And here’s the scene at the end of the day, relaxing on the grass with a range of speakers on the bus.
There are some good photos of the day here on the Christian Aid website.
Live Sketching
Sheffield Central Lobbyists
This is a large piece, and therefore suffering from web related breakup of ink line, and unfinished, but it was great to be able to sketch this entire crowd from Sheffield speaking to their MP Paul Bloomfield on the Climate Change mass lobby day on Wednesday. There were only four participants from my constituency, Bristol South, so we all had plenty of chance to talk to Karyn Smith MP during our half hour on college green.
Will finish this one for people to talk about during Art on the Hill!
Speak Up…Climate Change Mass Lobby
Yesterday I took advantage of an unexpected day off and went on a coach trip to talk to my MP. I’ve tried to get a few of the sketches I did uploaded as quickly as possible, but it’s late now, so they will have to arrive in instalments.
Here I show my ignorance, because once they’d moved on I wasn’t sure whether I’d been watching a tango or a samba, but this event was organised by the Climate Coalition and the dominant t-shirts were black (CAFOD), red (Christian Aid), and orange (38 degrees). Here were Christian Aid and 38 Degrees doing something very Latin by Lambeth Bridge.
The day began with two services – I was in the happy clappy one because it was nearer. I didn’t catch this gentleman’s last name, but he made me realise something very simple without exactly saying it – many of the migrants causing such consternation by crossing the Mediterranean are climate refugees. Interviewing him is Ruth Valerio whose books I’ve known about for ages but not read yet, I’m afraid.
This is the art installation in the Archbishop’s Park ( didn’t know he had one) across the other side of the bridge. It was a heart shaped wall for comments, but the curve of it and the patterns made it beautiful, as did the many verses from the Koran packed in with every other kind of expression of faith.
To be continued…
Bristol Arena Building Site
People like it when I draw people, but a lot of the time I dream about drawing shapes, or rather recording shapes I see around me. For nine months I’ve been making my way through the building site that used to be Cattle Market Road, behind Temple Meads Station, rarely dismounting from my bicycle as instructed, but kind of building a silent, polite rapport with the pedestrians, cyclists, and builders who pass through the steel fence corridor every day.
They’re building a road bridge that will lead to Bristol’s new indoor arena. They started work long before the design for the arena itself was chosen last month, digging around and gently moving pipes and cables, and then patiently laying new road in intricate layers. It’s more painstaking than you could imagine, often involving one man with a shovel. 18 months is a long road closure, but I will miss it when it’s gone.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked across this building site at the two intersecting crescents of the Bath Road Bridge and the Totterdown houses and wanted to draw them. I don’t really know why, either. But today was the first day in weeks when I felt I could spare ten minutes and do it.
Murano
I’m listening to Richard Rohr and playing with some of the sketches I did last October in Venice.
Murano
The Prodigal Son
Wobbly Rock
To be honest I haven’t done a lot of sketching for a few weeks, but I do have a few drawings from before Christmas which still need working into final illustrations. I got round to this one on Saturday so that I could put it on a birthday card for one of the singers. This is a group from my church, tbc, singing selections from a rather good jazz musical called Wobbly Rock, written by local musician Marilyn Childs. It’s based on the life of St. Peter. When she publishes the sheet music, and the CD, and when we put a proper concert on at church one day, I’ll tell you.
Catalyst Live
I spent today at Catalyst Live, BMS World Mission’s Mission of the Mind event, which is like a Greenbelt or Spring Harvest distilled down to the talks you really remember delivered one after another on a single day, coffee and a sandwich wolfed down in between.
I sketched every single speaker, and here are most of them, although not in order of appearance.
I’m doing this quickly before I go on holiday tomorrow!
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| Glen Marshall (was talking, this is a saxophonist) |
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| John Upton |
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| Karl Henlin |
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| Lisa Andronoviene |
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| Lucy Berry |
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| Miroslave Volf |
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| Sir John Houghton |
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| Sophie Hacker |
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| Steve Holmes |
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| Tanya Walker |
Illustrating Community
A couple of weeks ago I was asked to spend the day sketching Southmead’s Community Consultation Day. It was one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve done.
A wide group of people had been involved in carrying out a survey of the neighbourhood; there had been a lot of work by volunteers and others, and it felt as though sketching them as they spoke or took part in discussions was an affirmation of that hard work, rather than being an intrusion, which a camera can sometimes be.
I pinned drawings on a wall throughout the day, so people could have a good look even when I was elsewhere.
I’d love to do more events like this!
Quantock Lodge
Here are a few sketches from our 6th church weekend at Quantock Lodge:
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| Saturday morning, glorious and quiet |
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| Dan, Fraser, and Helena |
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| Sam, Jonathan, Clare, and Laurie |
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| Rich and Ali |
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| Elaine |
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| The steps, this sunny weekend a default retreat for reading and chatting |
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| And this is how quickly you have to draw a group photo… |
Christmas in Victoria Park
Tonight I set out for the carol singing in Victoria Park but didn’t quite make it into the crowd, because the view from the bin at the corner of the playground jumped out at me. I didn’t think I felt like sketching tonight. This will be at least my third ‘Carols in Victoria Park’ picture so I had to think of a slightly different title. I’m not feeling all that inventive, but I thought, well, for Victoria Park, this is Christmas. For me too, it’s often the best bit. People gathered, some you know, some you don’t, lights, music, dogs, children, acceptance. Last year I took a Korean student who was staying with us for a couple of weeks, she called it magical. Here are the sketches slotted together, ready to be graded and then coloured.
