I sketched my first time with Urban Sketchers Reading in Wokingham at the weekend. I’ve driven, walked, and dined in Wokingham many times and I thought I knew the town. What surprised me was the variety of architecture and what inspired me was the wonky roof lines and the Tudor frames.
The group met outside the RYND café and dispersed into the town, some choosing to stay and sketch the town hall itself. I walked with a friend, Lesley, to Rose Street where I found a couple of small cottages with their famous wonky roofs and black wood frames. There was a lovely contrast of white render and old brick work. The red car was included at Lesley’s challenge request!
The weather was kind to us, and I was fortunate enough to catch some cast shadows in a small black and white drawing. I work mainly in ink and grey scale, but I felt the day deserved some colour so I used a pop of pastel to lift my drawings. It’s a messy medium but totally worth it!
We worked our way back to the town Hall passing other sketchers and made our way down the main high street where I decided to draw a tree outside Zizzi’s. It’s always an interesting to me to include street furniture! Street furniture to me is the bins, the comms cabinets, post boxes, wonky TV aerials and general clutter.
I found Lesley sketching a small shop front and we made our way back to the town hall for the throwdown. There was a wonderful display of artwork, and it was amazing to see what people had produced in 90 minutes. I collected my Urban Sketchers Stamp and we decided to go for a coffee.
We sat down in RYND and Lesley challenged me to draw as many people as possible, I think the double shot of coffee helped! Again, the sun created some beautiful shadows in faces, that for me, made it easier to draw.
It was a very enjoyable afternoon. I would recommend the Reading Urban Sketchers as they are a really nice, friendly bunch.
Top tips for urban sketching
- Limit your equipment – a pencil, ink pen and a sketchbook are the essentials.
- Don’t dither – When you find something that interests you stop and draw it.
- Back to the wall – Find a quiet, sheltered corner if you don’t want people to speak to you.
- Take water – keep yourself hydrated!
- Enjoy yourself – Don’t forget sketching is fun!
