Trinity Buoy Wharf

I've only just realised that I forgot to post my sketches from the Urban Sketchers London sketchcrawl at Trinity Buoy Wharf on 16 November 2014.

The prow of the red Lighthouse Ship at Trinity Buoy Wharf
- next to where the River Lea enters the River Thames
- with the Emirates Cable Cars in the background

As always the prospect of trying to scan an A3 spread across two pages in an A4 sketchbook has me thinking twice before doing so. In the end I tried photographing with my new iPhone instead - which wasn't perfect but has the merit of at least getting these sketches to appear here with minimum fuss!

The above sketch was done from inside Fatboys Diner - while Suzanne du Toit and James Hobbs sat the other side of the table. It was drizzling outside and a number of us took refuge inside the Diner!

Suzanne du Toit and James Hobbs sketching opposite me in Fatboys Diner

In the morning I was drawing Fatboys Diner - and the other end of the red lightship while testing my new Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils in my Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook (ie smooth surface and amenable to water washes).

This was the result - it's sadly unfinished due to the drizzle which started. I can cope with drizzle and have sat and sketched under an umbrella before now while using ordinary coloured pencils - but it's a bit fatal with watercolour pencils - they have a very unpredictable impact!

Fatboys Diner and the big red lightship - at Trinity Buoy Wharf
- I've used water on the red on the diner
- but the rest of the sketch is watercolour pencils untouched by water

Two things I learned:

• the Albrecht Durers work well with the Zeta Sketchbook when dry
• when the pencils are wetted, the saturation of colour is very good.

I need to try them again on a subject where there is more scope for colour mixing on the paper.

Sketching a lighthouse and lightships in London (Urban Sketchers London Sketchcrawl 16th November)

Tomorrow lunchtime I'm going to go to a place not far from me to see a lighthouse I never knew existed. It is in fact the only lighthouse in London - and it's at Trinity Buoy Wharf in East London, which is situated at the confluence of the River Lee and the River Thames.

Plus there's

• a couple of lighthouses , 
• a pier with a good view of the O2, a container city and 
• an American Diner - a painting of which won the Sunday Times Watercolour competition this year.

Annotated aerial view of Trinity Buoy Wharf and sketching opportunities

If you want to find out more about the Sketchcrawl and other events which form part of the Recording Britain events tomorrow - see What to see and sketch on Sunday at Trinity Buoy Wharf on the Urban Sketchers London blog

What: Sketchcrawl
Where: at Trinity Buoy Wharf. Meet at The Electrician's Shop Gallery, Trinity Buoy Wharf, 64 Orchard Place, London E14 0JY
When: 12 noon - 4pm on Sunday 16th November
How to get there: it's not difficult - see the blog post for details or the TBW website

20 years ago in Belcastel

While going through my sketchbooks for the book, I came across a sketch in a very old sketchbook that I'd never posted before.

This is a sketch of Belcastel in the Aveyron done 20 years ago in July 1994.  I'm looking up at the Château de Belcastel from the banks of the River L'Aveyron right next to the bridge over the river (here on the map). It's one of my favourite parts of France.

Belcastel in the Aveyron

This has 'status' in terms of me still being in the very early stages of using coloured pencils.  I remember I used mainly pastels on that trip which involved staying in a very nice house in Cougousse.

One of the interesting things about sketches is the way they take you back. I vividly remember drawing the angles of the houses and roofs of the houses very carefully. Plus being intrigued about how to capture the light under the bridge and its reflection in the river.

I think I'll mentally file this away as a 'need to think about working up' folder.

Maybe I need to post some more of my old sketches from 20 years ago?

Restaurant Nausicaa, Boulogne sur Mer - my last meal in France

Two sketches from my trip to France last year - and my final french meal!  I'm trying to fill in the gaps where I've missed out posting places I went to and sketches I did on my Painting in Provence trip last summer.

Today I'm posting my lunch at the Restaurant Nausicaa in Boulogne sur Mer and the view from the window.  This was the "get as close to the tunnel as you can and then stop and have a meal" meal!  The idea was that I'd leave myself with half an hour's journey to the Tunnel and I wouldn't need to have a big meal when I got back home which would be quite late.  Plus it was the last chance to indulge in French cuisine!

Lunch at the Restaurant Nausicaa, Boulogne sur Mer - 4th July 2011
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This meal continued to endorse my theory about the colour palette of chefs and the notion that chefs cook the food in the colours that they like! The dishes on the menu in my sketch are:

• L'Entree top left - Oyster, whelk and celery soup and croutons Soupe huitres et des bulots, veloute de celeri vert, petis croutons 
• Las Plat right - Grilled large prawns with a paella like creamy risotto and red pepper sauce Gambas grilles, coulis de poivrons rouges risotto crémeux au chorizo façon paëlla
• Le Dessert bottom left - Half-cooked chocolate cake Mi-cuit au chocolat

They were delicious!  I have a policy of eating one new thing every time I eat out in another country! Which is how I came to add a new food to my list of things I've eaten over the years - whelks (although I thought at the time that they were winkles).

I checked the menu and only the sauce with the main dish is what's on offer on the menu today!  Always good to see a restaurant that changes it's menu on a regular basis!

I switched between drawing the dishes as they arrived and then drawing the scene out the window as I waited for them to arrive.

My view from my table - the beach at Boulogne sur Mer
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I was sat high up next to a big glass window looking out on to the promenade and beach to the rear of the Nausicaa Centre - which is Boulogne's huge aquarium.  Small wonder that fresh fish and sea food featured on the menu!

The restaurant is actually independent of the Centre and I highly recommend it as a stopping off place to eat in the Pas de Calais for anybody facing a long journey when they get back to Folkstone. It serves excellent food and does not keep normal restaurant hours.

For the record the journey to the EuroTunnel was not straightforward as the satnav didn't understand the port and I missed the turning and then couldn't work out how to get back to the place where cars need to go to enter the Tunnel!  Calais could do with some better sign posts!

However it was nice to get back home and reach the end of my journey and a very long drive from Provence to London.

You can see

• more of my sketches from my trip to Provence and my drive there and back through France in the page at the top of this blog marked Provence Sketchbook 2011
• more of my sketches of meals by clicking on the labels:
• food sketch - this can be food in its raw form as well as food raw, uncooked and cooked.
• sketching meals - these include sketches of meals such as the one at the top of this post
• restaurant sketches - these include views from where I'm sat in the restaurant
• You can also see sketches of the interior landscapes of places to eat on my website

Links:

• Boulogne sur Mer on Wikipedia
• Restaurant Nausicaa

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

Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park

This is quickie " cup of tea" sketch - on my way back from yesterday afternoon's appointment with the Osteopath.

Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park - August 2012
8" x 10" pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is the Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park just to the west of the Olympic Park.  A lot of my sketches of this lake are done from the jetty which sticks out into the lake which has high stools and a ledge just big enough for a cup of tea and a sketchbook.  In the summer, the awnings go up and the tables and benches all come outside.

Just as I was about to sit down on the park bench with my cup of "Builder's Tea" (£1), the Coots did what I always think of "playing jets landing on an aircraft carrier" - landing and skidded to a halt on the surface of the lake.

I held the image in my head until I could get my sketchy birds and their wake down in the sketchbook.

Sketches of the Pavlion Cafe: 

• Victoria Park: the Tea Pavilion - a sketch from a hot June morning in Victoria Park in 2007

Sketches from the Pavilion Cafe:

• Rowing Frenzy in Victoria Park 10 Aug 2012
• The water and birds return to West Lake November 2011
• Victoria Park - beached and neglected? August 2011
• Cold weather and small quick sketches February 2010
• Lake Trees and a veggie breakfast August 2009
• Herons, coots and goslings - grooming, housekeeping and babysitting June 2009
• The coldest snap for 20 years January 2009
• Victoria Park Lakes and a few birds January 2009

Pavilion Cafe: Crown Gate West, Victoria Park, Old Ford Road, London E3

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.

Rowing Frenzy in Victoria Park

Ever since GB Rowing Team won their medals, something of a "Rowing Frenzy" seems to have erupted on the West Lake in Victoria Park in East London - located across the River Lea  to the west of the Olympic Stadium in the Olympic Park

Rowing boats in Victoria Park
pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook

I sat sketching this scene on Wednesday while drinking a cup of tea on the deck extension at the Pavilion Cafe next to the West Lake, following my visit for treatment at the Osteopath.

There were an awful lot of teenage boys and families keen to get on to the lake and demonstrate their rowing ability - although precious few demonstrated any ability at all!  I think rather a lot people underestimated how much skill is needed to row a boat - and to row one fast!

The only one who seemed to be any good was a small girl who actually understood that the blade of the oar actually needs to be pulled through the water as opposed to dabbed in and out and splashed around!  Various boats were going round and round in circles with varying degrees of shouts and screams from their occupants!  The pedalos looked to be a much safer option!

I've never visited an Osteopath before but I have to say the problems in my neck and shoulder did feel very much better the next day.  It's still not solved the horrendous pains and pins and needles in my arm - but they definitely seem to be linked to this area.  I'm becoming quite an expert on the anatomy of the radial nerve and how it malfunctions!

Links:

• Team GB - Rowing http://www.teamgb.com/summer-sports/rowing
• GB Rowing Team http://www.britishrowing.org/gb-rowing-team 

Sissinghurst Moat and Orchard in Spring sunshine

Sissinghurst Moat and Orchard in Spring sunshine
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook, 11" x 16"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

I love that short period in Spring when the greens are vivid.  This last week we've been enjoying the third hottest March since records began and I've been in sunglasses all week enjoying the warmth, the intense blue skies, the vivid colours and the fresh new shoots of Spring - and lots of daffodils in two gardens in Kent and Surrey.

We went to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens on Tuesday last week and RHS Wisley on Friday (post to follow re Wisley).

The view of the Moat and Orchard in the Spring Sunshine

At Sissinghurst I sat on the step of the gazebo that Sir Harold Nicholson used to use as his writing room - and sketched the moat.  It's a nice sheltered spot located in the corner of the orchard and right next to the Moat.  It has the distinct advantage that nobody can look over your shoulder while you're sketching.  (Sissinghurst is one of those places where rather more middle class ladies than usual would like to tell you what they think of your sketching and how they wished they could draw...)


[I had a very odd image up earlier - the colour was completely off - I think the Derwent Inktense I used is proving to be rather too bright!]

Here are the photos of the gazebo

Gazebo at Sissinghurst
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

and the step where I sat

My sketchbooks and pencils
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

and the alternative view to the right of where I was sat - of the forsythia in "full on" mode

Full On Forsythia at Sissinghurst
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

We went for a walk round the estate in the afternoon - it was lovely to be tramping over fields and along bridleways in sunshine but the extent of the drought in this corner of England is quite shocking.

If you'd like to see more of my sketches of Sissinghurst - click this Sissinghurst label link

I also have a website which provides more information about the garden - check out Sissinghurst Castle Garden - a great garden.  It's a wonderful garden to visit between April and the end of September.

An aside:  I learned while writing this post that, there's an arty connection to the Nicholasons -  Benedict Nicholson, the elder son of Harold Nicholason and Vita sackville-West was appointed Deputy Surveyor of the King's Pictures under Kenneth Clark in 1939.

Willows on the Regents Canal

Willows on the Regents Canal
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils on Arches HP, 28.5cm x 19cm,
copyright Katherine Tyrrell - all rights reserved

My postcards for A Postcard from My Walk have got bigger and bigger!

This January postcard - which now lives in France with Ronelle van Wyk (Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen).  I loved what she says about it in Willow Reflections.

I especially love the darkness of the reflections breaking up into softer tones and hues and more highlights and finally disappear into the lefthand corner, adding such lovely diagonal movement. I feel as if I'm slowly passing in a canoe, dragging my hand through the ripples and reflections.

These willows are in an area where the canal boats turn round and hence there's a bit more water than usual.  The colours in January in the sun are also very interesting - if you look hard!

Wallace Collection: Sketching Venice by Canaletto

After limbering up with Mr Bonington (see Wallace Collection: Sketching Venice by Bonington), I moved to the next gallery at the Wallace Collection and got to grips with a big painting of Venice by Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, (1697 - 1768).

I had a lot to choose from!

Sketch of Venice: the Bacino di San Marco from San Giorgio Maggiore by Canaletto
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine Sketchbook

Canaletto is one of those painters who I find is liable to induce blind panic due to the sheer size of some of his paintings and the amount of perspective involved.  I picked one of the less complicated ones!  The sketch is of Canaletto's painting Venice: the Bacino di San Marco from San Giorgio Maggiore and it can be found in the West Gallery on the first floor.

These are some of the other paintings in the West Gallery.  Besides works by Canaletto, it also includes a few paintings by Francesco Guardi (1712 - 1793) and some imitators of Canaletto.

Why sketch paintings in art galleries

One of the reasons I like sketching paintings in art museums and galleries is that it's one of the best ways I know of learning how a composition works, the real colours involved in the palette and the real tonal values of seemingly light or dark parts of a painting.

So with this one:

• the horizon includes all the iconic buildings on that side of the basin and is below the centre line - although interestingly NOT on a third
• the apex of the triangular quayside in the foreground is however on "a third"
• the masts on the vessel in the centre of painting (and those of other ships) echo the strong vertical of the campanile on the right and are also echoed by the even taller mast on the left side (not included in my sketch - I ran out of time) which acts as a block and stops the eye straying out of the picture
• the water and sky are both a lot darker than first appears.  The darker tonal values sit either side of sunlit buildings on the horizon
• the boat coming in from the right persuades my eye to return to the centre of the painting
• there's a few little touches of red around the painting which enliven and energise the green/blue of the water and the ochre/sienna of the ground
• there's a lot more cream in the sky than I first realised - which warms the painting up.
• the figures in the foreground represent different aspects of Venetian life

This is what the Wallace Collection website has to say about this painting.

One of a pair of unusually large views, depicting the Bacino di San Marco from opposing vantage points. Here the viewer is placed on the steps of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore looking across the Bacino di San Marco towards the Canale della Giudecca on the left, with the opening of the Grand Canal in the centre of the canvas, and the Campanile (bell-tower), the Piazzetta and the Doge’s palace on the right. It is an attractive, clearly identifiable view of a type calculated to appeal to the Grand Tourist, with picturesque elements of local colour reinforcing the idea of Venice as an exciting cosmopolitan centre.

Paintings from the past are also a jolly good way of finding "views" of a place or what I call places to paint in The Art of the Landscape.  This particular one is a classic and quite possibly overdone view of Venice - but it's certainly one which presents a challenge.

This is the location of the view in Venice.  The painting is of the view from the island of San Giorgio Maggiore - looking northwest to the buildings either side of the Grand Canal - from Santa Maria della Salute in the west to the waterfront buildings of the SanMarco Sestieri in the middle and the east.


Wallace Collection:

• address - Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN (nearest tube: Bond Street; more info about visiting)
• website - http://www.wallacecollection.org/

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

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!

Sketching at L'Isle sur la Sorgue

L'Isle sur la Sorgue
11" x 16" pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook

On Sunday we went to see the Sunday Markets at L'Isle la Sorgue.  They have two each Sunday - a brocante (antiques) market and a normal market selling all the sorts of things you see in provencal markets.

I was first introduced to these when I came painting in Provence with Arts in Provence some 20 odd years ago;  The emphasis is on getting there early or facing a long walk from where you park your car as they are extremely popular - as is lunch at the very many restaurants before driving home.

Ruth Phillip's tells us in her new book Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard, that the brocante market is the source of some of the still life objects seen in Julian Merrow Smith's blog Postcards from Provence.

You can see photographs of the market on my Making A Mark blog - see L'Isle sur la Sorgue Markets and I'll be posting more in my Provence set on Flickr when I get home.

My quick sketch was done while sat on the bank next to the park in the shade from the midday sun.  There were, of course a grou of painters in the same location and it's a good one as it's out of the main flow of traffic but offers the shade which is so helpful in Meduterranean climes to being able to see what you're putting on your paper or support.

About L'Isle la Sorgue

L'Isle la Sorgue is east of Avignon, north of the Luberon and west of where we are staying:

The town dates back to at least the twelth century.  It's situated on five of the seven branches of the River Sorgue and is a mini Venice with lots of cafes and restaurants located next to the river.  It's probably most famous for its Sunday market.

The Provence Beyond website provides good background information about the town - see http://www.beyond.fr/villages/islesorgue.html.  Plus you can also find out more about it on  Provence Web - L'Isle sur la Sorgue

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........

Early evening near Richmond Bridge

Richmond Bridge
penc and ink and coloured pencils in small Moleskine sketchbook, 8" x 10"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This sketch was done at the end of August.  I'm next to the River Thames at Richmond looking west towards Richmond Bridge.  The early evening rowers and lovers were out and about.  Actually, there were lots more people walking along the Thames Path but I didn't have time to draw them all in so it looks a bit more romantic than it actually was!

I am soooooooo behind with posting sketches!  We spent a couple of days visiting Richmond, Twickenham and Ham this summer and there are a couple more sketches to post of Eel Pie Island and Ham Common Pond.

I've decided I need to visit more often as there are lots of opportunities for sketching combined with exercise - not least from the top of Richmond Hill - plus the autumn colours should be excellent!

The Water Garden at Giverny

The Water Garden, Giverny
11.5" x 17", coloured pencil in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

On 1st October we started our grand tour around northern France (Giverny, Rouen and Mont St Michel) before moving down the valleys of the Rivers Loire and Cher to see the chateaux.

We picked up our Renault Grand Scenic from the Gare du Nord and set off for Giverny. It's not that far from the centre of Paris and is a relatively easy drive - although Google maps will insist on trying to send you to the Foundation Claude Monet in Vernon!

I've been to Monet's house and garden at Giverny before and it was much as I remembered it - although a little less colourful being a little later in the season. However, that's all relative given that this is Giverny!

We got there just before lunch and left late afternoon - but inevitably it wasn't enough time. I think next time I visit I'll try and make it an all day visit. One of the reasons being that your eyes are assaulted with an awful lot of densely packed visual information. It takes quite a while just to get used the gardens - so you can see what you are seeing.

I didn't take enough photos last time I was there - and this time I had my new digicamcorder to play with too. It was actually very interesting looking at the garden through a frame as it helped me to see potential views to work up.

The weather changed quite a lot while we were there from cloud to sinshine and back to cloud again! I imagined Monet whipping canvases on and off the easel!

One of the things which struck me is how much more the garden had grown since I was last there. then it occurred to me that it probably now looks nothing like the way it did on the water garden side. I checked back to early photos and it's certainly the case that the trees surrounding the pool appear younger and not so dense.

If you've not been to Giverny and you'd like to get a bit of a sense of what I'm getting at, take a look at the two movies I've made of the two gardens

• A walk around Giverny - #1 The Water Garden (where the nympheas/waterlillies and willows are). This was supposed to be a nonstop walk around the garden however it turned out to be 12 minutes long so I shaved and snipped until I got it to 3 seconds short of 10 minutes - which meant I could upload it to You Tube!
  
• A walk around Giverny - #2 The Close Normand (the flower garden). This is a walk from the point where you emrege from the tunnel - up to the verandah on the house - and then from the verandah to looking at the Grande Allee - and the nasturtium - from both ends. This would have been the route that Monet took to his water garden.
  

Or the photos I took which are on Flickr

• Monet's water garden, Giverny
• Giverny - Clos Normand

I sat down for a while in the Water Garden - on the only seat in the two gardens - and did the sketch you can see at the top. It's one of those "every green goes with every other green" sketches! It hasn't got the depth of value that's needed as there wasn't enough time - but I'm working on that in a new drawing.

Tips for visiting Giverny

• Unless planning to stay all day, I'd suggest you go early or stay late or be there over lunchtime to enjoy the garden when it's quieter. Out of high season, I've had success in parking in the car park right opposite the house when I've done this. The tourist groups off the coaches tend to be either side of the lunchtime.
  
• Ear plugs are probably a good investment for those wanting to enjoy Giverny in tranquillity. The road which separates the two gardens is not that busy but it can be very noisy - especially in the water garden. Ear plugs also protect you against the completely inane comments of some tour guides who appear really eager to discuss Monet's deomestic arrangements and who slept where rather than the paintings he produced while living here!
• It's very easy to lose track of time - and the gift shop at the end has some really good out of print books about Monet which are well nigh impossible and/or very expensive to get hold of elsewhere. I came away with The Color of Time which is a prizewinning book about Monet and his work.
• You can't paint with easels in the garden when other people are visiting - there's just not enough room. However you can apply to paint in the garden and visit on a day when it's normally closed to the public. or you can be like Joan Tavalot and paint small standing up - check out her paintings of Giverny on her blog! (see Painting Monet's Garden - Day 1 and Painting Monet's Garden - Day 2)
• it's worth checking out images of the garden on different websites to see what time of year you'd most like to visit. They all have their pros and cons.

Links:

• Giverny - a great garden
• Claude Monet - Resources for Art Lovers
  

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.