January's outing

The next outing is on Tuesday 30 January 2018. Meet at 11 am at Holy Trinity Church Sloane Square, http://www.holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk/.   Holy Trinity Church is at the top of Sloane Street, just off Sloane Square. The nearest tube which is less than a minute from the church is Sloane Square, one stop from Victoria. The Church (Parish office) is expecting us.

The Church has been chosen because it is a good example of an Arts and Crafts interior with fine stained glass, Betjemann called it the Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement. From the church's website:

'In common with the aims of the Arts & Crafts Movement, the architect of Holy Trinity Church, John Dando Sedding, believed that a church should be ‘wrought and painted over with everything that has life and beauty—in frank and fearless naturalism…’.'

It is also of course an active C of E church.

This should be a good challenge for a January day. Loos in the church and lots of cafes near by.

December outing to the British Museum

The December outing is to the British Museum on Tuesday 12 December meeting at 11 am. Meet by the totem pole in the Great Court. We will be concentrating on the Greek friezes, so latecomers should look for us there. Janet's number for the day is 07815 772857. You are of course free to sketch anything you want but the friezes have relief and movement. The Museum only allows dry materials, so no water colour unfortunately. They do usually provide sketching stools though sometimes these have all been taken. There are of course loos and cafes. Visit http://www.britishmuseum.org for more info.

A good indoor spot for a cold December day.

Sketching Day at Marylebone Station

On Tuesday 14 November six artists assembled at Marylebone Station. This is one of the nicest of London's rail termini, being small and retaining all its Victorian features.   One of us, however, was unimpressed with its charms, and preferred to remain in the underground, enjoying the deco tunnel, surfacing only for refreshments, and producing a very striking image:
Everyone else found something of interest at ground level. One person produced a series of quick figures at the cash machine - these are only a few of her rapid studies:
There were lots of people moving around.
Then there were various interesting cafes, and the ironwork roof:
We thoroughly enjoyed our day out with the transport system at Marylebone.

Sketching at Gillespie Park and Blighty Coffee Cafe

Tuesday 31 October was another of these light dry days which encouraged a record-breaking thirteen sketchers to present themselves at the Islington Ecology Centre in Gillespie Park. We were welcomed by Louisa Roscoe, Nature Conservation Officer from Islington Council’s Greenspace team, who gave us a whistlestop introduction to the origins of the Park out of the remains of the old railway sidings, of its current (extensive) wildlife habitats in an urban space, and the work which the Ecology Team do in the Park. Thank you, Louisa.

If anyone would like to take more exercise and benefit from time spent fruitfully in the outdoors amongst nature (also so good for health and happiness) there is a Thursday volunteer conservation team which is always open to newcomers, please ring the Ecology Centre on 020 7527 4374.

We were delighted to find that one artist had reconnoitred the Park in advance, and had come prepared to create a textile piece of the spirit of Gillespie, and produced this fabulous result:
Other people enjoyed one of the ponds ....
Others the vistas of the park, rus and urbe .....
And others took a shine to the interesting sculpture work which is all over the park ....
We very much enjoyed ourselves amongst the nature of the park, and we are planning to return at a different time of year.   Later, afflicted by chilliness and hunger, we moved on to the Blighty Cafe, on the Blackstock Road, where fortunately we arrived after the lunchtime rush, and were consequently able to spread ourselves about downstairs. As well as enjoying the excellent catering of the Cafe, we did some more art:
The staff at both the Ecology Centre and Blighty Coffee were extremely welcoming,we very much appreciate this, and we had a productive and fun day at the two locations which we all enjoyed. Next Tuesday 14 November we are going to Marylebone Station, we look forward to seeing everybody then.