Winter outing to Fenchurch Street station

Nine IAS members and guests met at Fenchurch Street station on a freezing cold day. The station facade was aglow with winter sun, the last showing of autumnal colours in the trees and a winter food market. Most artists braved the cold and sat outside in the forecourt on the seats especially provided until the sun departed when we repaired to a North African hot food cafe. Some stunning results and worth the risk of hypothermia. The Caffe Nero meeting point unfortunately proved difficult to locate, but artists persevered and we all met up eventually.

The next outing will be in January to the Museum of London. The date and meeting details will go on the blog shortly.

Next sketching outing is on Tuesday 29 November

The November outing is to Fenchurch Street station on Tuesday 29 November at 11 am. All the excitement of a London Terminal. There is now a pedestrian precinct outside the station, which has a stunning facade but this could be a bit cold. Plenty of coffee shops inside the station but you may want to bring a sketching stool. Meet inside the station by Caffe Nero at 11am and then choose your spot. Janet's number for the day is 07815 772857.

Art in the Park visits Hoxton

Seven Art in the Park enthusiasts arrived at the Hoxton Overground Station on Tuesday 25 October on a grey but dry day. The views of the railway tracks with Canary Wharf in the background appealed strongly to some of us, while an old VW Camper Van and an old garage with an automobile mural and lots of notices spoke to others. Also, as before, the elegancies of the Geffreye Museum facade close by drew one artist's attention.

We felt that we had a good morning when we collected in the Geffreye Museum's cafe for coffee and lunch and talked outdoor painting against the background hubbub.

Our next sketch-day will be to Fenchurch Street Station, details to follow shortly.

Our next outing is to Hoxton on Tuesday 25 October

Our October Art in the Park outing is to Hoxton and the Geffrye Museum. We will meet at 11 am on Tuesday 25 October in the alley (Geffrye Street) at the back of the Geffrye Museum, next to Hoxton overground station. The plan is to draw the workshops in the railway arches or the view from the upper levels of the station. If cold or wet we have the opportunity of drawing inside the Geffrye museum, where there are lavatories and a café. There are also coffee shops and a bar/café/restaurant directly adjacent to the entrance to Hoxton Overground Station. This is Caffeine Central after all.

Information about the Geffrye museum can be found here. The website also includes directions for how to get there. Janet's mobile for the day is 07815 772857 and Sue's mobile is 07975 864142.

September's outing to the pergola at Inverforth House

The September Art in the Park outing was to Inverforth House with its magnificent pergola. Inverforth House is on the edge of Golders Hill Park and tucked away behind trees. The garden is open to the public and it is one of London's lesser known gems, in an amazing setting with incredible planting. The pergola offered some challenging perspective, offset by the pre-autumnal vegetation.

The day started off by being rather wet, but five valiant artists either found cover or worked under umbrellas to produce some good work. We were rewarded eventually by brighter skies and lunch outside in the café in Golders Hill Park.

Art in the Park will be moving to settings with more cover as autumn sets in. Our next outing is to Hoxton and the Geffrye museum. There will be inside and outside options with possibilities for sketching the workshops under the railway arches. The date and details of the October outing will be posted on the blog shortly.

Sketching outing to Golders Hill Garden on 29 September

The September Art in the Park outing is to the Golders Hill Garden and Pergola on Thursday 29 September 2016 at 11am.

The Pergola is on the West Heath adjacent to Golders Hill Park, the nearest underground stations are Golders Green and Hampstead. The 216 and 268 buses run along North End Road. The Pergola  is in the grounds of Inverforth House which dates originally from the late eighteenth century and was substantially altered by Lord Leverhulme. It is privately owned but the gardens and Pergola are open to all. The location is stunning.

There is a café in Golders Hill Park and the Bull and Bush pub is nearby. There is some cover under the Pergola but come prepared if the weather looks bad as this is an outdoor location. It is always a good idea to bring sketching stools.

A map can be downloaded here.

An August visit to Abney Park cemetery

The last Tuesday in August saw nine artists, IAS members and friends, sketching in Abney Park cemetery. We had a lovely sunny day with plenty of deep shadows, luxuriant undergrowth and mature trees, where Victorian monuments lurked. There were plenty of angels and even a lion. The disused chapel was being renovated and was unfortunately covered in hoardings and scaffold but there were plenty of other subjects to grab our attention. The quiet of the cemetery was disturbed for a bit by a persistent overhead helicopter, but it was fortunately not looking for artists.

We had lunch in a trendy new café on Stoke Newington Church Street where we compared work and encouraged each other. And very importantly no-one got lost in this maze of a cemetery. Watch this blog spot for details of the next outing in September.