Bloomsday in Dublin

It's hard to believe the sun was shining yesterday. A perfect day for Bloomsday. Town was buzzing, full of ladies in their lovely skirts and blouses, and gentlemen in linen blazers and straw hats. What a joy it was. I didn't sketch the lovely ladies, but a few of our group sketched me, as I had dressed up for the occasion. 

Started the afternoon at Stephen's Green where I didn't sketch, but met up with Laura Trueman, one of our sketchers, who had her art on display at the railings. We did get a few pictures taken (I had brought Brendan along!)

Then it was on to the National Library of Ireland, which is normally not open on a Sunday. The reading room is out of this world. You do need a reader's card to get in normally. But the bathrooms in the basement are gorgeous too, and they're open to the public!

So I sketched in the reading room. Pencils only. Glad I had brought a few Luminance pencils. Turquoise doesn't photograph well, so here are two versions. The reality is something in between. I was originally going to draw in the rectangle I drew first, but my sketch kept expanding as I worked from the top down!

Then there was a reading from the Hades chapter of Ulysses, and I had to sketch the gentleman too. Quickly quickly. Got my sketch photographed and stamped!

Then onto the streets. A few sketchers were sitting on a low doorstep across from the Free Masons Hall. I sat behind them, and went to direct watercolour, starting with Pat, a bit of a red car (that thankfully stayed there long enough for me to finish my sketch), and the columns and steps of the Hall across the way. We must arrange to go sketch there again some day! PS: a lot of sketchers had trouble figuring out which was the right way up when they were looking at this sketch. I do go a bit abstract when I'm painting in direct watercolour.

And another photo of me in my Bloomsday outfit!