Here is a watercolour sketch which I painted one hot summer morning in late June, 2006. My stool was set on the muddy, gritty foreshaw and kept sinking in! So I was sitting a bit lopsided. Also I discovered the Thames water was too dirty to use as painting water, so it was a good thing I had brought some drinking water with me in a bottle. The city of London looked fantastic from that view point but difficult to capture in a fairly short time. I liked the way the church towers had a shining, yellow sparkle while the area under the bridge was in deep shadow. The river too had a bright, yellowish glow to it. Maybe I will turn this into a painting sometime. A pity there was only one person around to draw! After this, I met up with friends and we had sandwiches and drinks on the bank. Luckly when you are down on the river bank, nobody much comes along to look over your shoulder.

This is a sketch which I made in early June, when a big Cuban festival was held at Bernie Spain Gardens, on the South Bank (of the Thames, for those not in the know). There is a good bar at the foot of the Oxo Tower, called Tamesa, and just outside, lots of onlookers to the performing bands were sitting on the steps leading up to the bar. It is a great vantage point. Because of the wonderful weather, lots of drink was consumed and people were in party mood. I saw some fascinating types but only managed to sketch very quickly. For instance there is a man with very long, plaited hair at the left foreground, with his dog. I used this sketch and some others, to make a finished drawing which I entered for the Jerwood Drawing Prize. Later in July I returned to this part of the Thames embankment, and sat on the foreshore, where I did a watercolour sketch of the city to my right, with some steps leading down to the water.