Prague Sketchbooks

I spent some time in Prague last week. Basically I enjoyed my time in Belgium last summer, where I made a couple of sketches en plein air that Mary, my wife, bought me a trip to Prague for Christmas. I was only there for a few days, but I tried to fill my boots with sketching - some better than others. Here are the sketches I made: -

The Charles Bridge - a masterpiece justly regarded as one of Prague's greatest landmarks

I sat down on a bench in the market just off Wenceslaus Square, and saw this church just across the way. I liked it so much I just began sketching it then and there

Prague Old Town Square, facing the Church of Our Lady of Tyn - line and wash

Statue of King Charles IV - the Charles after whom the bridge is named

Line and wash of St. Vitus Cathedral which is part of the Prague Castle complex

Charles Bridge again. Quite early in the morning I was passed by this monk . I quickly sketched him in, then added other figures and the bridge itself at a more leisurely pace.

looking across the river Vltava from the Prague Castle Gardens

Just a building I really liked in the Old Town, on my way to the Powder House

The Chechuv Bridge over the Vltava, sketched from the landing where I caught a riverboat for a cruise

Looking up to St. Vitus cathedral from the riverboat

The Tramvaj café - restored old Prague Tram in Wenceslaus Square

A more detailed study of the lesser town end of the Charles Bridge

You can take a tour of Prague in one of these 'vintage' tourers. I actually used several which passed in the space of about an hour to make this study

Another street scene that I liked in the Old Town

One of Prague's wonderfully reliable and regular ubiquitous trams

The Astronomical clock on Prague Old Town Hall

The imposing bulk of the magnificent baroque St. Nicholas Church in the lesser town