LOCAL SHOPS IN SOUTH LONDON UNDER THREAT OF CLOSURE

IN SOUTH LONDON SMALL SHOPS ARE CLOSING DOWN, SO I SKETCH THEM BEFORE THEY GO

Some long established businesses are going this year, or next year. Some have been trading for 50 years or more.  Most are run by a single trader or a family.  

Sadly some have already closed down, before I could sketch them.  Here are my latest sketches

Panetteria Italiano, Merton Park

A W Cycles, South Wimbledon

Copperfields Second Hand Bookshop, Wimbledon

Cunningham's Builders Merchants, Raynes Park

Broadway Bargains, Worcester Park

I & S Locksmiths, Wimbledon

SUMMER PUNCH AND JUDY

THE SMALL CHURCH OF ST MARY HOLDS A SUMMER FAIR EACH YEAR

Punch and Judy at the Summer Fair

Until the local brass band arrived, we were able to sit under a gazebo and I did this sketch, hoping that the Punch and Judy would keep the small children still for a little while. Unfortunately the performance of Mr Punch was brief.


For their parents, the beer stall was doing a roaring trade, even though it was not sunny. The Pimms was not so popular perhaps because of the grey sky.

This Summer Fair is held in a meadow behind the old church, where Nelson and Lady Hamilton were worshipers, and where an overgrown churchyard has a little path leading past the tomb of John Innes, who lived nearby.

As usual I made too many purchases of old books, bric a brac and pottery.  

Merton Park history

MERTON ARTS TRAIL - PAULINA TAKES PART!

MERTON ARTS TRAIL, LONDON SW19 AND SW20, OPEN 10.30 AM TO 5.30 PM

PAULINA LITTLE'S OPEN STUDIOS IN OCTOBER FOR TWO WEEKENDS

Taking part in this Merton Arts Trail Open Studios event, 8/9 October and 15/16 October.

I will open up to show my oil paintings, prints and cards in Merton Park in South London, along with about 80 other local artists in other venues around the Borough. You can visit and see my small recent oil paintings at Poplar Road, Merton Park. 

Why not bring your children along to see these colourful and representational paintings and prints, many of them already framed?

Please contact me for more details if you need to know to how to get there. There is a link from the blog for COMMENTS which sends a message via email.

SPORTS ART

The oil paintings are all those made recently, most with a theme of sports-related events. Typical is the painting of Jamaican Beach Volleyball, and the small oil painting entitled 'Marathon Legs, Emmanuel Mutai' which is on show at the Bankside Gallery, London South Bank in the LONDON LIVES competition exhibition, until Sunday, 18 September.  

GREETINGS CARDS

I will also have some greetings cards for you to look at, from reproductions of my sports paintings.

Some of the paintings you can see are on the main page of my web site, here "http://sportsportraitartist.wordpress.com/"

MERTON ARTISTS

Details of the 80 artists taking part in this Open Studio event, the first to be held in the Borough of Merton, are listed in the catalogue, which I can send you, if you get in touch by email with your address.

This is the web site for Merton Arts Trail  . You can also print off a copy of the Merton map, showing studios that will be open, from this Merton Arts Trail website.

MEET ARTISTS IN THEIR STUDIOS

It is an exciting opportunity to meet artists in their studios, and I am is looking forward to your visit. 

 FREE PARKING

Please note that parking is free in the road at weekends. The nearest station is Morden, on the Northern Line, or Wimbledon on the District line and overhead rail, with links to Waterloo and Clapham Junction. After you have visited my studio there are a couple of other open studios within a few minutes walk.  

Other studios are spread out over the Borough, and in addition to Merton Park include Wimbledon, Cannizaro House,  Raynes Park, Phipps Bridge, Wimbledon Village, Southfields and Wimbledon Park.

This is the first time there has been an Open Studio event in the Borough of Merton, and it has been organised brilliantly by Wendy Bliss and Chrissie Craig, many thanks to them!  Sponsors include Fielders Bookshop and Artists' Suppliers in Wimbledon, Time & Leisure Media Group, Cannizaro House and the London Borough of Merton.

SOUTH LONDON WOMEN ARTISTS GROUP LIFE DRAWING

Went to a small group life drawing last night. Luckily it was easy to get to the venue in Merton.

The model was fantastic - she is from Zambia and has a very slim, elegant body. I found it difficult to see my palette of colours as I had a light focussed on my white board but not on the palette. I tried acrylics - a limited range of colours - worked OK as I found on previous occasions. I used the same technique at the Hesketh Hubbard life drawing club.

It was nice having such a small group, and we enjoyed some wine and cheese too, with bread from our local Italian Bakery at The Rush. The others in the group used pencils and chalks.