Travel Sketchpad - London

 I always keep a small sketchpad in my purse - ALWAYS.  This one was a big bigger - about 6"x9" or so.  This particular sketch pad I took on our cross-Atlantic trip.  REMEMBER - what you will see here are unfinished things.  Sketches quickly put down to preserve a memory, notes as to what's going on, ideas for later works, etc.  These are to look at for enjoyment, and not to be viewed as anything finished.  They at least have some entertainment value!

We just got back from England and Belgium.  Gary was working in Germany and I flew into London, having two extra days before he came in to visit art museums.  This first little sketch was drawn in the Bush International Airport.  I whizzed through customs and check in, and had time to spare, so I ate a nice dinner and drew this, looking down at the other hanger-arounders waiting for planes.

Interesting, it's the first flight I've taken where I noted

 that everyone was plugged in.  They have new stations everywhere amongst the seats now.  Charge your devices as you wait!

Before Gary flew into London, I took the Underground over to the National Museum.  Oh, what a place!  We've been there before, but this time I had an entire day to treasure its art!  These two pages are my lunch - it was so unique I had to draw it before I ate it - and a one-minute sketch of one of my dining companions across the way.  I also wrote in notes of my tube path, so I could make my way back to the hotel!

This was a little sketch I did of a Caravaggio I copied - a close up of his Supper at Emmaus.  Note - I only used a pen - later that night I colored it in with a little field kit of Windsor and Newtons.  Thought I'd go opposite of his chiaroscuro and do bright.

I didn't mention that throughout my sketchpads you will find stickers.  They're graffiti stickers I pull off of wherever we are.  The entire history of graffiti intrigues me and I love collecting
artists' tags and stickers.  I try to note where I found them.  As you can see by the one below, I found it stuck on a light pole down by the Queen's Palace.
The page of walls and pipes all thrown together was the lovely view from our Marriott Hotel room in London down by the Marble Arch.  Not the nicest view, but I actually really enjoyed drawing this.  I think it would make a fun painting sometime.

That's it for now!  More sketches from our travels next time!