Sketch Crawl - Return to Durham City

St Mary the Less, Durham City

(markers in A5 sketchbook)

I was looking forward to the sketch crawl last Saturday, organised by Richard of the Urban Sketchers Tyne and Wear, because for one reason or another, I'd not been able to go to any sketch crawls since February. I had my usual reservations about the venue as I don't have too much interest in drawing the Cathedral or the Castle and it being a very busy city, it's often difficult to find a quiet space to stand (or sit) and draw. 

The Market Square, our original meeting place, turned out to be given over to a giant screen showing the Cricket World Cup from nearby Chester-le-Street. Imagine then, my dismay, to round the corner and see an enormous set of marquees on the Cathedral Green, set up for the University's Convocation Circus.

Urban Sketchers were lying on the grassopposite and some had evidently found things to draw, but I decided to take a walk down another lane, passing Allan who'd discovered a sheltered spot, until I came across a small church celebrating the unsurprisingly little known St Mary the Less. Sitting on a step to avoid the very hot sun, I found I had no view of the church itself, but straight opposite was an old gravestone and a large tree. A gravestone seemed an appropriate subject for the very last page in my sketchbook and the tree challenged me to find new marks for foliage. A broad black marker and a Tombow grey marker supplemented my usual 0.5 marker and really, I came away quite satisfied.

It was great to catch up with Anita, Kim and Bethan in the coffee shop, but disappointing to discover that half the group, including many new members I've yet to meet, were settled in another coffee shop across the river.

Sketch Crawl - Durham again.

Durham Market Square

(marker, brushpen and Inktense pans in A4 sketchbook)

Back to Durham yesterday for our latest Sketch Crawl. Last week's sun was still about, but sadly not last week's heat. There was a freezing wind blowing through the Market Square, but I found a handy wall to lean against and had a go at the Market Hall opposite.

Because we'd only allowed an hour for this first sketch, I rushed at the subject with only a minimum of measuring and as a result found I'd run out of room at the bottom of the page. My intention had been to include some of the people in the foreground, so I can't deny an element of disappointment with the eventual line drawing.

In an attempt to get warm, we moved on from the Market Square to inside the Cathedral. For me, the Cathedral interior is overwhelming. I could draw it with charcoal as a tonal study, but thinking about trying to capture it with simple line work meant I didn't even make a start. My compliments to Michael for not only sketching some very complicated elements and structures, but doing it with only line work and a little watercolour.

After a while I sat down in a quiet side chapel and, in the absence of anything I wanted to draw, I made some efforts to salvage my earlier drawing. A grey brushpen (Note to self: this is running dry) and a few notes of colour using my new box of Inktense pans moved the drawing to somewhere more acceptable in my arena of self-criticism.

On the way to the Cathedral, Kim had told me she was determined to get more work done but was concerned that she was easily side tracked by the attraction of sitting in a cafe with friends. When it was time for coffee (Cathedral coffee is terrible), I found her at a table in the cafe with Bethan, drinking coffee and bemoaning her weakness. Tsk. Must Try Harder.

It was great to have four people new to our Crawls join in at Durham. I hope to see you all again.

Next time: Bowes Railway on 26 May. A decision I think I have to make about that is whether to continue with the A4 sketchbook. It's quite heavy to hold while standing up, as I usually do, and my left hand is starting to cramp after an hour or so of holding it. (The perils of being so old that one of the drawings in the current sketchbook was done before Bethan was born.)