The Natural History Museum of London, part 3

Down the hall from Hintze Hall, the Images of Nature Gallery (NHM information link) displays natural images important to their time. The artworks on display are both artistically inspiring, and scientifically accurate. 

This oil painting of insects by Jan van Kessel the Elder is so rich with color and details, it drew me in to study its intricate beauty.

The drawing below by Bryan Kneale stopped me in my tracks. 

Kneale rendered the Giant Tortoise's skeleton so well that I can feel the weight of the shell.  At the same time, he conjured the noble life force that once animated these bones.

Further down the hall is the very modern Darwin Centre (NHM link here), where  I found a quiet exhibit exploring the importance of backyard wildlife.

Inspired by Jan van Kessel the Elder and Bryan Kneale, I made a page of sketches, including a live pigeon & magpie outside the museum where I waited to meet up with my husband at the end of the day.

If you'd like to be an armchair travel journaler, here are some photos from the Natural History Museum of London for you to create with:

A Gogotte, a naturally-occurring sand formation cemented in place with silica 28-33 million years ago in France.  Wouldn't this make a fascinating value study?

For more information about this specimen, you can visit the Joy of Museums Virtual Tour.

A Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja).

I've always found skeletons difficult to draw as I get lost in all the little bones.  

What if you took a bigger picture approach of this Giant Ground Sloth, beginning with a gesture of the larger shape, and adding shadows and light?  

For more information on this extinct mammal, and a better photo of it, here's a link to an article on the Natural History Museum of London's website. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-was-megatherium.html

Happy sketching!

The Natural History Museum of London, part 2

The Natural History Museum of London is a British treasure, and an incredibly popular destination in August.  

I had made a mental list of areas I wanted to visit, but found the crowds were so dense, I couldn't make my way down some of the old hallways.

So, I let serendipity be my guide, and sketched where I could find an eddy in the constant flow of people.

  I was charmed by the old style of displaying fossils by filling the walls with cases, and picked out this Ichthyosaur to sketch in pencil. 

The ink & watercolor were added later.

I don't think I would have noticed this fossil if it hadn't been for the crowds, but I enjoyed studying the structure of this extinct marine reptile and noticing where the spine had been broken in the intervening years.

Whatever we draw, we observe closely.  What would you like to really see?  

Why not get your pencil out and sketch it?!

Travel Journaling in England!

 

We made it to England! 

Our first day after recovering from jet lag, we visited museums in London. I toured the cathedral-like Natural History Museum.

It was a rainy Tuesday, and the weather filled the museum with visitors.  Still, I found little nooks to ferret myself away into and make pencil sketches.

I had initially thought to make watercolor sketches, but the masses of people made that impractical.  I decided to keep it simple,

and make pencil sketches on the spot. I took a few reference photos with my phone,

and added ink and watercolor washes back at the hotel.

After the crush & noise of people in the museum, the quiet, meditative practice of inking and adding color felt soothing, a lovely way to review the day and gather in peace.

If you'd like to travel along with me and sketch, here are a few photos of the things that caught my eye:

A terra cotta detail in Hintze Hall.

A display showing the architecture of Hintze Hall and the inspiration for the terra cotta decorations.

A magnificent Barn Owl!

Happy creating!