Chiswick roundabout: 10 June 2011

I turned left out of Gunnersbury station and found myself on Chiswick High Road. My only associations with Chiswick is remembering visiting my brother when he lived in a very cold, shared house in the area back in the '70s so this is uncharted territory for me.

I wandered along the road until I reached the Chiswick roundaboat and flyover. Now this I did recognise and decided to record the view because like it or not it is a famous west London landmark. It was tricky to work out how to portray noisy moving traffic that wasn't still long enough to draw. I decided to suggest it with the movement of the lines and one or two vehicles. I also observed that the trees and shrubs growing on the roundabout are really beautiful and that's not something you'd notice when you are just racing round it in a car.

Gunnersbury: 10 June 2011

The view when I got off the train was fairly dispiriting. It was raining as well so I sheltered in the waiting room and drew this view leaving out the window frame. I did wonder if I should have stayed at home. However I persevered for a bit and found I'd become quite fascinated by this view of damaged concrete that is supporting a road or car park or whatever it is.

When I decided that enough was enough I spotted a young man watching me work. We got into conversation and he came and sat next to me. He asked if he could look at the sketch book and as he flicked through the pages asked me for some tips for improving his own freehand drawing. So I gave him an impromptu lesson and he seemed quite pleased. I hope he goes for it and has the courage to persevere with his own drawing.

Just outside South Acton station: 3 June 2011

And then I turned left out of the station and was met with this view straight out of suburbia. There was so much greenery growing around this house I wondered if they got any natural daylight at all.

South Acton: 3 June 2011

This was my second drawing of a bridge in one day (a record for me). South Acton was not as picturesque as Acton Central but I found this view intriguing none-the-less.

Acton Park: 3 June 2011

This is Acton Park which is just outside Acton Central station. There was a fun fair behind this pavilion and I enjoyed listening to the fun while I made this drawing. I used pen and ink for this sketch and managed to get ink all over me.

Acton Central: 3 June 2011

This was the warmest day of the year so far and that made me feel as though I was on holiday.

Acton Central seems to be very green and leafy and delightfully old fashioned. It was like taking a step back in time.

Willesden Junction from Station Road: 20 May 2011

The area immediately around the station doesn't seem to have been developed much since the end of the 19th century with the exception of constant traffic.

There is an interesting group of Brazilian businesses close by including a finance company, a lingerie shop, a grocery store and I enjoyed a cup of coffee in a café that was showing a Brazilian game show on the television.