Sketching in the Natural History Museum

I spent a whole day in the Natural History Museum during our London trip last week. John and I looked round together all morning, but I was itching to do some drawing, so after lunch he left me to it. I sat myself on the floor and got started:

There was so much to go at, it was hard to choose, but one thing I had to draw, as soon as I saw him, was this hairy warthog, partly because he was so ugly, but mainly because I have illustrated a children’s book starring a warthog:

What a stonker! Not quite as cute as little Stinky in my illustrations. 

And, in case you think it’s just my wonky drawing, here’s a photo to prove that he really did have a head that flat. He’s really not a looker, is he? Though I must say, his skinny, sticky-up tail is pretty cute, don’t you think? Reminds me of bumper-cars at the fair.

I couldn’t walk by this wonderfully gooky rhino either, with his huge funnel-ears and slightly bemused smile. Now I look back at these sketches, you can really tell I draw children’s picture books for a living!

I loved this funny-looking fish too. Sometimes a wee bit ugly is rather appealing, isn’t it? I’m a sucker for spots too…

I did go for cute as well as ugly. The delicate features of this Springbok were simply irresistible. I was having fun exploring the freebie Strathmore sketchbook we were given at the last symposium. The grey paper is great as it makes you draw differently. I found that I was starting with a white pastel pencil, to mark out the highlights. 

As I was sitting facing the cabinets, I couldn’t see behind me. Every so often I would catch some movement out of the corner of my eye and look round to find a huddle of people standing over me, looking suddenly embarrassed to be caught in the act.

I had a long chat with one man who got very excited when he saw my waterbrush and wrote down all the details, so he could go away and get one immediately. They really are a brilliantly simple invention and make wet-sketching in museums possible.

I drew my socks off until John came to collect me at chucking-out time. He told me that he had just been sitting having tea next to Peter Gabriel in the Science Museum cafe. Oddly, we also found ourselves sitting having tea next to Simon Armitage the poet the very next day in the British Museum (Sorry, I didn’t draw him).

This is what I am sketching in the photo at the top, by the way: