All done

Just today I finished the last London Monopoly Sketch. I’m going to post all of them one day at a time as I have been doing which means I make it that there’s 8 days still to go before I’ve posted them all. If you can’t wait then I do have a page with all of the sketches already posted – its on my links under London Monopoly Challenge.

So I have spent just a little time reflecting on the challenge. Overall I’ve enjoyed it immensely. All of the sketches have been made in the month of April 2024, with the exceptions of Euston, Strand, Fleet Street and Piccadilly, where I used some of my old sketches. So that’s 27 new sketches. I would estimate that each one has taken an average of four hours. That’s over 100 hours. Not for me to say that it shows in the results. So I gave myself a set of questions about the challenge to help me get my thoughts in order about the whole thing.

Which set did you enjoy most?

I have to say that my favourite set to sketch was the yellows. Alright, I’d already sketched Piccadilly a few years ago so that made it easier, but it wasn’t that, or I’d have picked the reds. I think that what I enjoyed was that for Leicester Square and Coventry Street I ended up using quite different subject matter than the majority of other sketches I made. For Leicester Square my main focus, at least at the start, was the two figures talking on the bench. For Coventry Street I ended up sketching a modern building, the Swiss Centre. Although I can see the mistakes I made clearly it’s still a sketch I really enjoyed making.

Which set did you enjoy least?

If you hold my arm up behind my back I’d probably say the pinks. I don’t think that any of them are bad sketches – in fact I think that the green Northumberland Avenue sketch is pretty good, but there was a sameyness doing Pall Mall and Whitehall. And by that stage of the challenge I had started thinking – I’ve done ten sketches which have taken ages and I’m not even halfway there yet. – It’s one of the reasons why I tried using the different colours as a way of maintaining my interest. In any 'long-distance' challenge that you undertake there's a pain barrier you have to go through. 

Which is your favourite sketch you made for the challenge?

Probably the Swiss Centre for Coventry Street. I don’t think it’s the best sketch out of the lot, but I just really enjoyed it. I don’t often sketch modern buildings, especially in this amount of detail.

Which is your least favourite sketch you made for the challenge?

Probably Free Parking. It’s not a bad sketch, but I wasn’t in love with the subject matter and I couldn’t find enough detail in the reference photos I’ve looked at to extend the picture into a proper street scene.

Do you think you’ve learned anything doing the challenge? If yes, then what? If no then why not?

Yes, certainly have. I’ve been showcasing the sketches in a Facebook group. There’s a lot of highly talented artists who belong to the same group, and some of them use a stippling technique. I haven’t used this before, but used it in several of these pictures for roadways and shadows.

Taking my two latest sketchbooks together I’ve done almost 100 sketches since Christmas and all of them have been detailed and carefully shaded. If nothing else I’ve developed my self belief that I can sketch anything I can see, and if I just keep working at it sooner or later it will become what I want it to become.

In terms of information, I did not know about the early London multi storey car parks before.

What’s next for you?

Watch this space.