Cricket Weather

The weather was supposed to be good. The showers were going to be "isolated". Not so I'm afraid. But I got into a dry spot in time for this sketch. A loading bay actually. Nice thing that they are elevated, loading bays. With steps. There was plenty of room for 5 sketchers I'd say, but I was on my own for the good hour and a half it took me to do this sketch. People walked by in search of shelter, but no-one asked if they could join me until the rain stopped. I was in my element. No distraction. No chat. Just pure concentration. Which I needed as I was doing this sketch in direct watercolour, i.e. no pen, not even a pencil mark. I started by working around the whites of the cricket boards (whatever they are, I was told that they provide a clear background for bowling, or something like that. I clearly wasn't paying attention) and of the building itself. I made some mistakes, but I soldiered on.

And although this wasn't an official Bloomsday sketchout, I had brought my DrawingOnJoyce sketchbook and I found the perfect quote. Cricket Weather.

And the reason why I chose direct watercolour as a technique was that I'm doing the #30x30DirectWatercolor2018 challenge. So I'm killing a few birds with one stone.

When I was done, I made my way to the Lincoln's Inn, to meet with fellow sketchers. After eating a delicious slice of Bailey's cheesecake and drinking a hot chocolate to warm myself up, I sketched people at a table across the way, using my ArtGraf Tailor Shape. A completely different style, but I like that in my sketchbook. I'm always trying out new techniques and new materials.

The quote I used is not from the same pub, but the Lincoln's Inn claims a Joyce connection all the same - it used to be part of Finn's Hotel, where Nora Barnacle was a chamber maid. It is said that James Joyce first met her there, on the 10th June 1904 and they started going out on the 16th of June 1904, hence the date chosen by Joyce for Ulysses.