Cynthia Barlow Marrs SGFA

Banquette 28 November 2023

We celebrated Tony's birthday with dinner at a local eatery, and I drew a woman at a nearby table.

Original
Ink and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
15cm x 10cm

'Being Human' at the Wellcome Collection 19 November 2023

I joined Urban Sketchers London colleagues at the Wellcome Collection near Euston Station, the museum and library dedicated to health and human experience. It's one of my favourite places in London.

This was my view in Being Human, an exhibition which asks 'What does it mean to be human, now? How can we care for ourselves and for one another?'

Sketchbook in lap in the darkened room, I drew figures in silhouette as behind them Transparent Woman turned towards the light, lifting her arms as if in search of an answer.

Original
Ink and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
15cm x 20cm

Windsor Fringe launch 2023

We had a blast last night at the launch party for the 2023 Windsor Fringe, hosted by Loading Bay Cafe and opened by our fearless chairman Karen Darville. It was our first launch party in four years, but the Fringe itself has been going for half a century. It was such a pleasure to catch up with friends, I left it a bit late to start this tiny sketch. If only I could have lingered to hear more from The Yes Mess Band. Supah!

Original
Ink and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
15cm x 20.5cm

Have I mentioned how much I love red hair?

My pocket sketchbook + public transport = sketching heaven

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
9cm x 4.5cm

Windsor Theatre Royal - Frank and Percy

Roger Allam and Ian McKellen 24 June 2023 - the watermelon scene.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

Theatre Royal Windsor - 'Home I'm Darling' January 2023

We had excellent seats last night at Theatre Royal Windsor for ‘Home, I’m Darling’, a thought provoking feminist comedy with a toe-tapping 50s playlist. I had brought a little sketchbook and a fineliner pen, throwing lines down on the paper before the lights dimmed, and adding details in haste during the interval. Today I added colour and embroidered the stage curtain pelmet.

As I sketched during the interval, a young woman turned up at my elbow to say how nice it was to see someone drawing. I showed her what I was trying to do with my sketch, and turned to other pages so she could see what I’ve been up to. We talked about art class ‘failures’ in school, and agreed it’s so often the teaching method that makes or breaks a student’s confidence. I’ll always remember the play, but it was that chance encounter that warms my heart.

Jessica Ransom, Diane Keen and Neil McDermott lead the cast. Home, I’m Darling is at Theatre Royal Windsor through February 4th 2023 before it sets off on tour.

This is a 15 x 21 cm sketch in an inexpensive A6 Eco sketchbook by Seawhite. The paper is watercolour friendly, and I like the sturdy kraft cover, the low price and the diminutive size. I buy half a dozen at a time and toss them into bags or slip them into pockets.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

St Christopher Square, London

My husband often appears as a foreground element in my sketches, usually as a way of suggesting relative scale or introducing variety in a composition. In this sketch he seems to have shed a couple of decades and gained a Clark Kent jawline. Which I suppose is fair enough, as he footed the bill for our lunch in St Christopher's Place.

Sketched on location, watercolour added in the studio.

June 2023
Sketched on location, watercolour added in the studio.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 12.5cm

Lunch at Cafe Rouge Windsor

Sketched from life, watercolour added at home.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

London Overground & Elizabeth Line

Fellow passengers caught my eye on the Elizabeth Line and London Overground on my way to and from a great day with Urban Sketchers London at Crystal Palace Park.

The woman on the right inherited her eyebrows from a man I had started sketching several minutes earlier. The man had leapt up and dashed off the train before I had managed to draw the rest of his face, leaving his eyebrows behind on my page. So when the red haired woman took his place I carried on sketching, reluctant to let a perfectly good pair of eyebrows go to waste.

Sketched on location, watercolour added in the studio.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

Overground to Penge West

Sketched from life on London Overground.
Watercolour added at home.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

London Overground from Peckham Rye

Sketched from life on London Overground.
Watercolour added at home.

Original
Pen and watercolour in A6 sketchbook
14.5cm x 20.5cm

Days 2 and 3 - One Week 100 People 2023

Every March for the past seven years, artists extraordinaire Marc Holmes and Liz Steel have organised the One Week 100 People challenge, the idea being to sketch as many people as possible in five days' time. Whether one draws from life or from photos, the aim is to fill a page with people and keep going.

To kick things into high gear this week, I've sized up my sketchbook and switched on the colour. My obliging models are family, friends and strangers in photos on my phone. I’ve counted 50 souls so far in my sketches from Days 1, 2 and 3. With luck, I’ll manage another half century by close of play.

#oneweek100people
#oneweek100people2023

Day 1 - One Week 100 People 2023

Every March for the past seven years, artists extraordinaire Marc Holmes and Liz Steel have organised the One Week 100 People challenge, the idea being to sketch as many people as possible in five days' time. Whether one draws from life or from photos, the aim is to fill a page with people and keep going.

To kick things into high gear this week, I've sized up my sketchbook and switched on the colour. My obliging models are family, friends and strangers in photos on my phone. I’ve counted 50 souls so far in my sketches from Days 1, 2 and 3. With luck, I’ll manage another half century by close of play.
#oneweek100people
#oneweek100people2023

Original
Watercolour and pen and ink in A4 sketchbook
30cm x 42cm