Sketchdump
Mar. 26th, 2016 10:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tealinIt's been a long time since I've done one of these so I have a lot of sketches to dump!
I'm trying to draw at least once at every pub in central Cambridge. I've liked the look (and the name!) of The Free Press for some time, but wanted to save it for when it was a properly cold winter day as it looked 'best enjoyed cozy.'
Verdict: Very cozy, friendly down-to-earth clientele and bar staff, yummy beer, MOUNTAIN of chips, nice vibe. Not enough through flow to keep the sketchbook fed, though, and prone to being too busy to find a place to sit. Better for socialising, if you're into that sort of thing.
I was desperate to get out on the bike, so on a blustery day decided to bike till I could see Ely.
After a couple months cooped up animating, I had to go out and catch some strangers.
It's funny the different criteria for a good cafe for sketching vs .... anything else you use a cafe for. The Caffé Nero on Kings Parade always has a long queue, is full of tourists, is generally crowded, and dimly lit. But exactly what might turn people off going for coffee there is what makes it one of the most dependable places to fill a few pages of sketchbook.
Another pub off the list, in this case the riverside institution known as Fort St George:
Verdict: I'd been to the Fort St George for lunch so knew it was a nice place to hang out (and has an attractive sandwich special), but it didn't work out well for sketching. The dining area is lovely and spacious, but had little turnover of clientele so drawing would be dull. The bar was a little better but mostly empty when I got there, then I felt like I was hogging a table for myself when the people started arriving. Will try again in the summer when the patio is open.
I had to finish off my sketchbook so I could take a fresh one to Switzerland – I didn't expect to have much timeto sketch but one never knows! – so it was back to Ye Olde Dependable, The Mill, which true to its name grinds through the sketchbook pages like no other, as its patrons are varied and interesting and there's a convenient nook in the bar from which one can observe 270° of humanity almost unnoticed.
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I'm trying to draw at least once at every pub in central Cambridge. I've liked the look (and the name!) of The Free Press for some time, but wanted to save it for when it was a properly cold winter day as it looked 'best enjoyed cozy.'
Verdict: Very cozy, friendly down-to-earth clientele and bar staff, yummy beer, MOUNTAIN of chips, nice vibe. Not enough through flow to keep the sketchbook fed, though, and prone to being too busy to find a place to sit. Better for socialising, if you're into that sort of thing.
I was desperate to get out on the bike, so on a blustery day decided to bike till I could see Ely.
After a couple months cooped up animating, I had to go out and catch some strangers.
It's funny the different criteria for a good cafe for sketching vs .... anything else you use a cafe for. The Caffé Nero on Kings Parade always has a long queue, is full of tourists, is generally crowded, and dimly lit. But exactly what might turn people off going for coffee there is what makes it one of the most dependable places to fill a few pages of sketchbook.
Another pub off the list, in this case the riverside institution known as Fort St George:
Verdict: I'd been to the Fort St George for lunch so knew it was a nice place to hang out (and has an attractive sandwich special), but it didn't work out well for sketching. The dining area is lovely and spacious, but had little turnover of clientele so drawing would be dull. The bar was a little better but mostly empty when I got there, then I felt like I was hogging a table for myself when the people started arriving. Will try again in the summer when the patio is open.
I had to finish off my sketchbook so I could take a fresh one to Switzerland – I didn't expect to have much timeto sketch but one never knows! – so it was back to Ye Olde Dependable, The Mill, which true to its name grinds through the sketchbook pages like no other, as its patrons are varied and interesting and there's a convenient nook in the bar from which one can observe 270° of humanity almost unnoticed.
