29 January: sketching at the Temple Church

Thirteen artists braved the freezing cold to go to the Temple Church to draw. It was lovely and warm as well as being very historic with its connections to the Knights Templar and the tombs of the Marshall family, who were Earls of Pembroke and very influential in the reigns of Kings Richard II and John.

The church was full of atmosphere. Parts of the original Norman round church still remain though there have been several enlargements and rebuilding. The tall windows have splendidly colourful stained glass, though this was Victorian as English stained glass tends to be. We had a refreshing lunch in Zest, a vegetarian restaurant and then back to work.

There was an amazing selection of Art produced by Art in the Parkers. My apologies for my photography which does not do the work justice. I am also working on improving the layout for the pictures.

The next outing will be to Covent Garden opera house where there are accessible public spaces and a good view over the market rooftops. The date will be published on this blog.

Our next outing is on Tuesday 24 May at Culpeper Community Garden

Our next sketching outing is on Tuesday 24 May to the Culpeper Community Garden. They will be expecting us from 10:30am but of course we are free to arrive later if we want. Please bring sketching stools as there is very limited seating outside. This is a charming spot close to the Angel tube, Upper Street and Essex Road buses and of course Chapel Market. Either bring sandwiches to eat in the garden or there are plenty of cafés nearby. Mandy, one of the volunteers will be expecting us and there will be people working in the garden.

The address is: Culpeper Community Garden, 1 Cloudesley Road, Islington
London, N1 0EG.

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