Drawing the sky view of London in Horizon 22 again
There are a lot of viewing platforms in London, and some of them are free. Of them my favourite is Horizon 22 which is now the highest in the city. I made the second visit and sketched the same view again.
The reason for not to draw other parts of the sky view is not see how my sketching skill goes after a year and three months.
The sketch took 3 hours, which was longer than usual like an hour or two. This time, I found I am more able to capture the details under the complexity of the sky view. I didn’t feel much I got lost when sketching.
Some reasons for recommending Horizon 22 include the highest one in the city which allows people to have broad vision so as to overlook far away without any blocking, and the minimal and spacious area while visitors are allowed to sit on the floor to relax and enjoy the view, and even their coffee.
The experiences of both visits were very seamless, that I didn’t need to wait outside for entering and doing security checks. The viewing platform inside was not very crowded. I guess Horizon 22 is doing well in controlling the number of visitors so they may just allow a few, and that’s why I needed to book a ticket in a month or two in advance, compared to other platforms like Sky Garden which is just two weeks.
Looking at the sky view again from 58th floor, I found I am more familiar to London as I was more able to locate different areas in London. Without any guides, I could see Elephant and Castle and Lewisham with more and more skyscrapers. I could overlook the runway of London City Airport, and Walthamstow Wetland too! South London is always greener than other parts of the city. Crystal Palace transmitting station and the skyscrapers of Croydon behind. Look at those people in Sky Garden.
Drawing will also enable me to carefully observe, and thus understand various things better, which can be ignored when simply looking at them.
Nice to meet and chat with other visitors and staff there, share the photos of me sketching, as well as thanks for your appreciation and support. When asked how to cope with the complexity when sketching, it's not easy to answer. Because I adopt “practice makes perfect” approach, rather than using tools, drafts or outlines to minimise the possible risks. You may know I am the one who just use fine liner without any pencil and erasing tool. I sometimes don’t know how to explain, but true understanding may be the key message.
