On Saturday we had a full day London Urban Sketchers event at Si Katherine Docks by the Tower/Tower Bridge.  Not so hot but probably a sketchers worst enemy wind and worse...gusts.  Just as you settle into a drawing bam off go your pallet and water.  Anchor them and re-start.  Going nicely now then without warning another stronger gust.  But there were lots of artists, plenty of fine work, and interested on lookers.  Its said  you draw you really see.  Had an interesting chat with a small group including a photographer on the difference between drawing and photographing.  They are very different arts and do different things.  As we spoke I noticed a floating duck house which made the point.  Put it into my 'East Basin' sketch below. '

​A mess of Boats' is a 20 minute sketch at the end, done in a hurry but tries to get the 'jumble' feel of equipment, rigging and masts that is St Katherine Dock.

One of London Urban Sketchers excellent Summer Evenings meet ups.  There are 3 each year and whilst smaller and shorter are great fun.  Today in Flat Iron Square - a temporary 'pop up' street food open space in Southwark.  As it was very very hot I opted for some shade outside the crush within and with a good number of others chose the surrounding streets.  The proprietor of the Damascan Kitchen restaurant not only happy for me to use his table and chairs, brought us tankards of cold water with lemon and stayed for a chat.

​The people one meets is an added bonus to public drawing.

MILAN and......

​Back in May I was asked by one of the Management Team of Be, the developer/contractor for the Brentford Community Stadium, if I could/would accept a commission to do a painting of Milan Cathedral.  Generally I don't like working from 'references' but it can be done.  Guess its a different skill to achieve presence and immediacy without standing by the subject - so a bit of a learning curve.

​Here's the result, approved nay liked and now with my framer...

....CORNWALL

​Concentrating on that and the Stadium Project I felt a bit 'sketched out' and went for two weeks in

Cornwall expecting to do a couple or so, no more sketches.
But Cornwall doesn't work like that.  It was a few days before I opened my new KHADI PAPER sketch book.  Not used Khadi before although seen others doing so.  What a joy!  Stunningly good surface for both ink and watercolour.

What was to be a few became 15.  Here's a few.  We've put the rest here.

Not infrequently I sketch a laugh - was amused while enjoying a pint of Tribute by the disused chimney being a support for a satellite dish, TV aerial and a bored gull devoid of ice cream snatching opportunities....