Urban Sketching in London

While I was in London in June I thought I would try my hand at urban sketching. This is a relatively new art style (at least it is to me), where you draw while on location. A big part of urban sketching is that the drawing doesn’t have to look true to life, it’s almost like the impressionist movement in that you get the idea without doing a whole finished painting.

KING’S CROSS STATION

I love the roof in King’s Cross and that was the thing I wanted to be the focus of this sketch. Because the beams are white I drew this on grey sugar paper and painted over in white gouache.

MARBLE ARCH

The hotel we stayed at was right by Marble Arch, we could actually see it from our room. I think I possibly didn’t go dark enough in the shadows with this sketch which makes it look flat.

WELLINGTON ARCH

Wellington arch. This was my first ever attempt at drawing figures and it went pretty well. I am very impressed by the fact that you can make out Nike on her chariot despite it being nothing more than a few scribbled lines.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

The outside of Buckingham palace while waiting on the changing of the guards. I’m still proud of my idea to use a yellow highlighter for the Policeman’s jackets. I need a little more practice drawing horses though.

TATE MODERN

The page on the left is a detail taken from a photograph I took of the gate at the Wellington Arch. I loved all the repeating motifs in it. The page on the right is some paintings I saw at the Tate. Both these pages were done on the cover of the map I got at the Tate. I liked the green and wanted to try painting on a different surface.