September's visit to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

September's Art in the Park sketching trip was based in the third floor viewing gallery at the John Lewis store at Stratford Westfield overlooking the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Only two artists made it to this venue and we wondered if the logistics of getting there had put other people off from joining us.

The view from the panoramic picture window of the London Aquatic Centre and the stadium in the foreground with Canary Wharf in the background presented some interesting visual challenges. The enormous red ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture posed the question 'Put it in or leave it out?' which we answered by putting it in.

The staff at John Lewis were charming and helpful and even moved a meeting they were having to another place so we could get on with our sketching. There were benches to sit on so we didn't need our sketching stools that we had taken with us and we were very close to those two important requirements: public lavatories and a café where we enjoyed a snack.

All in all we had a stimulating outing and were pleased to have produced work we wouldn't normally have done.

Next sketching date: Tuesday 23 September

We have decided to take an aerial view of the Olympic Park, Stratford for our next day out. As funds do not stretch to hiring a plane we are going to go to the third floor of John Lewis, Westfield Stratford store where they have a large viewing area and some big windows overlooking the site.

I am not sure what the view currently consists of as they have been rebuilding since the Olympic games but it will be interesting to draw a landscape/cityscape from above.

John Lewis are happy for us to sketch, including using watercolours, in this part of the store. Please bring your sketching stools. It will be relatively secluded, since the viewing platform is behind various shopping areas. The café is on the same floor – on the other side of the building – and we will be able to nip off easily to have lunch. Take the escalator to the top, walk forward through the children's clothes department and the windows are visible.

The address is: 101 The Arcade, Westfield Stratford City, London, E20 1EL. Hopefully, John Lewis  will be completely unmissable as one emerges from Stratford Regional Station, which includes the London Overground System as well as the tube. You can find further details here.

Start Time: 11am (the store opens at 10am). Sue's mobile number is: 079758 641 42.

Happy Painting!
 

Sketching outing to Kingsland Basin

On Friday 22 August six Islington Art Society members assembled at The Proud Archivist café on the Regent's Canal beside the Kingsland Basin. The day, which started cloudy, improved while we were having coffee and we enjoyed a beautiful day which fully justified that stretch of towpath's trendy name the Haggerston Riviera. We also took full advantage of the facilities offered by the decorative Towpath café a little way westwards.

There were an assortment of nice barges and bridges to assemble into compositions and designs, and we had a stimulating day getting to grips with the possibilities these offered.

Next sketching date: Friday 22 August

We are planning to meet at Kingsland Basin at 11am on Friday 22 August. This is just off Kingsland Road and very near Haggerston station. There are lots of cafés in the area with views of the canal and the basin which means that we can draw inside if it is cold. They have large windows and there are many tables.

For example, The Proud Archivist sells coffee and lunches for under £5 plus it has lavatories. It is also an Arts and community building with all sorts of activities going on. Haggerston station is on the overground and accessible from Highbury and Islington but it is a bit of a journey for those travelling from Crouch End.

Parkland Walk sketching day

Around a dozen Islington Art Society members and their guests turned up to paint and sketch last Tuesday which was a gorgeous summer's day. We sat with our sketch pads and absorbed the rural atmosphere of the Parkland Walk close to the Crouch End Hill entrance.

We were subliminally aware of the tweeting of the birds and the Speckled Wood and White butterflies dancing along the ivy and buddleia but mostly we concentrated on our art. There was also time for relaxed chatter amongst ourselves and with other users of the Walk.

The Parkland Walk was looking good with dynamic contrasts between the brickwork and iron bridgeworks, the greenery and the glittering graffiti all emphasised by the sunshine. It was a slightly surreal experience made more so by the Spriggan and some of us took away fantastic pieces of flaked graffiti as elements for future exotic artworks. 

We were delighted with the friendly Sercem Café on Crouch End Hill which provided good coffee and excellent Turkish dishes. This section of the Parkland Walk offered a great many eye-catching subjects for sketching, and would be good for a repeat visit. It was a smashing day all round.

Artwork credits:
Above left, The Spriggan ©Susan Lees 2014
Right, Lost Station ©Janet Payne 2014

Next Art in the Park Day: Tuesday 15 July from 10.30am - The Parkland Walk, Crouch End/Islington North

We are going to start at the Sercem Café by the entrance to the Parkland Walk at the junction of Hornsey Rise N19/Crouch End Hill N8. The Sercem Café has basic refreshments, a few tables and chairs and a small lavatory. The Parkland Walk is down some steps. 

Various buses go up and down the road most usefully the 91. Also the 271 turns off a few minutes walk down the hill on the Hornsey Road. You can find a link to the map here.

At this point on the Parkland Walk there is a nice view of the bridge and rear of the café, and graffiti (interesting artistically), there are the old platforms, old railway walls with arches and statues springing out of the wall, more graffiti, and a bit further down the skateboard park (possibly with skateboarders) plus steps up to the new Crouch Hill Park and wooden  climbing walks for the children. The vista is heavily wooded.

I suggest that we meet at 10.30 at the Sercem Café, and then go down and paint below. Some of us will probably be visible from the steps so that latecomers can see that we have arrived. Participants can leave whenever they feel like it but hopefully some people will want to continue into the afternoon.

Bring your sketching stools as there aren't any benches.

I understand that the Friends of the Parkland Walk would be willing to put people's artwork on their website, which is very nice of them, and any finished work will of course qualify as a 'local view' for the Islington Art Society's Crouch End Exhibition in November.

If you would like to join us please turn up on the day or leave a message in the comments box below or alternatively email the Islington Art Society. We are keen to involve as many members of the Islington Art Society as possible in Art in the Park as it is such fun sketching outdoors with others.

Sketching outing to Arlington Square

Our Art in the Park date for June was blessed with dry weather and actual sun at times. Seven Islington Art Society members and one guest met to sketch and enjoy the peace of Arlington Square which was looking very good both horticulturally and artistically. The nearby pub supplied various essentials and kept some of us going well into the afternoon. It was a nice location for sketching outdoors and suitable for a return visit.