Chamari Williams ’24 and Ileanna Pena ’24, describe a relaxing day of sketching along the river, followed by some impressive street art, and a delicious Turkish dinner.
After five eventful days roaming the city of London, we headed to the small cozy town of Richmond. Differing from the racket of Westminster, upon arrival I was overwhelmed by a sense of serenity. The citizens were silently making their way through the street leaving for the air to be filled by the humming of the buses and cars. Along the way to a fantastic little river, we were lucky to encounter a filming for the television series “Ted Lasso” We were even fortunate enough to see Jason Sudeikis directing the scene. Filled with excitement, we all headed to the river where we proceeded to draw the phenomenal landscape for two hours. Swans, pigeons, friends, couples, and most importantly, friendly dogs filled this area with so much joy making the task of drawing so much easier! At noon, we were able to walk around this quaint little town to find a place to have lunch.
Upon reconvening, we displayed our sketchbooks to each other, showing the work or works we felt best represented the drawings we had done from the two hours. This activity has found itself to be a very useful way to hear and see other art perspectives and processes to then think about for the future. We were then graced by a demonstration from our amazing trip leader, Mrs. Taylor that showed us some ways around a chisel nib marker pen. The group was to apply this new tool and these new tricks for the upcoming drawings from our boat ride that would be minutes away.
At first, across the water beheld bridges, trees, geese, and structures that stemmed from the “cottage-core” and quaint nature of the town we were travelling from. Eventually however, more industrially built buildings would emerge. This transition I’m sure, is apparent in our sketches from over the course of the ride. Myself and others did take a nap but woke up to Westminster’s very own Big Ben. Our next stop was the Graffiti Tunnel where it was completely legal to create graffiti and street art. It’s hard to put the impressive skill and scale into words. Some of us added our names to the wall. We ended our day with Turkish food. I tried something new by ordering the Lamb Kofta and I was not disappointed. If I were to rate the day: 10/10 would recommend. Tomorrow marks the end of our first week, we are excited for what comes next.
