One of our options for traveling to our workshop in Oxford was to fly to London, and catch a coach from there. It had been a few years since visiting London, so Patti and I tacked a few days onto the itinerary to revisit a few of the city's many high points, from storied architecture to thriving people places to pubs full of football fans cheering England into the semi-finals of the World Cup. Here are a few sketches from our walks through the city. Almost all were drawn in a Moleskine A4 Watercolor Album with a combination of a PITT Artist Pen (F) with sepia ink for very fine lines, and a fude nib Sailor fountain pen with brown DeAtrimentis Archive ink for shadows and heavier accents. I'll likely return to add watercolor to a few more in the coming days. Thanks for checking in...
-Jim
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| I'm irresistibly attracted to busy, almost chaotic street scenes anchored by iconic architecture, juxtaposing old with new. |
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| The sculpture atop the dome at left compelled me to draw this scene. |
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| Some of the double-page spreads were filled out with visual notes of whatever caught our interest. |
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| Many details begged to be drawn as we walked through Old London. |
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| I wanted to capture the Tower Bridge in context, with the pedestrian promenade and working boats on the river.. |
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| Piccadilly Circus, always crowded with those wishing to see and be seen. This one had been on my "must draw" list for years. |
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| Had to capture this one quickly, before the scene was gone! |
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| I love how this one turned out, rapidly sketched standing up with the PITT fine line pen as a crowd watched. |
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| Trafalgar Square is massive and not easy to capture; this viewpoint conveyed the energy I felt there. |
