Trip to The Tate Britain

Sunday train to London.

Went to London to meet up with my Mum and brother and we ended up going to Tate Britain. Have never been before and was amazed at the scale of this building.

We saw the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition, which was much larger than I expected. Had a huge amount of work on show (drawings, prints and textiles, as well as paintings) and I got to see loads of paintings that I had only seen in books before. Ophelia by Millais had quite a crowd admiring it. In fact, the whole exhibition was extremely busy considering it was such a sunny Sunday.

Then we had a stroll along the Thames in the last of the sunshine. I do love London! I love its history, scale, grandeur and the amazing mix of people. As I walked back to Victoria Station, I passed Westminster Abbey. It was Remembrance Sunday, so there was this most amazing display of thousands of tiny, unassuming crosses outside the Abbey. All the crosses were named with an individual's details and some had photos attached. Made you realised how many people had died fighting and was a very poignant display. Were still lots of veterans about, all wearing their medals.

 

Am going to London again next weekend, so am going to try to squeeze in more drawing time than just the journey!

Looking back at Christmas

Looking back over some Christmas drawings, now I have my new scanner.

Are all imperfect drawings, generally done very quickly and are rather messy, but I love the way they capture those moments so much more accurately than any photo.

Went to London....

... for a few days at the end of my holidays. Was heavy showers and sun all weekend, so managed to see this amazing rainbow while we were on our way to Wahaca  (where we had a great meal!). Scans of the holiday drawings to follow...

Birthday trip to London

For my birthday this year, I went to London to see the Tracey Emin exhibition at Hayward Gallery on Southbank, London. Was a brilliant exhibition, huge and curated in such a way that it made me question my previous preconceptions of Emin.

I loved the quilts, embroideries and there was some amazing drawings too. Had never seen much of her film work before and some of those pieces were very powerful too.

Out from the exhibition and into Chowpatty Beach Bar on South Bank for the lunch below

Not a great photo - but the food was delicious! Was also sunny enough to sit outside and enjoy the bustling Southbank.

Are a line of beach huts along the Southbank riverside, with different displays in each and also a seaside garden from Southend on Sea and a small artificial sandy beach, which the kids were absolutely loving.

Was a great birthday trip to the capital and haven't stopped thinking about Tracey Emin's work since, which has got to be the sign of a fantastic exhibition and an artist that touches you.

Jaunt to London

Have spent the weekend in London. Managed to squeeze some drawing into a pretty packed weekend.

Started with the early Saturday morning train - doodling while looking out of the window. Am still experimenting with using pencil.

  
And you can tell tthe weather has changed - train travellers that were only wearing jackets! The coats and scarves had been abandoned!

Saturday was spent in central London and had a fabulous early evening meal at Tas restuarant (hearty recommendation, if you are in the Bloomsbury area of London - food and restaurant atmosphere were both fantastic).

Sunday I discovered Columbia Road flower market - what a place! Absolutely brilliant value cut flowers and all sorts of plants, from tiny alpines to huge exotics. Will definitely be back here to stock up. But is also worth going for the shopping, as the market is surrounded by quirky, independent shops. Popped into the Rob Ryan shop there - am a huge fan of his papercuts and the shop didn't disappoint.

These are some of the vast bouquet of lillies I bought at the market, that were well worth the struggle home on the train, particularly as they lasted 2 weeks.

Then Brick Lane market. I had no idea that Brick Lane had a market on Sundays and that the area was so full of young designers and vintage shops. The Old Truman Brewery had some original stalls, selling everything from ceramics to fashion. It was bursting with people and again is somewhere I will definitely make a point of coming back to. Managed a quick sketch in the coffee shop here

Think next time I head up, will go with sole purpose of drawing. Was so much to see in both Brick Lane and Columbia Road, would make a perfect Sunday's sketching.

Nearly a whole 2 months without blogging

Shameful....

In the background have been doing plenty - drawing, visiting London and entertaining lots of visitors. Plan to do some scanning soon of most recent pencil drawings. In the meantime, these are the gorgeous pussy willow branches I bought at Columbia Road market last weekend.

Is a brilliant place to visit on a Sunday morning in London. Huge selection of cheap flowers and plants and a whole street full of small, independent quirky shops. I didn't have much time, but am going back very soon and hope to be able to stop and draw, as well as explore.

Braving the London sales

Took my daughter to London for the New Year sales.

I love going to London: buying a newspaper and coffee, settling in at a window seat and gazing out of the window as the train travels along. Is even better when I have a model that doesn't mind being blatantly stared at.

Then off the train and there is London itself. I do enjoy living in Brighton, but sometimes I really yearn for the largeness, the grandness, the relentless bustle of London.

I wanted to go to John Lewis to look at their yarn sale and go to Muji to pick up some pens and pads. Clearly my daughter had much more expansive plans, and I soon found myself standing outside a seemingly endless number of changing rooms...

Managed to do the quick drawing below

and then had a great chat with a number of different women, who were standing in the long changing room queue, about drawing: how long have I been sketching, was I self conscious, am I happy to show people my work, did I think anyone could learn to draw...loads of questions! Obviously seeing someone drawing in public is more unusual than I realised!