Next meet up is on Tuesday 30 August

Our next sketching outing is on Tuesday 30 August at 11am at Abney Park, Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0LH. We are meeting at the main entrance with the Egyptian gates.

Abney Park in Stoke Newington, one of the ‘magnificent seven’ garden cemeteries of London, is a woodland memorial park and Local Nature Reserve. There are many interesting memorials, especially some featuring angels, and there is an atmospheric, ruined chapel in the centre. General Booth of Salvation Army fame is probably the most famous person buried there.

At this time of year the cemetery is particularly bosky and overgrown, so if you can't find us call my mobile on: 07815 772857, for use on the day only please. Buses serving Abney Park include the 67, 76, 106, 149, 476, 393 and 243. The 106 goes from Finsbury Park Station. Stoke Newington overground is very close. 

The informative website can be found here. There are plenty of cafés in Stoke Newington Church Street and even some on the High Street. There are not many benches in the cemetery so we advise you to bring a sketching stool.

Sketching on the hottest day of summer

The July outing for Art in the Park took us to Newington Green on a very hot day. Four artists, two Islington Art Society members plus two guests found a shady place under the huge plane trees and worked away. Unfortunately the café in the park had suffered a power cut, nothing to do with us, but we found a very pleasant alternative nearby for lunch where we sat in the garden.

Newington Green has a distinguished past with links to the Dissenters and Mary Wollstonecraft, and also boasts the oldest surviving terraced housing in London. It is currently a pleasant square with ample seating, a children's play area and of course plenty to draw.

Our next outing will be to Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington. Watch this blog for the next date.