yet to find a really satisfactory view from the tables outside the Pavilion Restaurant.  It's all a bit too enclosed for my liking and the view of the Pagoda is not at as good as it could be.  Pity.

I actually managed to get through the shop on the way out without buying a book.  Not quite sure what went wrong there........

Cold weather and small quick sketches

When the weather gets cold I do much less sketching outside. Mainly as a risk management strategy for the problem I have with tearing ligaments and muscles my feet. If I stay too still and get too cold, muscles contract and seize up which then means balance is difficult and can make walking very risky for me if the surface is not dry and safe.

One possible answer is a smaller sketchbook - one that fits in the pocket of my very robust anorak - and quicker sketching!

Lake People #5
5.5" x 7", pencil in small Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I find it works well for my sketches of people having a cup of tea or bite to eat at the Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park (when I'm sat inside the Cafe looking out). The one above was done just after the snow fell just before Christmas when I discovered that the walk along the canal is very risky in poor weather conditions (ie slush and ice). I concluded that it is only safe for me to go out when the snow is dry and powdery - and this wasn't! The only bit I enjoyed on that walk was tramping across the snow on the grass in Victoria Park which was still dry.

The small sketchbook works less well at present for my sketches of the Ecology Park Pond. Maybe because I'm still wanting to do larger sketches and the time I allot for a sketch while sat outside in the cold is minimal?

Willows around Willow Pond
5.5" x 7", pencil in small Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I need to keep reminding myself that Turner and Constable both made an awful lot of sketches in very small sketchbooks. I think I'm going to have to study them to identify their techniques for sketching small landscapes.

You can see all of Turner's 300+ sketchbook here on the Turner part of the Tate Gallery website - Tate Collection | Turner Collection | Sketchbooks

Links:

• JMW Turner - Resources for Art Lovers
• Tate - Turner Sketchbooks
  

Sketchercise strikes again!

This week I got into yet another pair of jeans I haven't worn in years. As a result of sketchercise and sensible and healthy eating/drinking, I've now reduced at least two dress sizes. A weight loss of three stone is hovering into sight - I should be there by Christmas with any luck.

By way of celebration I went out for lunch at The Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park - after a long walk of course!

Autumn Trees on the West Lake, Victoria Park (12.11.09.)
6" x 17", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Artcoe Bluebell sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I had 'proper' smoked haddock (none of that disgusting bright yellow stuff!) with a poached egg on champ with bearnaise sauce - yuuuuuuuuuummy (see right)! My diet works on the basis that it's OK to have occasional excesses on the sauce front!

I was thinking this morning that my sketch looks very grey - but then it's a grey day for taking photos of weird sized sketchbooks (which don't scan quickly) and it was greyish day yesterday too! I've now resolved to work out a palette for grey days.

I was sat next to the window in the Cafe eating my meal when I realised that I could probably set up the digi camcorder to film me sketching. I was just about to start when the battery announced it was low - and then switched off!

However now I've got the incentive to try again!

Here's a short video of the West Lake in Victoria Park and the cafe where I go to sketch. This park and lake are just over 2 miles east of the Bank of England and the City of London - right in the centre of the East End of London!

Link:

• Sketchercise (now invitation only)
  
• A second group - Sketchercise on Flickr

Autumn at the Sackler Crossing, Kew Gardens

I'm glad we were able to pay a visit to Kew Gardens before all the leaves began to fall from the trees. The colours were glorious in parts of the gardens and the trees next to the Sackler Crossing were particularly vivid.

Autumn colour at the Sackler Crossing
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The Sackler Crossing pver the lake nearest the Thames is well worth seeking out if you are able to visit Kew Gardens. It's quite beautiful and sculptural. This pdf file tells you moe about it.

This is a video of our walk in Kew Gardens - Autumn afternoon in Kew Gardens which shows quite clearly at the end the light issues you have to deal with when sketching in late afternoon light in Autumn! If you're curious about the noises on the video there's an explanation half way through.

Victoria Park Lake People #4

I'm not quite sure why but I last posted sketches of people by the West Lake in Victoria Park in January.

I sketch the people on the terrace by the cafe next to the West Lake in Victoria Park when I stop there for my cup of tea on my morning sketchercise walk.

Victoria Park Lake People #4

pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

It rather depends on whether or not I get distracted by the trees or the birds and sketch them instead! I guess the trees and birds got more interesting as the year progressed!

Here are the other three from January this year - when it was very cold. There are fewer people around in January and I always sit inside to sketch - with my hot cup of tea!

Victoria Park Lake People #1, 2 and 3 (January 2009)

pencil and pencil/coloured pencils in Derwent Safari sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The people who gather on this spot are interesting. They often seem to be under the misapprehension that if they you sit outside near a fountain you can't be overheard! While sketching I find I hear snatches of conversations into the sketches without even trying - I often think I ought to try and incorporate some of the words into a sketch.

Hampstead Heath and the Boating Pond

Yesterday we went to Hampstead Heath to walk on the Heath.

You can see the circular route we took from the tube, across Hampstead Heath and back again on this Google Map of Hampstead Heath Walk #1 - circular walk to the Boating Pond.

We walked from the tube down Flask Walk and spent some time sheltering under the trees in Well Walk opposite where John Constable used to live at 30 Well Walk as a heavy shower passed by (see my earlier post on Travels with a Sketchbook - Hampstead - Flask Walk, Burgh House and John Constable).

The weather forecast had been good but we seemed to spend the first half an hour after we got to the Heath dodging showers. This is isn't too difficult as you walk down the path which extends across the road from Well Walk as it involves walking through a green tunnel of mature trees. Although we could hear the shower overhead we stayed dry underneath.

It was very odd to think that this was probably the walk that Constable took every time he visited the Heath from his home in Well Walk. I've got a book about Constable and Hampstead and intend to spend some time on my favourite hobbies when travelling with a sketchbook - walking in footsteps of artists who have gone before.

I started a sketch while sat in the shelter at the sports field as the heavy shower proved persistent but didn't have time to finish it as the sun came out and rain stopped.

So we headed out into the open part of the heath and walked across to the Boating Pond where I did the sketch which you can see below. I always like to have a sketch of the day new relatives are born if possible. This one is for Amalie who arrived safely yesterday morning and made me 'very nearly' a great aunt.

Amalie's birthday - at the Boating Pond on Hampstead Heath
11.5" x 17", pencil and coloured pencils in Daler Rowney Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

We then walked back past the Mens Bathing Pond and across the edge of Parliament Hill Fields and down to the other ponds before walking down Downshire Hill - past the road which contains Keats House - the house which poet John Keats used to live in - and back to the main road. Where we stopped for a cappucino at a branch of Carluccios and sat outside while I sketched the plane trees and the view up the hill.

Carluccios and Rosslyn Hill
pen and sepia ink in Daler Rowney Sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Then back via Waterstones at 68-69 Hampstead High Street where we indulged in one of our favourite occupations - browsing the books. Walking and bookshops are always a good combination when travelling!

Note: Keats House reopened on 24 July 2009, after a major restoration projectand I think will be the subject of a future trip - and sketch. This is where Keats wrote 'Ode to a Nightingale', and fell in love with Fanny Brawne, the girl next door.

One lake x 4 views x 10 mins each

I tried a new experiment. I walked anti-clockwise around the East Lake in Victoria Park and did a small values sketch at each of the cour "corners". I was looking in a different direction for each and each took no more than 10 minutes. This is what resulted in a double page spread of my Large Sketchbook Moleskine.

Four sketches of the East Lake, Victoria Park
3.75" x 4.5" (each), pencil in large Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I confess - I drew the frames for the sketches first so that I'd remember they all had to go on a double page spread!

The next part of the experiment was to try and see whether I could make anything of the value sketch in colour terms without the inclusion of any colour or any colour notes. Of which more in another post.

(PS. The other sketchercisers have been hard at it producing maps of their sketchercise routes using Google Maps - but I still need to do my sketchercise map for my walk in East London which involves the East Lake)

Lake Trees and a veggie breakfast

This is a sketch I did recently of the trees by the West Lake in Victoria Park in Bow.

I sketched them while I sat and eat the organic veggie breakfast at the Pavilion Cafe by the Lake in Victoria Park - yummy! I think it had a beneficial effect as I'm rather pleased with this one

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

I'd been up and out at 7am as it was the first morning in ages with decent light and I wanted to get some photos in July of the Ecology Park Pond. After checking out the changes at the pond I walked up the canal to Victoria Park and had my breakfast plus a big mug of builders' tea.

Finished off by a walk back down the canal to home.

Then in the afternoon we walked all the way along the Herford Union Canal to the Olympic Stadium site and back again. So all in all I did quite a lot of canal walking that day - although only half of it was Sketchercise! Minus pedometer I've no idea how much but it will have been well in excess of 10,000 steps.

However I'm still very puzzled about how most people living in London can fit in 10,000 steps on a routine basis.

Panoramic sketchbooks and Kensington Gardens

I got a new sketchbook at the Art Event last week. I've been wanting to try a panoramic sketchbook for some time and found an Artcoe Bluebell panoramic sketchbook last week (see review)

To get a sense of the size of the paper it's 430mm (or 16.9 inches) wide and 142mm tall (5.98 inches).

Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens
17" x 6"
pencil and coloured pencil in panoramic Artcoe Bluebell sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

On Sunday, I went sketching in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park with the RWS Friend group - and the new sketchbook came too. We met up at the Albert Memorial (table + benches and coffee stall within a few steps - what could be better!). I took one look at it and whipped out my new sketchbook and started measuring.

I have to say it was a complete joy to draw something tall and get it virtually all the page for a change! It is so frustrating when you draw anything complicated and then find that it's moving off the page as you draw!

I've had to hype the colours a little as I did find that the cartridge paper, as per usual, is not the best paper for coloured pencil. I'm thinking that I might try watercolour pencils and a water brush with it next in order to get better depth of colour.

I then went and sketched the areawhere The Great Exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 May to 15 October 1851. More of that in another post as it became an exercise which is worth explaining.

We had lunch sitting on the inside of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. I was greatly intrigued by all the sign saying that people mustn't walk in the water. According to wikipedia six wardens are now engaged to stop people walking in the water. All I know is that while we sat eating our picnic lunch there was a constant stream of children all paddling and wading round the granite course which is filled with water - aided and abetted by their parents!

Who on earth could be so silly to think you could create what looks like a rather sophisticated passling pool next to the Lido but that the children must not paddle in it walk round it? (Answer) It struck me as being rather like a grand challenge (like getting round a room without touching the floor) and was naturally going to attract children. I actually thought that was rather a good memorial!

The Serpentine Bridge
17" x 6"
pen and sepia ink and and coloured pencil in panoramic Artcoe Bluebell sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

After lunch I sat next to the Lido (created in 1930 and used in warm weather for sunbathing and swimming) - in a light drizzle - and sketched the Serpentine Bridge. Of course the new sketchbook behaved beautifully again in design terms. This particular sketch has some natural smudging involved where the sporadic rain drops spattered the ink on the page.

The waiter serving drinks just behind where I was sat was very keen to buy this sketch!

I then turned my attentions to the geese who have line up next to the railings hoping for the leftovers. I sketched a couple who were having a very prolonged grooming session - they do do the most amazing contortions with their necks and feathers.

Canada Geese on the edge of the Serpentine at the Lido, Hyde Park
6" x 17", pencil in panoramic Artcoe Bluebell sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I then walked back up the Serpentine, took a look at the long queues to see Jeff Koons' Popeye Series at the Serpentine Gallery and retraced my steps to Lancaster Gate tube station next to the Italian Garden and its fountains.

My pedometer is having major problems (again - this is the second new battery!) and has given up displaying any information so I've no idea how far I walked but Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are an excellent place for Sketchercise!

Note:

Hyde Park is 142 hectares (350 acres)^[1] and Kensington Gardens is 111 hectares (275 acres),^[2] giving an overall area of 253 hectares (625 acres), making the combined area larger than the Principality of Monaco (196 hectares or 484 acres), but smaller than New York City's Central Park (341 hectares or 843 acres).
Wikipedia

Links:

• Royal parks - Hyde Park - official website
• Hyde Park - wikipedia
• Royal Parks - Kensington Gardens - official website
• Kensington Gardens -wikipedia
• Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain - wikipedia
  
• Making A Mark Reviews - Product review: Artcoe - Bluebell panoramic drawing book

Developing a view of the East Lake

East Lake, Victoria Park
8" x 10", pen and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

My favourite long walk wends its way between various watery places - the Regents Canal, the Ecology Park Pond, the Hertford Union Canal, the West Lake and the East Lake in Victoria Park. I don't think the conventional view of the East End of London includes lots of green space and water - but that's what I've got!

This is a sketch I did on Tuesday this week. This is a view I really like and I'm feeling my way into it - trying to stick to bigger shapes at the moment. I was sat on my new sketching stool - still liking it - on one of the platforms built into the lake for the anglers.

The combination of a long walk and going to the BP Portrait Awards in the evening meant that my Sketchercise total for Tuesday was quite respectable - 11,432 steps and 5.413 miles.

Horse Guards Parade and the Lake in St James Park

Every evening in St James Park in London, round about 6.00pm, a very small lady arrives next to the Inn in Park to feed the birds which live in and around the lake. She brings her trolley and lots of bread and the pigeons and ducks and coots and geese all love her.

The Bird Lady and the St James Park (with Horse Guards in the background)
8" x 10", pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is a sketch I did about 6.00pm yesterday after the pastels workshop with Felicity House at the Mall Galleries and a stroll around the park.

It's a rather nice view with the buildings of Horse Guards Parade peeping out inbetween the trees at the end of the park which flanks Horse Guards Road.

A very long time ago, the Parade ground used to be a tilt yard where jousting festivals were held in the time of King Henry VIII.

Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference TQ299800. It was formerly the site of the Palace of Whitehall's tiltyard, where tournaments were held in the time of Henry VIII. It was also the scene of the annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I.
Wikipedia - Horse Guards Parade

Today Horse Guards Parade is being used for Trooping the Colour - here's the BBC news page. They were getting ready for it yesterday - huge Union Jack flags lined The Mall and banks of seats surround the parade ground - which has got a very nice top surface of pea shingle at the moment - which I know because I walked across if on my way home to Embankment tube station!

You can read more about Horse Guards Parade, the buildings and Trooping the Colour on this website.

I came across an interesting picture on Wikipedia which shows you the view I was sketching from a slightly different perspective.

The Prospect of Whitehall from the Park of St James, by John Stow, published under licence dated 1755. This picture is problematic as it shows only the central block of Horse Guards, and even that is not the final design as built. It may have been prepared a few years before publication and based on preliminary designs seen by Stow. Despite the title Horse Guards is the focus of the picture, rather than the main section of the park, which is behind the artist, or the street Whitehall, which is behind the buildings.

The RWS Friends Sketching Group are going to be sketching in the Trafalgar Square/St James Park area next Sunday - so I'll be back sketching here again on the 21st. If you're interested contact Libby Tomlinson - details in the link.

Sketchercise: yesterday I did 8194 steps and walked 3.88 miles

[UPDATE: here's a slideshow from the BBC of Trooping the Colour on 13th June 2009]

Sketchercise - and my new pedometer!

Willow Pond from Heron Bridge - 21st May 2008
pencil and coloured pencils in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The doyennes of sketchercise are the small group of bloggers who participated in Julie Oakley's One Mile from Home challenge. I was a supporter more in spirit than reality during that challenge.

However this year getting more exercise has become a very real goal to reduce the risks of more falls/tissue tears/etc.

One of the reasons I started my Ecology Park Ponds series this year was to try and make sure I got more exercise. The walk up to the pond is something that is near enough and far enough to make it a decent walk without making it an expedition or taking up too much time. However if I do have the time it's the start of my four mile walk which also takes in the Regents Canal and both lakes at Victoria Park.

Yellow flag irises at East Lake - the "before"
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I do however need to sort out my pencils - since the pond 'greened up' this month - see the photos in the May Ecology Park Pond Gallery on Flickr. I've been deficient in greens in my pencil case and latterly I've been visually swamped by the development of the yellow flag irises (Iris pseudacorus). I had a bash at doing a sketch of them on Thursday but it needs finishing as I hadn't got the right colours with me. This is the 'before' version!

Anyway the point of this post is to say as of Friday I have a new incentive. I've now got a pedometer!

It's called the ex3 plus and I bought it an hour after I'd been given a pedometer which I promptly lost because although it was hooked inside my trouser pocket it dropped out! This new one weighs next to nothing and hangs round my neck so there's no chance of losing it!

ex3 plus by silva.se

I'm currently 2lbs away from having lost 2 stone since January 1st - which I would have achieved some weeks ago if it hadn't been essential that I went on an official "leg rest with foot up" three week break during the back end of March and early April. I'm planning to road test the new pedometer this afternoon when we go for our Sunday afternoon walk.

What I like about the new pedometer is it gives me feedback about the number of steps, the distance I've walked and, if I program in my weight, how many calories I've burned. That's the sort of feedback I like! You may just possibly see steps counted and distance walked on future sketchercise posts!

If you are also participating in sketchercise, just mark your posts with that word as a tag/label/category and I'll find them - or just leave a comment below.