My latest blog post is about sketching in West London. I recently went to West London to visit my daughter who lives up there. The weather was hot in fact too hot to be outside much so I have a mix of sketches! Some outside and some inside!
Here are my sketches – click on the image to see a larger version.
Sketching Outside
Old Isleworth
It was very hot when we arrived so I had to take refuge sitting out of a lovely pub along the Thames in Old Isleworth. The pub is called Town Wharf and has recently reopened. It had a lovely shady decking area over the Thames. Over the years we have usually to visited the pubs along The Strand, near Kew Bridge. However they can get very busy, especially on sunny days and, even worse, on a sunny day with temperatures over 30 degrees, there is limited shade! So finding this pub open was a real treat, although a little further upstream. It was a very peaceful, scenic spot so I had to get my paints out and capture the scene.
Battersea Power Station
After a few days It cooled down so I did venture out to Battersea Power Station. It was great to see this landmark building now restored into a food / shopping place to visit. I can remember when it was still in use from when I lived in London over 45 years ago. There are lovely landscaped gardens, and seating areas overlooking the Thames, a lovely place to chill. I did try and paint it, but to be honest it was big!
Sketching inside
To be honest I find it quite hard being in London during heatwave. Also we were visiting our daughter so we didn’t feel we had to get out exploring! We have visited London on many occasions.
So I decided to get my paints out to sketch some of my favourite scenes of Cornwall. No this wasn’t to remind me I could be at home enjoying a cooling swim – or perhaps it was! These have now been converted into my latest batch of 6 x 6 cards and will be for sale on my Etsy store.
The paintings were from photographs on my phone of Sennen Beach and Marazion. I also experimented with an abstract seascape, taking inspiration from a painting my daughter has on her wall.