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| Skaters II, watercolour only. |
Yesterday, I was asked if I was a spy, really. It came after saying I have lived and travelled abroad and am only in England temporarily. Spy or not, I don't do cold, so the 4
°C and showery afternoon was a challenge.
The London Urban Sketchers had arranged to sketch in the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park and after meeting in a nice warm pub ten of us headed across Marble Arch and into the event.
Near the entrance was a big wheel complete with Santa in his sleigh, and it had to be drawn. Taking shelter under one of the many wooden food chalets, I grabbed an Inktense pencil and started sketching. The slightly unusual effect is due to spots of rain on the page.
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| I wasn't happy with the red, so added red watercolour at home. |
Next up, Isabel & I sketched Zippo's Circus. I have to say I was tempted to go and see the show, especially as a sign boasted "It's warm inside". Instead, it was a cup of hot chocolate and onto the outside skating rink. I sketched the skaters directly in watercolour. The spots on the page due to the paint taking forever to dry.
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| Isabel & I sketching skaters, 27th December. |
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| Skaters I, Inktense Pencil sketch. |
With icy feet, fingers & nose, a great find was the firepit, where thawing out whilst sketching was a perfect way to end a visit to the Winter Wonderland before heading to the pub and sharing of sketches.
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| Pencil with watercolour added at home. |
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| Unfinished Pencil sketch (too cold) |
Note: I was using a Monologue A5 hardback sketchbook, which the company sent me to review. I have to say that so far, for me, this is not a book that works well when out and about sketching. Firstly, it has perferated pages, which means you are limited to single page spreads and I am already loosing pages after just 3 days of use. Then, the paper is thin with even a few splashes of rain making it buckle slightly and you can not draw on the back with out the drawing underneath showing through.On a positive side, the paper takes pencil and ink well. If you don't over use the water the intensity of watercolours does remain.
