As October rolls in with a chill and some rain, my days of
leisurely picking a painting spot are over. More gear and preparation are required in this urban weather. Every weekend I look forward to
explore this city and its amazing views as the leaves turns to
golden. Oh yes, it remains a pain in the rear to live in a rented room
with no access to a work space, the work schedule at the film studio
leaves no time for the most basic chores and then, there's the
crowds.... Who needs sleep? I do.
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| Whitechapel, a street that on Saturdays could very well be somewhere in BanglaDesh or Pakistan. |
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And despite it all, I'd say I am gathering a decent collection of
plein air sketches. They are all 8"x10" because that's the size of the
carrier I built. Two of them are on their way to collectors in the USA.
One watercolor found a home here in London and other people have
expressed interest. Not bad for a weekend warrior.
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| "limehouse basin". I like the direct no fuss approach which not surprisingly, came after seeing a Matisse painting at the Courtauld gallery. I could not get it out of my head. |
In London, as long as you remain in the urban sprawl, a trolley might be
more useful than a backpack to carry things around as I've discovered.
Other improvements I've acquired this October: a jacket. In Los Angeles I
painted in short sleeves all the time. Here, that's just silly..
As I mentioned in a previous entry the
best subject matter in London as far as I can tell : a) The sky,
b) The river Thames in all its glory c) All the rest. When in doubt,
look up or head to the water. The architecture is phenomenal all around
even when the colors tend to be muted. Early morning is probably the
best time to set out to paint.
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| "Tower Bridge". I dare say Monet was the reference of choice on this one. | | | |
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| "Greenwich street" Sun drenched this time. SOLD |
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The passers-by have been nothing but nice, well, with the usual
exceptions of the drunk guy dismissing my lack of realism or the Chinese
lady insisting I comprehend what she says..in Chinese.
One funny thing,
the Brits seem to have a thing for accuracy, precise drawing and
careful technique. Also, watercolor occupies a higher rank
here than in the U.S., by a long stretch. Even the casual observers feel the need to point out and search for details I might have missed or
miss-observed. One guy asked where did I see pink in the sky
(he seemed satisfied with my mumbled answer: something about "vibration
of color"). Another was surprised I considered a painting done. I
hadn't added numbers to a clock in the church tower. Almost 50% asked
me for my card or number. Only one gentleman actually called back but
the call ended in a sale.
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| "Waterloo Place" A watercolor done in haste after a whole lot of rain allowed the sun to come out splendidly. |
Sketching also has deep roots here. I've seen others do it. You could
look at people all day and never tire of drawing. If nothing else, every
artists visiting London should have a sketchbook at all times. Museums
allow sketching as well even if it has to be with dry media. The
city urban furniture is a bit lacking in benches but there's coffee shops galore.
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| Vauxhall train station sketched from a Starbucks, a much maligned coffee chain. |
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And of course there are the museums which would require a few blog entries each. From the incredible Wallace Collection to the Courtauld Institute, from the Royal Academy to the Soane Museum...it never ends. Most are free but the temporary exhibits will cost you a pretty penny.
Anselm Kiefer, Turner, Constable and Egon Schiele are some of the blockbuster shows on view.
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| My sketchbook at the Royal Academy well appointed cafeteria. |
Isn't it always fascinating when you go to a place and realize that the
native artists of the place were quite exact portraying their
environment? If you've seen early Flemish paintings you've seen the
thin poplars, the bug-eyed pale women, the tight lips...and you'd think
it's all the product of an artistic "style". Only when you get to
Belgium, you notice the artists weren't making it up. Same with Italian,
Spanish, French art. So when I painted this little study of the Syon
House in Richmond, it struck me because it wouldn't look out of place
among those English paintings of country states popularized in the XVIII
century. Just add cows. My palette has become a lot cooler as well.
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| "Syon House from Kew" The Thames is the river in the front. |
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| Mary Le Strand. A church in a traffic island. watercolor |
