Today I got together, virtually, with a bunch of friends from Urban sketchers Stoke-on-Trent.

We had agreed to meet up and draw a local landmark. So we went ‘out’ on Google Street View, and using Zoom, we each drew the view of a photo of the opera House.

The perspective was interesting, a bit fish eye lens ish, and there was a red bus in the foreground which I think has been truncated because of the method Google uses to take images.

The drawings today are not part if the thirty day #uskstoke challenge, but instead is one for our fortnightly expeditions. However I think we are doing this weekly.

My drawing is in my A4, Windsor and Newton sketchpad. I drew it in the landscape position and it’d dark grey felt pen (nibb ® permanent markers). I used the point to draw the lines, then tipped it so that I coukd use its edge to do some softer shading.

I’ve also used Zoom for the first time. I gradually learnt how to use it, with lots of help from the people in the group and a helper that Zoom technicians had given us for the meeting.

It was good to hear people’s voices, and see them when I’d sussed out the video bit.

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