Breakfast at Bluebell

Wonderful session with the Bluebell Community Development Project. I sketched and chatted with a group of really nice young men. And I think I captured something of their positive attitude and sunny personalities. It was an honour to meet them and I hope they're happy with the portraits I drew. I did get tired towards the end, so I might revisit one or two of them!

Adrian was so friendly and warm. He had spotted us sketching the last time and was wondering when we'd be back!

I think I can safely say that Darius is the only person in the room who can pronounce my name. He was funny and clever and also interested in poetry. It's his birthday soon!

Seán has a really sunny, happy disposition! And a sharp haircut, which I didn't do justice to!

Rory was full of smiles and anticipation, but when I started sketching him, he became very serious, looking straight at me. Which made it easier for me to sketch him!

And when I thought I was done, Robbie, one of the carers who accompany these young men to Bluebell, asked me to do a sketch of himself and Mary. I was exhausted at that point, so they were probably not too happy with my sketch of them. But the lads had a good laugh when I showed them the sketch first!

I gave the original sketches to each of my sitters. I printed the photos I took and then added a little bit of pencil colour as a background. Then I glued them into my sketchbook. Definitely a quicker way of doing it!

Camden Street

Inspired by my weekend with Federica, I'm trying to sketch more in my own style again, with lots of colour and no consideration for perspective or proportions! 

These flamingos and crocodile are above a shop's entrance. But I didn't really care about the shop below these wild animals, so I just drew what I wanted. It felt quite freeing actually!

Camden Street is busy and noisy, particularly when you sit on the footpath beside a bus stop. My view across the road was blocked by buses half the time, so I decided to include a bit of a bus into my sketch of the flower seller (where I bought the sunflowers!)

"I can feel my youth slipping away". These were Pat's words after queuing forever for a coffee at Caffe Nero. I shared in the feeling. I was also worried about all the bottles of milk open on their counter. And the lack of segregation between the syrup bottles and the cleaning bottles. In fairness, they were on opposite sides of a glass partition, but if I were a health inspector, I would not be happy about that!

One quick sketch of rooftops and chimneys, seen from Devitt's, where I can recommend the tomato and coconut soup, and the chips!

Three sunflowers

Experimenting with different inks (Noodlers Apache sunset is the only one I am sure of). I bought 3 lovely sunflowers the other day, and at least I have them drawn from direct observation now. I took lots of photos as well, so I can use them for later drawings. So much to do, so little time.

Weekend in Dublin with Federica

(This was from 14 to 16 May. I'm always behind with my blog. )

OK, this is going to take me a while to write, but I want to put it all into the one post, or I'll never get it done!

You might remember a few months ago, last October I think, that I participated in an event with Urban Sketchers. It was called Sketch Together, and the idea was to bring urban sketchers from all around the world and interview them on Instagram. I was assigned as an assistant to Federica Marinaro, who interviewed sketchers around Europe. We had never met before. We had never worked on a project together before. But we got on like a house on fire. You know that wonderful feeling, that we got each other's back and worked in similar ways, and immediately trusted each other! And when it was all done, we promised to meet soon. A trip in December had to be postponed due to Covid concerns around Europe. And we rescheduled. And this time, it worked.

I don't know where to start. So the easiest thing will be to follow the sketches and tell the story from there.  You can also go and check Federica's Instagram page. She's a whizz with Instagram stories, reels and posts! (I couldn't keep up!!). We had great weather. We enjoyed each other's company. It was like we had known each other for years. We talked, we ate, we sketched, and we also got to sketch together with the Dublin team! All in all, a perfect weekend!

Day 1 Saturday 14th of May

I'm always early at the airport, even when I'm picking someone up. So I had time to sketch the people standing in the arrivals hall. It was a while since I was there.

After a cuppa and a scone in Bewleys, we settled in Saint Stephen's Green, watching the world go by. It was sunny, but not that warm. The trees have that lovely fresh green colour. But most people were still wearing their warm jackets.

We dropped Federica's bags to her AirBnB, then went on to Dun Laoghaire. We wanted to see the sea. Well, the fog was so thick that we didn't see much. But we had a late lunch and we sketched each other. So much fun!

Undocumented by sketches - we went back to my house, looked through each other's sketchbooks over a cool drink, ordered via Deliveroo, and watched the Eurovision song contest!

Day 2 Sunday 15th of May

We met in town, walked around Trinity College, then went to the Kilkenny Design café, where there was Sunday morning music. The age profile is older than when I was in Trinity. Except for these 3 lads. We met up with a friend of Federica's, who is also living in Dublin, and who is called, guess!, Maria-Helena! 

After a quick bite in KC Peaches on Nassau Street, we headed to Saint Patrick's Cathedral, where our fellow urban sketchers from Dublin Sketchers were meeting. Lots of sketching, lots of chatting and looking through sketchbooks, discussing pens and colours and paper. Perfect afternoon.

After that, we went to Yamamori South for dinner, tako yaki, some sushi, umeshū, and lots more chatting!

Day 3 Monday 16th of May

Started with a sketch of the interesting buildings across the way from the Avoca café

A beautiful tree in Trinity College

Front Square, Trinity College Dublin. Didn't get to finish it, but you get the idea!

We had an hour before our visit of the Book of Kells and the Long Room, so we went to the Museum Building (Geology Department). The door was open. We went in, then up the stairs  and we started sketching. It's not an easy interior. But it's amazing. Someone did enquire about what we were doing, but I confidently said we were with Dublin Sketchers and we'd been there before, so we were able to continue with our drawing of this fabulous interior, reminiscent of Venice, or the Ottoman Empire!

After visiting the Long Room, and having a lovely lunch, we had time for one more sketch, before Federica had to head to the airport. The Dubh Linn garden in Dublin Castle didn't disappoint! And did I mention that we had wonderful weather?

It was sad to say goodbye, but I am already thinking about going over to visit Federica!

Federica took lots of amazing photos. And do check her amazing Instagram page - If you look at the Highlights at the top, you will find some gorgeous videos of our time together!

I don't have the energy of the patience to sort these photos here in chronological order. Enjoy!