May's sketching outing to Finsbury Park

We managed to sketch these views before the rain started

We continued sketching inside the café after lunch to avoid the downpour

"I like to join the Art in the Park sketchers because I enjoy the camaraderie, the support of other artists and the exchange of information"                        Janet Payne

Next sketching day is Tuesday 19 May

Art in the Park will be back out in the park on Tuesday 19 May when we plan to visit Finsbury Park, London N4. We will meet at the Finsbury Park Café at 10:30am, where some of us may wish to stay and sketch people at tables outside, and then we will probably meet up there at lunchtime. Some of us will probably wish to continue working on our art into the afternoon.

Finsbury Park has a lake with an island, rowing boats, large water fowl (Canada Geese) as well as parkland vistas, outdoor games areas, formal gardens and café activity and offers a variety of art subjects. We will hope for a glorious sunny day but if it is rainy the café has an external canopy and the lake is close by. You may wish to bring your sketching seat with you.

A link to a map of Finsbury Park can be found here; the café is near the southern edge of the lake. We understand there is some parking inside the park but we have not visited to confirm this. Parking outside the Park is heavily controlled with all-day Controlled Parking Zones.   

There are many buses serving this area: 29; 141; 210; 253; 254; 259; 279; 341; W3; W5 and W7 and two tube stations: Finsbury Park and Manor House.

We look forward to meeting up with regular Art in the Park participants and their guests on 19 May! Sue's mobile number is: 07975 864142 should you not be able to find us.

April's visit to Ally Pally

The Palm Court that reminded us of Kew Gardens

On Monday 10 artists gathered at Alexandra Palace having travelled from different parts of London to enjoy the views over London and to sketch this monument to Victorian architecture. Built during the height of the British Empire Ally Pally opened as the People's Palace in 1873 and it is still used today for exhibitions and events. We pretty much had the place to ourselves the day we were there and there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere which was conducive to working. Quite a few of us were still sketching until late afternoon.

There were a lot of subjects available for drawing. Some artists wrestled with the architecture, others were taken with the palm trees and sphinxes. We didn't realise until late on in the afternoon that some of the sphinxes had masculine features and others had feminine features. For those artists who felt a bit overwhelmed by the structure the outside beckoned with the panoramic view of London in the distance and the terrace, where people were eating and drinking, closer to hand.

At lunchtime we gathered in the Bar & Kitchen to recuperate from our labours, chat about places to exhibit our art and show each other our morning's work. We have agreed that this is another venue that would be well worth revisiting in the future and it has the advantage of offering covered space inside if the weather is too inclement to work outside.

April's outing is on Monday 20th at Alexandra Palace

Victorian extravaganza, Alexandra Palace set in its own parkland on a ridge between Muswell Hill and Crouch End, is an unmissable destination for Art in the Park.

We plan to meet at 11am in the Palm Court, which is the Palace’s western entrance hall where we will be able to sketch ensembles of palm trees, sphinxes and pyramids under the enormous curved glass roof, and any members of the public who might be wandering around in the space. 

If the weather is fair, and we so wish, we can also go outside and sketch the spectacular building and the amazing southwards view of London. For views of the interior, please have a look here. Refreshments can be bought from the Bar & Kitchen, which has full facilities. The bar has tables in the Palm Court, if we use these we should buy some drinks or food. Otherwise we suggest you bring your sketching stools.

Ally Pally has two car parks, the closest one to the front entrance is in The Grove, (if you are coming from the Crouch End direction turn to the left just after the Garden Centre entrance, and please do not park in the Garden Centre). The other car park is at the far end of the building beside the entrance to the skating rink. We are going on a non-event day so there should be no parking difficulty, no crowds, nor any entrance fee.

Alternatively, various buses go through the park. You can find a map and full travel details here. We are looking forward to another enjoyable day out with IAS artists and their guests.

Art in the Park group visits the Museum of London

On Tuesday 17 March five IAS members took their pencil cases to the Museum of London. We had a great day. It is possible to avoid the crowds and find peaceful corners of this fascinating museum in which to draw.

We particularly enjoyed the 18th century pleasure garden experience, which featured models in fashionable dress of the period (many of the costumes were the real 18th century McCoy, made for very petite ladies) as well as screenings of dramatisations of 18th century incidents located at Vauxhall and Ranelagh Gardens, all in lighting suggestive of gardens at night. 

There were other places we liked as well, which included the Victorian shopping experience, some art deco moments, and the Lord Mayor’s golden carriage. While the lighting is generally dim in the Museum, punctuated by spotlights, it is consistent – a drawing can be taken up after a break with no concerns that the sun will have gone in or moved round. 

There was much imaginative display in the Museum which is yet another Art in the Park location that is worth a return visit.

Next sketching outing: Tuesday 17 March

We have been given permission to sketch in the Museum of London's permanent collection for our March outing. We are planning to meet at 10:30am on Tuesday 17 March and the museum is well served with cafés and lavatories. There will be fold-away stools to use so we don't have to stand to work and we can spread out around the galleries according to what interests us. We cannot take photographs and we can only use pencils on this occasion so watercolours are forbidden this time. Entrance is free but there is a charge if you wish to see the temporary exhibition on Sherlock Holmes.

The nearest tube stations are Barbican which is on the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines and St Paul's which is on the Central Line. This is the first time we have visited a conventional museum for a sketching outing so please post a comment in the comment box if you would like to join us.

ART IN THE PARK DAY AT THE BARBICAN MONDAY 16 FEBRUARY

Seven IAS members and their guests came along to the Food Market in the Barbican and had a good art day. Some of us sketched outside on the terrace, because there are very interesting circular pools off the main lake which are topped off by rather good palm trees, until the chill set in. Other people sat at the window bench in the Food Market and painted the ancient church across the lake and the unique Barbican construction shapes. We also found the diners in the café good subjects.

There was plenty of room and we were undisturbed by the staff. We also looked at the little art gallery outside the library, which could be a future venue for an Art in the Park exhibition. This was a good location for Art in the Park, and a place worth going back to in warmer weather when the many outside possibilities could be explored.