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sketchingheather.bsky.social
@sketchingheather.bsky.social
240 followers 170 following 140 posts
I'm an artist living and working in London, UK. I'm making this account a haven of peace and tranquility with examples of my artwork. You can see more of my art at https://www.ko-fi.com/sketchingheather No NFTs. ©Heather James
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sketchingheather.bsky.social
This is a view drawn in chalk pastel of the Naze at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, UK made today on my 70th birthday. 💖 #blueskyarts #sketching #drawing #art
A landscape view of the Naze (possibly means headland) at Walton-on-the-Naze on the Essex coast in England. I used chalk pastels and chalk pastel pencils on cartridge paper to describe the view. The sky is shades of blue, the horizon is marked in deep purple and the foreground is patches of yellow, green and brown.
September 15, 2026 at 4:04 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Here's my homage to the heatwaves of 2026 with a view of St Dunstan and All Saints Church, Stepney High Street appearing to be in a desert rather than east London. #blueskyart #acrylic #art #landscapes #openhouse
This is a small landscape painting in acrylic paint of St Dunstan and All Saints Church in Stepney High Street, London UK. The sky is mottled blue, the trees are green and the grass lawn in front of the church is parched, yellow and brown. There is a green tree in the mid ground obscuring part of the church casting a shadow to the left of the painting. The church's architecture is a combination of medieval and Victorian.
August 28, 2026 at 10:57 AM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Here's the oil pastel sketch I made today on my first visit to Grosvenor Square since it's been refurbished. I'll be interested to visit again during another season to see how the plants are growing. #art #urbansketch #blueskyart #oilpastel
This is a double page spread oil pastel sketch in my current sketchbook. It is a view of the plants and trees in Grosvenor Square in London UK. This was my first visit since the square was refurbished. The colours are mainly yellow and orange for the dried grass and fallen leaves. The foliage is a variety of greens and the trees are in grey, black, green and orange and the new hotel that replaced the old United States embassy is in the background.
August 18, 2026 at 4:51 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
This is the view from my mother-in-law's garden that I began to draw, using coloured crayon, while we were visiting her. I completed it when I got home, which is 300 miles further south, with the help of a photo I took as an aide-memoire. #art #drawing #northumberland
This is a landscaped shaped drawing using coloured crayons of a view from my mother-in-law's patio garden. It shows her neighbour's garden and the backs of the houses in the background. The view is dominated by the trunk of a large tree and it is surrounded by a grey dry stone wall, a small wooden shelter for sitting in, plant pots and a lot of foliage. The sky is largely blue with some grey clouds in it. The roofs of the houses are variegated greys, the trunk of the tree is shown in many colours with orange, yellow, reds and greys predominating. I finished it today: Sunday 9 August and it took 10 sessions to complete, some of them with the help of a photo I took to jog my memory.
August 9, 2026 at 3:23 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
I've just backed the Liberal Democrats' calls for the UK to join the single market and customs union, to fix the damage done by Brexit and get our country back on track.

Support the campaign: www.libdems.org.uk/europe
A New Deal with Europe
Liberal Democrats are calling for the UK to join the single market and customs union, to fix the damage done by Brexit and get our country back on track.
www.libdems.org.uk
June 19, 2026 at 8:51 AM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Willy Lott's Cottage: reimagined. Completed 09.06.26. #art #landscape #blueskyarts
This is my painting of Willy Lott's cottage that features in John Constable's much larger painting called the Haywain. We visited the area on a walking tour a few years ago and it made an impression on me. I used acrylic paint on the base and continued with water based oil paint for the subsequent layers. The house is painted in white, cream and grey for the shadows and a variety of browns and greys on the roofs. The sky is blue, the foliage is green, yellow and red and the reflection in the water has some blue in it.
June 10, 2026 at 9:41 AM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
A ship's bell mounted on a pole on Southend Pier looking over the Thames Estuary UK.
Ship's bell mounted on a wooden pole at the top of Southend Pier. UK. The sky behind it is very blue.
May 26, 2026 at 12:17 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
This is a sketch made quickly this afternoon while sitting on a fallen tree trunk in Victoria Park in east London. I was interested in the rhythm of trees against the large area of grass and drawn in pencil on cartridge paper. #art #sketchbook #urbanart
A quick pencil sketch using an 8b pencil this afternoon while sitting on a fallen tree trunk in Victoria Park in east London. It shows a landscape of trees surrounded by swathes of grass.
May 19, 2026 at 6:53 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
I was flicking through an old sketchbook from 20-21 this morning and I found these portraits. A small group of us from the Hackney Wick Life Drawing group used to sit for each other online for 10 minutes at a time over the course of three months. It's amazing what you can produce quickly. #sketching
This is a quick 10 minutes portrait of Anna made in oil pastel on cartridge paper. A group of us from the Hackney Wick Life Drawing group used to meet online once a week for around three months and pose for everyone in the group. Here's a 10 minute drawing of Dan in pen and ink on cartridge paper. This is a pencil sketch of Jen made in 10 minutes. There is a splodge of black near her mouth that has bled through from another page. Here is Lydia's portrait in watercolour on cheap cartridge paper. I've always been very fond of this portrait.
May 4, 2026 at 1:59 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Quick sketch before the jazz started at Oxford House, Bethnal Green London this evening: 24.04.26. We do love our early evening jazz at the end of the month. #art #sketching #jazz
This is a black and white sketch of a drum set in the cafe at Oxford House in Bethnal Green in London, in the UK that I drew this evening in my small sketchbook. It's not very accurate but I like its wonky lines. I drew it while we were waiting for four musicians to arrive and start playing jazz for around an hour while the largely older audience applaud and drink wine. It includes a sax player, a guy on keyboards, Rory on double bass and the drummer. They play on the last Friday most months and have been for the last five years. Long may they continue.
April 24, 2026 at 7:22 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Lady eating lunch while waiting for the matinee dance performance of Body and Soul at Sadler's Wells theatre to start, drawn surreptitiously. #penandink #sketchbook #art
This is a black and white pen sketch drawn in secret this afternoon while waiting for the matinee dance performance of Body and Soul at Sadler's Wells theatre. It shows a woman with grey hair who is seated and eating a sandwich while minding her own business.
March 25, 2026 at 6:36 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
A couple in the cafe at the Mulryan Centre, home of the English National Ballet, at City Island near Canning Town, London UK. I was hoping to draw for longer but they got up and left. 23.03.26. #sketchbook #art #penandink
I was passing the time in the cafe at the headquarters of the English National Ballet at City Island in London UK last Monday and started drawing this couple sitting at a table near me in my small sketchbook. I was just thinking about developing the sketch when they got up and left so I finished the drawing using black because that was the main memory they left behind them.
March 25, 2026 at 5:26 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
I do love a well made wall. I took this photo on the way back from lunch at the Boatside Inn at Warden while walking back to Hexham, Northumberland yesterday where we are staying for a few days. The river Tyne is behind the wall and the railway embankment is in front. #northumberland #countrywalks
This is a photo of a wall made from a collection of large stones with trees behind it and a gravelly path in front of it. The stones are a variety of soft colours with ivy growing over the left hand side of the wall. There are green weeds growing on the path. I took this photo when we were walking back from having enjoyed lunch at the Boatside Inn at Warden towards Hexham in Northumberland where we are spending a few days. The river Tyne is behind the wall and the railway embankment is in front of it.
March 5, 2026 at 6:38 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Here are four paintings I have made over the years which I have reproduced as greetings cards. They can be bought from my Ko-fi site, the link for which is in my bio. #art #greetingscards #paintings
This is a watercolour painting of a wall in an archeology site in Mexico which I drew on location and painted when I got home. I exaggerated the colours which are a combination of blues and pinks. This is a reproduction of the image which I sell as a greetings card. The image has a white border around it and it is standing on a wall in our garden on a sunny day. It is available for sale on my Ko-fi site, the link for this is in my bio. The original painting is acrylic on paper and is of a teepee in the garden supporting sweetpeas which are my favourite flowers partly because of their scent. The teepee is brown and the leaves are green. There is a wall in the background painted brown and there is an intense yellow painted over the entire thing. This image has been reproduced as a greetings card and has a white border. It is photographed on a wall in our garden in bright sunshine. It is available for sale on my Ko-fi site, the link to this is in my bio. The original painting was my view from my sitting room window when I used to live in Brixton in south London. It is a partial view of two Victorian houses with a gap between them with a view of a church spire in the distance. The architecture is typical of houses built in London in the mid 19th century. The painting is in acrylic on paper. It has been reproduced as a greetings card with a white border around it. It is photographed on our garden wall in bright sunshine. It is available for sale on my Ko-fi site, the link for which is in my bio. The original painting was produced in a single session using acrylic on paper. It's called the 'weir by the bridge' and the location is by the river Wey in Tilford near Farnham. It has been reproduced as a greetings card with a white border around the edge. It was photographed at the site I painted it and can be bought at my Ko-fi site, the link for which is in my bio.
March 4, 2026 at 4:47 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
This was my view from the window in Hawick in the Scottish Borders on 05/07/21. Watercolour and fine liner pen on cartridge paper. #art #sketchbook #watercolour
This is a landscape looking into green hills in the distance. There is foliage in the foreground with greens, blues and shades of reddish brown. There are splodges of mauve on the horizon and the sky is shades of blues with white and grey clouds. This was my view from our room at my in-laws home in Hawick in the Scottish Borders made on 05/07/21 in a small sketchbook.
February 27, 2026 at 1:25 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
A visit to Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve, London on 26/07/21. Watercolour and fine liner pen on cartridge paper in a small sketchbook. #art #watercolour #sketchbook
This is a sketch I made at Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve in London during Covid on 26/07/21. It was such a treat to be able to travel slightly further away from home than we'd been allowed to during lockdown. This is a view of hedges surrounding the reservoir using mostly greens and browns with a blue sky above. In the background I have sketched in pen the outline of two tower blocks that are visible from the nature reserve.
February 25, 2026 at 8:39 AM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
A view of the river Tyne, Corbridge in Northumberland. 03/07/21. Watercolour on cartridge paper in a small sketchbook. #art #sketchbook #water
This is a sketch of the river Tyne as seen from Corbridge which is a small town in Northumberland close to Hadrian's Wall. The bottom half of the sketch is a watery reflection of the scene above and the colours are mostly a variety of greens with the odd splash of brown. I did this on 03/07/21.
February 24, 2026 at 3:59 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
We're enjoying a visit to Winchester in the UK to see Helios, the touring artwork by Luke Jerram, of the sun which is on display at the cathedral until the end of the month. #art #installation #helios
This is a view of Helios, which is orange and yellow and lit from inside, suspended over the nave of Winchester Cathedral with the ceiling above it and the floor below. It was made by Luke Jerram and is a 3d printed version of the sun at a scale of 1:200 million. This is a closer view of Helios from below with the elaborate ceiling above. There are some of the arches behind it. Helios is cropped on the right hand side. This is Helios seen through the roof screen that divides the nave from the choir and altar.
February 17, 2026 at 9:48 AM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
I made this sketch quickly while waiting for the train to Newcastle from Corbridge station at the end of November last year. It was cold and we had an hour to wait so concentrating on this took my mind off the weather. #sketchbook #watercolour
This is a square watercolour sketch of a building behind Corbridge train station. It depicts a modern building which could either be an office block or a small block of flats, I couldn't decide which it was. The colours are not true to life but gives an idea of its blocky appearance. We were waiting for a train to Newcastle and had an hour to wait and concentrating on this view took my mind off the cold and the wind. I made this at the end of November last year.
January 11, 2026 at 9:15 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Unlike the previous three sketches I worked in watercolour paint directly in the sketchbook which produced a more watery result. This was apt as it was a view of the Old Curling Ponds at Etterick on Boxing Day. #sketchbook #watercolour
This landscape watercolour sketch is the last in this series and unlike the others I painted directly in the book which created a more watery impression. This was apt as it depicts the Old Curling Ponds at Etterick and was our destination on Boxing Day.
January 11, 2026 at 9:03 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Following the sketches from the previous day I made this one, on Christmas Day, of fence posts, barbed wire and a gate with a backdrop of fields in the distance near Wellagate Brae. #sketchbook #watercolour
We went out on Christmas Day and stopped near this view of fence posts, barbed wire and a gate set against a backdrop of fields receding into the distance. I drew the sketch in pencil quickly and painted it using watercolour when we got home. The fields and small trees are mostly green with the fence posts in the foreground in browns.
January 11, 2026 at 8:54 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Following the previous sketch at Monteviot I quickly sketched a tree stump that had been felled surrounded by rotting vegetation. #sketchbook #watercolour #freshair
This landscape sketch is a follow on from the previous one made at Monteviot and covers two pages of a sketchbook with a wire binding up the middle. I was concentrating on the stump of a tree that had been felled surrounded by rotting vegetation. The tree stump is dark grey and the focal point of the left hand page with shades of green, grey and yellows for the vegetation covering the remaining space. I used watercolour when we got home as it was too cold to work outside for long.
January 11, 2026 at 8:45 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
Sketch made in Monteviot near Hawick in the Scottish borders during a Christmas visit. Drawn in pencil on cartridge paper and painted in watercolour when safely back indoors. #sketchbook #watercolour #freshair
This is a landscape sketch drawn in pencil on cartridge paper made when visiting Monteviot, a rural estate near Hawick in the Scottish borders, on a dog walk over the Christmas holidays. I worked it up in watercolour when we got back home. The colours are blue and tones of brown and grey for the windswept sky and browns and greens for the trees and grass.
January 11, 2026 at 8:35 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
The Pavilion in Victoria Park at twilight.
This is a view of the Pavilion café by the lake in Victoria Park, east London at Twilight.
November 29, 2025 at 8:27 PM
sketchingheather.bsky.social
I am very pleased that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has lost his titles and privileges. I'm not so happy that he's going to continue living a life of luxury at Sandringham. I suggest he undertakes community service in Norfolk every week as payback to the British public. #royalty #community
November 2, 2025 at 11:34 AM