Collins Barracks

A visit to Collins Barracks with Dublin Sketchers. I always get lost in that place! Somehow, I only ever find myself beside that plane hanging from the ceiling. There's a great spot to sketch it from, although it's so close that the foreshortening drove me mad. I had to extend the wing and the fuselage to give the impression that it could fly! Then I went to the Barracks Life room, and sketched a 1943 soldier's bed and kit. The only reason for that choice of subject is that there was a seat and the room was quiet, so I could finally take my coat of and relax into sketching. Colour blocks and text added afterwards. 

For my next sketch, I went up to the The Way We Wore room on the top floor. The lighting was very low, but, again, it was relatively quiet up there, and I sketched two dresses by Sybil Connolly, a famous designer whose dresses were worn by the likes of Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy!

I have met so many wonderful people through Dublin Sketchers. It was so hard to say goodbye to Marina. We always had so much to talk about when we met after sketching. I will miss her. And Urban Sketchers Helsinki are so lucky she's moving to Finland! And I never even thought of taking a picture together!

My sketches were not particularly exciting, but adding the colour blocks made a huge difference.