10 Sketches from London

[by Stephanie Bower, Seattle] Yep, I’m still wading through my sketches from Europe. Here are 10 from London, with a short note about each.

1. The sketch above was done on a steamy afternoon along the Thames. Together with my friends Beliza Mendes and Anne Percival (that’s Anne’s right hand), we had a fabulous time wandering London. This sketch became the inspiration for my workshop at the Chicago symposium, “Lay It On The Line”…how to use your eye level to draw wide riverfront views and a demo on painting watery reflections.

2. The first morning, Anne, Beliza and I walked out of our hotel only a few steps when we stumbled upon the early light hitting this amazing building (OK, there were amazing buildings everywhere!) We stopped on the spot and had to sketch it.

3. Also near our hotel was Trafalgar Square. I stood way off to the side and attempted to catch a sweeping view of this amazing gathering place.  A little overworked…

4. After a day or two in London, we were off to meet the sketchers from Asia who had just arrived in town…Tia, KK, Pramote, Patrick, and more…it was just incredibly fun to have this instant community, to see old friends and meet new friends. It’s incredible to see how everyone sketches differently, and sketches beautifully in their own way. So much to learn!

I headed to the interior to sketch this view of Covent Garden…again, a little overworked. What can I say, I get carried away. A serious one point perspective while I got to listen to amazing musicians entertaining the crowds.

5. The sketch below was super quick, as I also wanted to catch the exterior.

6. One day Anne and Beliza and I took a lovely boat trip to nearby Greenwich–the place where time begins, as in Greenwich Mean Time.  We walked among the elegant Sir Christopher Wren buildings, had the best Fish & Chips I think I’ve ever eaten, then walked up the hill to the observatory.

7 & 8. One straight on view of the columns in Greenwich, followed by a quick sketch of St. Pancras Station back in London. I was starting to feel sick, so I worked fast then ran off to buy some vitamin C. The sketches here appear full size.

9. By this time, lots of sketchers had arrived in London. We were a big group sketching around Big Ben and the square in front of Westminster Abbey. I rather like how this sketch came out, as by leaving big areas of the paper white, it stayed fresh.

10. And last, this is a sketch from the London Urban Sketchers meet up at St. Paul’s cathedral. I sketched and painted this inside during the Sunday morning service. Talk about sketching the shape of the space! And the hardest color to paint is actually the lack of color…white.

Finally, a real treat when one of my favorite students from my teaching days in New York City at Parsons, Illugi Eysteinsson, surprised me by showing up!!! Incredible!!! Originally from Iceland, his boundless energy now goes to teaching drawing and sketching in London and other parts of the world…look him up online and on Facebook and follow his work!

After this, it was off to the train station and the Symposium in Manchester!!!