Sketching a beautiful secret garden in the heart of Norwich

The Norwich Urban sketchers met at Plantation gardens a wonderful idiosyncratic garden which was originally a chalk quarry. After all the rain we have had recently we were lucky to have the perfect sunny afternoon. The garden has many different levels surrounded by wonderful flora and fauna, a rustic bridge, a gothic fountain and wonderful decorative medieval stone walls. It was as if you were in a different world, dreams of foregone summers. There were people picnicking, a choir singing, children playing,  people hidden amongst the stonewalls, bridges and foliage, all having a peaceful and relaxed time. I got carried away with all the activity and setting. I tried to capture a sense of place maybe I got too excited with my pens!!

Sketching in Presteigne Wales

Just come back from a lovely holiday in the Welsh Valleys staying in a cottage in the quirky village of Presteigne.  The weather was pretty wet most of the time so I didn't get much chance to sketch apart from a couple of brighter evenings. A rusty old motorbike caught my eye parked against a wall by a cottage. Whilst I was sketching a lady came to put her bins out and saw me sketching. She said the bike was her husbands and she wanted to buy my sketch for his birthday which again was a lovely surprise. On the opposite side of the road is a wonderful wild garden in front of a large front door which I couldn't resist sketching.

Urban Art Fair Norwich- Sunday 9th July

Great day participating in the Norwich Urban Art Fair which was part of the Lord Mayors Celebration. I was selling prints, postcards and greeting cards mainly of Norwich but also some of London. As well as exhibiting my work I ran expressive drawing demonstrations with drop in workshops on urban sketching, There were lots of activities, people and architecture to sketch  and a great trio of singers called the "Nightingales". Sketching whilst listening to music was a relaxing combination. The Urban Sketchers Norwich met at the fair to document the event. A great atmosphere.

Derelict Water Pumping Station - 1909 Trowse Norwich

This is one of my favourite places to sketch in Trowse. I have drawn it a few times. It is very close to where I live so an ideal location to experiment with a large scale format. I took my A2 sketchbook,  inks and water brushes. Whilst I was sketching a couple from Sheffield were visiting a local brewery under the bridge and came to chat . They ended up buying a couple of my sketches which was a nice surprise. The sketches were still a bit wet!

Norwich Sketchcrawl - Eaton Park Sunday 18th June.

Catching up on News!  I have been sketching on a larger scale and experimenting with bleeding marks created by inks lately. These sketches were done at Norwich Urban sketchers meet up on Sunday the 18th June. It was a scorching hot day and we met at Eton Park in Norwich which is a magnificent historic park with a great pavilion bandstand and lots of activities. I focused on the Boat pond which is one of the finest in Europe. The bleeding ink create depth in the pond. Great place to sketch must go back.

Sketching Pitch and Putt from the cool shade of the trees which nicely framed the golfers.