On the Tube, sometimes my view can be blocked by someone’s bum, newspaper or crotch. This claustrophobic scene is an indication of how overcrowded this metropolis gets sometimes. Sketched quickly on a Tube journey, much of the details of this interesting view was drawn afterwards when I returned home. Medium: Digital drawing […]
Victoria line
Winter has arrived in London. Coats and scarves are now essential until July! Sketched during the rush hour, over the course of a week I drew most of this on my subsequent journeys on the Tube. Medium: Digital drawing on iPhone Date drawn: 4th – 12th November 2013
It gets even more crowded at Victoria station. On a northbound Tube on the Victoria line during the morning rush hour there are seats available at Brixton, but after Stockwell – no chance. There’s space to stand comfortably until Victoria, when additional passengers squeeze in tightly. The scene I sketch is […]
The wrong prices always go up: Energy prices soar 10.6% I normally try and avoid picking up the ubiquitous free papers, but during my journey home on a Thursday evening I began reading the headlines from someone else’s newspaper. There was no good news and that is why I normally […]
It can get very hot on the Tube, so always carry water – and a facecloth. It was on a Tuesday evening rush hour on the Victoria line after I finished work when, from Oxford Circus to Stockwell, opposite me sat a postman regularly mopping sweat from his face. I […]
I experienced food envy on my way home. Is there any etiquette to follow when eating on the Tube? One fellow passenger focused solely on his evening meal, without making eye contact with anyone or anything else. He had bitten his food to leave a perfect cross section of his […]
Black is the main colour of umbrellas. It has been a wet end to the summer. It was a Friday evening, I had finished work and I was making my way down to Oxford Circus station when it rained heavily. A lot of people walking carelessly with pointy umbrellas too […]
One passenger has solved the problem of where to hang a coat when using the Tube. The Tube carriage I sat in on Thursday evening was fairly empty. People stand out more and you get clear views of everyone during such times. I couldn’t miss the man who had brought […]
Is there more to life than this? I hope so. I was on the Tube, on the way home from a brief date. What better way to take my mind away from my thoughts than to draw someone who looked absolutely exhausted. Was he a doctor? He got off at […]
I’ve never thought make-up could be entertaining. On a commute during a Thursday morning rush hour I was entertained for a few minutes watching someone apply make-up. It’s a skill to be able to apply cosmetics like lipstick either during stops at station or, more impressively, while the train is […]
A bit of colour is welcome on the Tube. The bright colours people were wearing on my commute to work were a welcome sight to greet me on the first day back after a long relaxing weekend. This scene lasted from Brixton until Victoria four stops later, when some of […]
Londoners can be polite and friendly. The morning rush hour didn’t mean manners were forgotten, a pregnant woman was offered seats by several people, including myself. I do hear sad stories about heavily-pregnant women being left to stand on hot and long tube journeys, but not this time. London IS […]
The omnipresent celebrities and free newspapers. Either side of me I had the faces of celebrities staring back at me from free newspapers and magazines. I drew the sketch during the morning journey into work, and coloured and finished it on my way back home eight or so hours later. […]
Thankfully, it was purely a visual, not an olfactory experience. During the summer, more body parts are on show, and people appear to lose the ability to dress modestly. Medium: Digital drawing on iPhone Date drawn: 13th July 2013
Was he a celebrity in disguise? Probably not. It was a sunny morning, but are sunglasses still necessary when using one of the deep lines of the underground network? He wasn’t blind. Medium: Digital drawing on iPhone Date drawn: 9th – 10th July 2013
iPhone drawing Every newspaper was full of news of about Andy Murray’s victory at Wimbledon the previous day: Yesterday’s news, today! Most people had heard the news immediately through the internet, radio or television, and now newspapers get to mention it again. I’m not too keen on tennis, less so […]
iPhone drawing London’s weather is unpredictable, though it is generally best to expect cold, cloudy or damp conditions. Everyone is in t-shirts (or less) once the sun comes out! These two guys looked very tired.
iPhone drawing A Saturday morning trip to catch a train to Manchester. It was early, but in context I was the most lively and awake person there. I wasn’t sure if my fellow traveller was drunk or just very tired.
iPhone drawing Getting on board Brixton, I usually get a seat, even during the morning rush hour. This time I had to stand, but it meant I could see what people were reading or what they were doing on their iPads. A lady was making a to-do-list for a trip […]