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London Sketchbook



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Description

London Sketchbook is a unique guide to the most celebrated landmarks of one of the world’s major cities. In ten easy walks it takes you on a fascinating journey around the most famous of London’s huge variety of vistas, with identification of the panoramic views and relevant historical background along the way.

     Jim Watson’s illustration technique is traditional line and wash, but his approach is that of a curious neighbour, seeking out the scenes which give each area its individual character – while keeping a keen eye open for the quirky and unusual.

London is one of the world’s great cities, steeped in two thousand years of history and rich in culture, architecture and agreeable surprises – often just around the corner.

     It was a privilege for me to spend summer days walking the routes in this book, enjoying the famous sights while bursting with pride at my capital city. The winter months were spent trying to capture the scenes in line and watercolour. Notes accompanying the illustrations provide some historical background and useful facts and figures.

     The suggested walks take in all the famous landmarks which are relatively close to each other, so none of the routes exceeds four miles in length. They begin and end at underground stations, the circular walks at the same station.

     There are of course many ways to get around London but I find the tube most convenient. It’s also exciting to emerge from the underground not sure what you’re about to see. You emerge, blinking at the sunlight, and are swept along in a great swell of humanity to perhaps the first sight of an iconic scene you may have previously seen only in a photograph. The scale can be unexpected and oddly moving, the Albert Memorial for example. Or the unexpected intimacy of the great financial edifices gathered around that tiny square in front of the Bank of England. The pleasures of London are many and varied but few are such good value for money as just looking. 

     You could easily complete all the walks in a week of good weather – believe me, it does happen – anything is possible in London! You’ll never be far from a cafe or a pub and one of the delights of the city is to linger awhile and watch the world go by. You’ll certainly see people from most parts of the globe. 

     I do hope you enjoy this book and the scenes that inspired it, and that they give you as much pleasure as they always give me whenever I visit ol’ London town.

 

Download the PDF Sample now FREE of charge (including the Table of Contents).

Reviews

"This lively sketchbook of London keeps you interested throughout. A human take of our wonderful capital makes you want to re-visit immediately, with book in hand ! the drawings are attractive and accurate. Well done, Jim Watson!" - Jan (Amazon)

"A beautifully put together book, which is colourful, informative, a perfect size for taking with you, and has a hardback cover to keep the pages from getting bent or torn! It is so well written, I actually felt engaged by the author in a way that I was being taken on my own personal tour, by someone that knows the place intimately, and could give me more in depth information than any general guide possibly could.
Easy to read, with fabulous fun pictures and really handy accurate maps - Thank you for a great guide I will definitely be getting these for other areas I want to go to now."
- Jacqueline (Amazon)

I recently bought this book on a whim after I saw a book review by Parkablogs and I am so glad I purchased it. I love art books and I'm an art major and I found this book to be absolutely wonderful. It's small in size (like a sketchbook) and is filled with detailed drawings and little bits of information and facts about the places in London.
If you are thinking about whether you should buy this book or not, YOU WON'T REGRET buying it if you're a sketchbook travelogue fan.
- Stephanie (Amazon.com)

It's a wonderful addition to my collection. I like to collect sketchbooks of the places I visit and this one is a great addition. Thank you. - JennyD30 (Amazon.com)

I saw it, I liked it, I bought it! In fact, I bought this book as well as the author/artist's book Lake District Sketchbook and will probably buy his other sketchbook on The Cotswalds. I don't remember how I initially found these delightful books, but when I saw a reader's video review I was convinced I had to have the books and I bought them from Amazon UK. A video review by "Parka (Singapore)" showing the reader flipping through the pages of the book, pausing on some for his comments! Wow! This is what buying and selling books via a computer should be all about. And I love these clever little books. They are interesting and informative, fun to look at, and really make me want to travel to the UK again! - Anne Salazar (Amazon.com)


London Sketchbook JPEG
RRP: £10.95 Survival Books
Author: Jim Watson
ISBN-10: 1-907339-37-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-907339-37-0
Edition: 1st
Published: 1st Jul 2011
Number of Pages: 96 Pages
Dimensions: 210mm W x 148mm H (A5)
Book Type: Hardcover