MHBD's Blog: London

I was in London for The London Urban Sketchers' 10th birthday celebration. It was a busy few days. I met lots of people, caught up with some good friends. Walked a lot. Enjoyed the vibe of the city, and the good weather, always at least 4 or 5 degrees warmer than in Dublin, which makes a huge difference.

It's probably about 10 years since I last was in London, and it was such a joy to rediscover the city! I had forgotten how big it is and how imposing its architecture. Even the Thames is so much wider than the Liffey. I only brought a small sketchbook, and I really felt I couldn't do the larger-than-life monuments justice!

Lovely stickers given to all participants by Urban Sketchers London. They also produced a gorgeous book. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough room in my luggage to buy one then. Maybe I will order it online?

There's going to be two sections below. One with photos taken on location, with my sketchbook in front of the scene. There might even be a few people in these. And then further below you will see the proper photos of my sketches, which I took at home, after adding text and sometimes a little bit extra colour to all my on-location sketches.

So, let's get started.

I was flying Aer Lingus, so cleared security at Terminal 2 (without any problems, no delays, no mad crowds). When my gate was announced, I followed the directions, and found myself at the old Terminal 1, at the circular area. I had lots of time, so I got myself a scone and a tea and sketched what was in front of me.

I even had the time to sketch a view of the planes on the tarmac. It's a classic Urban Sketchers view. But my planes are a bit chunky. Before starting sketching, I enjoyed watching the Etihad plane reversing from its stand, with a man popping out of the top of the cockpit, holding two flags. I found out it was all a celebration of Etihad's 15 years flying from Dublin. I never knew there was a panel in the cockpit that could be opened. I guess only in emergencies, or flag waving!!

As you can see from the sketch below, I made it to London. There was a bit of drama - I was chatting on the phone with Brendan and he told me that my 12 noon flight was showing delayed by 30 minutes. I mentioned that the previous flight was just boarding (I'm always really early at the airport). Brendan told me to go and ask if they could take me on that flight. I hesitated, but then thought there was nothing to lose. There were 3 people ahead of me, doing the same thing. And all four of us got on the earlier flight. When I landed in Heathrow, a message popped into view, informing me that my 12 noon flight was cancelled and to contact Aer Lingus to make arrangements to get onto a later flight. I felt so lucky! I was in London!!

The sheer excitement of being on the Tube. I had to sketch it. I was a bit early going over to Lorna's, so I sat at the platform at London Bridge station for a while and sketched. A little boy thought he saw a rat. He was probably right.

Following day - breakfast at Starbucks. Facing the escalators. An opportunity to study people as they were going up and down.

I had just enough time to fit in this sketch between Southwark and London Bridge. Looking towards the shard. One of my priorities was to sketch under railway bridges. There are so many of them in London! To me, they are the thread that's holding the whole city together. The city wouldn't be the same without the railway, and the Underground of course.

The thing that struck me as I was sketching the details in this spot was the name of that business Airportransfer.com - one missing T. Is that why they went out of business? Nobody could find their website?

The afternoon is a blur of being busy busy. I can't remember where I had lunch even.

But it was so much fun. I wasn't sitting on a bench for a minute that a stranger came over and asked if she could sketch me!

And then the view was amazing (This is from Bernie's Gardens near the Oxo tower, looking towards the City and St Paul's across the river). Of course, there were sketchers everywhere - I didn't sketch the ones that were standing at the railing, blocking my view!

Caught up with old friends, made new ones, got my picture taken, was pretty active on Instagram. I had the best ice cream (dark chocolate and matcha). If you've been to an Urban Sketchers event, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't yet, what are you waiting for?

The following morning, it was London Bridge. It was much chunkier and uglier than I had imagined. Well, anyway, that's how I drew it! Plus there were no public bathrooms in the area, and the Starbucks nearby didn't have working toilets, so I ended up walking around a lot to find suitable facilities!

Then, after a rescue mission to help a dear friend, I was off to Battersea Power Station. Honestly? I didn't expect it to be so big. And I was sorry I had only brought a smallish sketchbook with me. So I struggled to do it justice. But the ice cream I had before I started was perfect for the hot weather! Did I mention the weather was gorgeous? Sunshine, 26-28 degrees at the hottest, 22-24 on the cooler days.

Lots of lovely people in our sketchwalk group, lots of great sketches!

Then it was drink and draw time, another Urban Sketchers tradition. It was hot. I hit a little sugar low, but recovered after a bite to eat. Sketched a bit. Had some light conversations with a lot of people, and some intense conversations with others. Walked back to my hotel afterwards. A good half hour. The quays were alive with tourists and locals. Such an amazing atmosphere.

Was attending a workshop at 9 am the following morning. I didn't take photos during the workshop, which was amazing by the way, just what I needed to restore my well of inspiration! You will see the sketches further below.

Then lunch with Uma, a dear friend, in a quiet little spot. Glad she was feeling better and we were able to chat. This is the best photo we got together!!

Final sketchwalk was St Paul's Cathedral. I applied the folding technique that Mário Linhares taught us at the workshop that morning - it really unlocked something in me and I felt a lot more joyous sketching after it. Mário was an amazing teacher, teaching concepts rather than "draw like I draw" type of thing. And he gave everyone personal feedback that was so useful and kind. I was really impressed by his teaching style. You'll see the other sketch further down this page.

And then it was all over. Head to https://www.instagram.com/urbansketcherslondon/ for group photos and lots of sketches by all the participants!

I didn't go to the final drink and draw. It was a bit too far for my tired body and mind. I chose to have a quiet dinner with another friend, Cat, instead. We found this lovely vegan restaurant in the Borough Market area. I forgot to take photos, so you'll have to believe me.

A few pictures around St Paul's

It was great to catch up with Emma, an amazing artist. We enjoyed chatting and commenting on everything!!

Then Cat and myself were still in London and we sketched in the same area, the Borough Market, just behind our hotels, on the Monday morning.

We spent a bit of time admiring the exotic fruit at Raya Grocery, and then I had to sketch them. The store manager was so thrilled to have someone sketching their shop that he gave me freshly-pressed sugarcane and lime juice. It was so tasty - I had never had it before in my life and it was amazing to see how much juice came out of a sugar cane stick!

Sketched some more. A mother and two little girls stopped by to chat and the little girls even hugged me before going on their way. The Borough Cheese Company man was very happy with the sketch I did of him too.