Posts in Category: Transport

Sketchbook 65

Second Lockdown and thereafter

We had another lockdown. I drew less than at any point in the previous nine years. I’ve included a few of them further down, for completeness, but I lost the habit really. I just worked. I got back into it when we were allowed out. This is a key worker on the tube.
A temporary Covid Test Centre, a feature of many community car parks.
And of course, vaccine roll out. This is my first. Alongside our lockdown dog.
Meeting people in gardens. This is father in law Michael.
And again.
My mum.
When we were locked down, I tried to draw the local place, the highlight was this church on our High Street.
Local bins, marginally less interesting than…
…than a local bridge. (It is quite interesting actually, clearly two bridges which you’d never realise from above.)
On the positive side, here’s Craig’s first day back at work cooking lunch. 28th April 2021.
The first work trip to see a site in York. Handy for meeting the London team, who we haven’t seen for months.
The May board meeting, the first of the year to be held in person.
Hotel view.
Running into interesting looking people as we travel again.
Me.
I’ve learned some things from Lockdown. One is how much I enjoy a cycle into work and the other is you can attend presentations anywhere. I now pass these cottages everyday so I stopped to draw them, while listening to one of our Friday morning masterclasses.
Otherwise, life is similar to how it was. Saturday and Sunday mornings involve football. This is Lochend’s scenic pitch.
Jac’s H Type Citreon in Victoria Park. Supplier of coffee to many locals and the parents watching Spartans across the road.
More classic French design, and my attempt to render some shadows.
After football: Fraser on the couch playing XBox.
Julie on the couch texting. This is one of the lonely lockdown sketches. It’s from February. I think I only drew two drawings that month, when normally there might be ten.
Isla feeling ill on the sofa, in January.
The only other January drawing.
The dug. He’s on the sofa already, and he’s only just got here.

Sketchbook No 59

November/ December 2019

November is charity art auction time with Article 25. I sold one in the auction and bought one too.

Flying to London for the auction.
The painting I sold. It’s of a building on Blackwall Basin that we are designing for The Canary Wharf Group.
The auction.
Sticking with the art, we ran a life drawing class in the London office.
We us the board room for the life drawing. It’s normally in use for meetings, and, if you’re careful, you can spend some time drawing fellow partners.
Some design team members, elsewhere.
Innes getting ready for training at Spartans, one of a number of excellent local community football set ups.
His sister at home.
I drew the people either side, Isla filled in the middle.
Commuters
Mostly the commuters are in London.
All the people on the train….
I think I’ve drawn some of them before.
A trip to Dublin
Edinburgh travelers on their way to the London Christmas Party.
The London Christmas Party
The fire station being refurbished on Macdonald Road.
The Clockhouse in the former Greenwich Dockyard. Henry VIII built his ship here but you’d never know.
Twelve Triangles cafe, off Leith Walk.
A tuesday Talk on Gender Equality in Public Space.
Another on Mikhail Riches outstanding Stirling Prize winning homes in Norwich.
Grumpy on Christmas Day.

Sketchbook 57 – July 2019

In Leiria with Eva and her family.

Making paper by hand in a mill refurbished by Alvaro Siza.

Grandad’s house….

Jose, from the Leiria urban sketchers.



In Lisbon, and on the beach in Estoril. The water is three degrees cooler than off the Hebrides.

Our flat, and a lady on a train. she came and sat next to me so I hid the drawing.

Isla on the train.

Fraser on the train.

Lunching

Dunfallandy House in Pitlochry, with the family.

Andreas on the piano stool.

Steven building a rocket, Gran doing the crossword.

Pitlochry dam. It’s the fifth time we use get power from the same water and the least effective, but it’s impressive to look at.

In London, in Caroline’s garden.

In Edinburgh, in Matt & Mina’s garden.

On the train

Ronni & Lewis at the Edinburgh Festival

Sketching St Philip’s Church, recovering from the office summer social

Sketch Book 55 – April 2019

The theme is maybe years, or numbers. Seven kids in the rain in a hot tub at Tom Bent’s birthday bash.

At the Macallan distillery. Twelve year old for me.

We cycled round Loch an Eilean with the three kids and stopped to hear the echo from the island castle.

Innes losing his first tooth.

Sketch One from the excellent Highland Folk Museum in Kingussie.

Sketch Two

Isla racing up the Landmark climbing rock.

Peabody talking about numbers, huge financial ones, and how you reconcile them with a social purpose.

Three Crabs in Henry’s Cellar Bar.

Helping at the 30th Craigalmond Scout Coffee Morning.

On the DLR. I think  it’s far harder to sketch on the DLR than it was six months ago. We have thousands of new passengers from Londons new housing developments, and there’s no longer any space.

Two memorials commemorating the 36,000 who died in the First and Second World Wars with no grave but the sea.

Four blocks nicely composed into a West Edinburgh housing development.

Julie sorting our summer holiday.

Three judges and one of our team at the AJ100 Awards judging.

In York Station waiting for the last train home.

At Silverknowes with about eighty Scouts, Cubs and Beavers.

DLR sketch two.

Soderberg in Soho. The first outside Edinburgh I think. Very nice too.

That’s a sketchbook, minus a bunch of drawings of what we might do the house, and I’m not putting them up here.

 

Music, Design & Travel – Sketchbook 54

The sketches are (pretty much) all on Instagram now at @sandysdrawingroom so I’m not posting them here so much. I like the immediacy of Instagram: draw them, photograph them post them. Quick. Here are some of the drawings from my 54th concertina sketchbook. Music at a fundraising dinner in the Grange Cricket Club.

Nice dinner, better music.

Members of the Royal High Pipe Band.

Discussing design at a Planning Appeal Hearing.

Discussing design with partners and staff at HTA. We review our projects in every Monday afternoon. Over the course of a few weeks we try to get round them all.The other guy is on a train. I love drawing people on trains now.

The passengers are captivated by their phones and don’t seem to notice. I miss out everything except the person to try and draw them more accurately.

Ali Germain on his way to the HTA Christmas party in London.

Isla

Innes and Fraser

Innes (?)

Some training with the Scouts.

And a great night watching Deacon Blue’s 30th Anniversary Tour, 31 years after I last saw them. Loved it.

 

Performance

glasses on the tube august 18On the tube, I sat opposite this chap with his one legged glasses. He was reading Oliver Twist and making hurried notes. In his black tie and black suit I imagined he was off to a funeral, to give an address.

eugene sept 18

Eugene has told me a story or two. He’s on the streets and he’s had what I think you a call a chequered past.

circolombia august 2018It was a summer of performances and this was the highlight: CirColumbia at the Edinburgh Festival. Great fun to draw.

rambol fireworks august 2018The festival closing fireworks from Ramboll’s fifth floor Princes Street office were spectacular.

hearts august 2018A table topping performance from Hearts.

canela 3 sept 2018Watching food being prepared; a bit of a show.

17 august 18 Scott grantIt’s the end of the summer, so there’s quite a high turnover in the office. The students go back to uni and the next lot arrive.

douglas mcgowan august 2018I took Dougie down to Derby and wore him out.

Morar – April 2018

Some sketches, in chronological order (unusually).180407 - Innes & FraserDragging the boys round the shops in the car, making last minute preparations for a holiday on the beautiful west coast of Scotland.

080418 CamasdarochOn the beach at Camusdarach making the first of many sand castles.

180418 - MallaigThe local port is Mallaig.

180410 - to SkyeOver the sea to Skye. Skye is home to a disproportionate number of beautiful, subtle, architect designed homes.

180410 DualchasThese two are by the inspiring Dualchas.

April 2018 - AnCrubhAn uplifting community centre with a nice cafe, a cracking view and great hall. By Will Tunell. I love what a community development trust can achieve: remove the profit motive and make something great.

180411 JulieThe train journey from Mallaig to Fort William is amongst the most scenic in the world. And very popular with Harry Potter enthusiasts. We took the (cheaper) local service.

10419 GlenfinanThe highlight of the trip is the Glenfinan viaduct. It looks out towards the memorial to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Arrived 22nd June 1745. Made it to Derby. Routed 16th April 1746. Back to Europe 20th September 1746.

180412 - Isla Eigg RumEigg, Rhum and Isla in the same picture.

180412 Loch NibheisSailing back from Eigg.

180413 Raw ArchitectureThere’s some cracking domestic architecture on the mainland too.

180418 - Scottish Govt SeminarI do work too (though sometimes this all looks like holiday). Back home and waiting my turn to talk at a Scottish Government seminar on Build to Rent.

180421 - Book SaleMy sister’s brilliant fundraising book sale in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK. With excellent help she raised £1,700.

180428 - SpartansBack to the cold. Fraser and Isla sheltering from the elements at our local community football academy, Spartans.

London to Cannes in 6 Days – March 2018

I rode to Cannes in aid of children’s charity Coram. Our team of 4 raised £20,000 through very generous donations from friends and colleagues. Many thanks to everyone who donated. It’s a good cause: you can still donate here.

MIPIM the bike 180307I rode the whole 900 miles, as I expected to do. I also expected to sketch the whole journey but I didn’t really get close. This is my bike in the hotel the night before.

MIPIM ride briefing - 180308This is the rider briefing on the morning we left. After that I hardly managed anything. Everything moves too fast and actually requires a fair bit of concentration; there’s no time left to think about sketching.

MIPIM - the busSome people eating snacks on the bus inside the train that transfers you through the tunnel. Cycle to MIPIM is a bit like I imagine the army might be: you have a job to do and people shout at you when you don’t do it, and even when you do (though there was less of that this year).

MIPIM RidersI drew some riders.

Christian Spencer Davies

And some ride captains.

alex elyI even managed one lunch stop (but there were six).

Cannes RIBA beach

After six days and nine hundred miles I arrived in Cannes for a good round of interesting lunches and meetings, and some parties. I enjoyed the chat and learned a fair bit, but at the back of my mind was the feeling that I need to go back, concentrate harder, cycle less, and draw the whole route.

Maybe next year.

Indoor Month – January 2018

I do go outside, you just wouldn’t know it from the drawings. New Year’s Day with the family.

new years day 2018Drawing in the sketching friendly Design Museum. Looking at beautiful Ferraris. Enzo Ferrari was neither a great driver or a great designer but he created the world’s most desirable brand. ferrari 3

Beautiful old cars…

180124 -ferrari 2

…and the process by which they make them. And some racing cars, Ferrari’s only form of advertising.

180120-FraserFraser missing football, because it’s January and the pitch is frozen.

ainslie park cafe 2017

Isla waiting for gymnastics to start, and me waiting for Isla.

180118 - Hendon Town Hall

Listening to a planning committee.

passo - jan 2017I like the trend towards open kitchens and seats where you can watch someone make your dinner. They provide some entertainment for travelers eating alone. These friendly folk were in Paso.

by tube and planeTravelling, by tube and plane.

management meetingSome work.

2018 british librarySketching is quite popular these days and the nice guys from Meinhardt invited me along to their thriving sketch club at the British Library. It was great,, but I’m looking forward to drawing outdoors again.

That’s Entertainment – December 2017

Fiona and Paulina sleeping on the way to the HTA Design London party

hta sleepers - december 2017

Recovering the next day on the long trip home.

party morning after december 2017

Earlier in the month I’d gone to Islay with the guys I began studying architecture with 30 years ago who are still architects.

Port Charlotte 2-RecoveredWe got thrown out of the pub and the police were called.

Port Charlotte 1

This sort of thing didn’t happen 30 years ago. That’s middle age for you.

Flying to ISlaBy the time we flew home we knew just about everyone.

london office brick - december 2017

Recovering in London, trying to understand the detail of our new office. You don’t learn that much in 30 years.

fraser ar scots night - 30 nov 2017

It’s the time of year for shows: Fraser in his school Scots Night.

Queensferry Panto - December 2017

Brother in law and nephew excelling in panto.

171213-WSP-Spifox

A Christmas lunch or two, though this is the only one that made me cry. It raised money for charities So Precious and CHAS. Click on the links for more information on these excellent organisations.

Michael 3 december 2017It’s time for some time at home…

julie and matt december 2017

…chatting to friends…

isla 1 december 2017

…recovering…

42 eba stair december 2017…and thinking about some new design challenges.