Date it occurred : 25th June 2024
Thank you to those who joined this session.
We started by looking into the history of the Crown Jewels and their placement. I told the group that the Jewels make up what is known as the Coronation regalia, meaning all that is worn during the crowing of the new monarch. We also looked into how they are protected within the Tower of London and whether there has ever been an attempt to steal them (Colonel Thomas Blood 1671).
Our first sketch was the Black Prince Ruby, found in the front centre of the Imperial State Crown, which is the crown the monarch wears when leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation. It is also worn annually by the monarch during the opening of parliament.
The Imperial State Crown
The Black Prince Ruby is 170 carats and is named after King Edward III'S eldest son, who wore jet black armour, hence the name and was gifted the ruby in the 14th century.
Precious stones and gems can be difficult to draw due to their complex structures, but we gave it a good go. I put 7 minutes on the clock and we started to sketch using the materials we had within our homes.
The next item of the Crown Jewels we sketched was this picture of the sceptre, which holds a section of the Cullinan diamond. This section from the largest ever found rough diamond (3106 carats) is 530.2 carats. I guided the group to sketch the Cullinan by looking at the diamond like a group of shapes and to fill the teardrop shape from the centre moving outwards. 8 minutes on the clock lets go.
The Sceptre
The last sketch had us looking at this incredible punchbowl with a committed stare going towards the ladle in the shape of a conch shell. We talked about creating a naturalistic approach to the sketch and working out how to convince the viewer that your drawing has depth. With that I guided the group towards sketching the shapes inside the shell first. The shapes are created by the shadows formed from the light hitting the inside of the shell and natural shading can always aid depth in your sketch. 10 minutes on the clock, off we go.
The Punchbowl Ladle
Stay tuned for the next Sketch History session.
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