Willesden Junction - platform 4: 20 May 2011

Willesden Junction is a vast industrial site with platforms and railway tracks pointing in different directions and almost as far as the eye can see. It doesn't have the charm of Hampstead or the liveliness of Stratford but the many vertical and horizontal lines make for an interesting view.

Kensal Rise: 6 May 2011

I'm two thirds of the way through this project now and I can see the end in sight. It is tempting to rush ahead, get the job done and crack on with something else. Instead, I decided to take this drawing fairly slowly and savour the experience of being in a part of London that is new to me.

The journey to Kensal Rise took longer than expected what with cancellations and delays but when we finally got moving I enjoyed passing through the stations where I have already stopped and made drawings. It gave me a chance to be nostalgic while the journey is still in progress.

On arrival I peered through the slatted wooden fence separating the station from the neighbouring street and spied the word COFFEE in large letters on a building some distance away. I realised that I fancied a cup of coffee so headed over to this rather uninteresting looking building only to be greeted with this lovely scene of oranges on a cart outside the café. The weather was warm and not windy. I had a table to myself and was able to spread out. Towards the end I had a chat with the proprietor, who I think was Italian, who told me that watching me work in dip pen and ink reminded him of when he was at school and that's what they used to write with.

Close to Brondesbury Park station: 28 March 2011

This is the drawing I made after I had left the station and turned right into what I think was Salisbury Road.

I was attracted to the view in the distance and then ended up drawing what was in front of it. For this one I used a fine black pen and the previous one was in pencil.

Since I can never predict what medium I will want to work in at any given time I usually take a selection of things so I can make a choice on the spur of the moment. I decided at the beginning of this project that I would do all the drawings in mono, regardless of the medium, to provide some continuity.

Brondesbury Park station: 28 March 2011

Brondesbury Park station struck me as being much more attractive than Brondesbury where I was just 10 days ago but that is probably because the weather was so nice today.

This station, along with all the others on this line, is undergoing major refurbishment. However the covered walkways still retain some of their Victorian charm and in this drawing I was interested by the lines of the roofs. Simple as that.

Brondesbury: 18 March 2011

Today was my attempt to restart this drawing project and, as you can see, I have managed to complete a drawing.

It was definitely warmer today than my last excursion at the end of January but, because it rained most of the day, it still felt very cold. I've decided that I must be a fair weather artist after all.

Since it was raining I needed to find some shelter so I sat in the waiting area at the edge of the platform. In the old days you would have had a real waiting room to sit in that had doors and even a gas heater to keep off the chill. Now, if you are lucky, you get to sit in something like a bike shed.

While I was sitting there I felt there was a tangible relationship between the shape and size of my shelter and the shape and size of a train carriage so my view from here is as though I was sitting in the train that I was actually waiting for.

West Hampstead: 28 January 2011

West Hampstead has three stations. Three in walking distance of each other! I suppose if the train network was being designed now instead of roughly 150 years ago the engineers would have devised one large railway hub which would extend north, south, east and west.

Today I pitched up at the one in the middle of the three. It was very cold, really too cold to draw outside. I headed out of the station looking for a lunch stop and ended up at a small café called Bon Café and enjoyed an egg mayo sandwich and gazed out of the window wondering where to go to draw. When I wasn't staring out of the window I watched the lunchtime news on the tv which was broadcasting the rioting going on in Cairo which I found quite disturbing.

When I couldn't find any excuse for staying put I left the warmth behind and went exploring. Fortunately there was a lot more going on in the area than there had been at Finchley Road. The general views were a lot more interesting and if it had been warmer I would have enjoyed taking more time over my drawing. As it was I tossed this picture off and developed it a bit more when I got home and my hands had thawed out.

So I have decided to mothball this drawing project until the weather has warmed up. I'll keep an eye on the weather forecasts over the next few weeks before I set out again.

Finchley Road & Frognal: 14 January 2011

Wire mesh fences running the length of the platform

At last, after a six week break I've been able today to get back to trekking my way round north London.

As anyone who has ever been outside their house knows many journeys are beset with unexpected delays and diversions. My life was suddenly diverted in December by falling over in the street and earning myself a celebrity fracture made famous by David Beckham. I broke my fifth metatarsal on my left foot and although I've been able to walk I've pretty much avoided going anywhere I didn't have to and that includes leisurely train journeys.

Then we were clobbered with unusual amounts of snow. They are used to snow up in Northumberland where my mother-in-law lives. It falls in vast quantities every year but down south, here in the capital, we usually only see snow on Christmas cards. For the time being all that has melted away, the temperatures have risen so now is the time to get out and about.

Oh, and did I also mention that every journey has sections that are very tedious. Today's outing was one of those. I always take the view that there is always something interesting to draw if you only look for it. I looked in the station. I looked as I walked along the high road. I looked again as I walked back towards the station. I wondered if this would be the stop with no drawing.

I walked back down to the platform to wait for a train home and drew what was in front of me. This was one of the wire mesh fences used to separate passengers from the building works going on along the length of the platform and in the background you can see a quick outline of a train that moved before I could add any detail.

When I got home I had a chat with my friend David who began to reminisce about Finchley Road because he had lived near there in the '70s when he was a schoolboy. He remembered when he'd had a job as a road sweeper and the perils of driving his little cart over a busy four lane highway. He recalled an obscure lane he was scared to walk down in case he got beaten up by skin heads. He talked about a café that only sold freshly ground coffee and that a pub opposite it had been blown up by the IRA. He was at home when he heard the explosion.

This just showed me that it is possible to live a very rich and interesting life in a very dull looking place so perhaps I shouldn't have been so judgmental.