On the Waterfront! by Alan Bickley

This is a real bells and whistles one.👏👏😀

Very likeable sketch.

So much going on here Alan , I can look at it for ages and find different things of interest, but that’s the mind wondering around the scene and putting an interpretation on what it sees , just what a good piece of artwork should do get you looking and imagination working.

Dixie is right, and what a terrific (and complicated) jumble of buildings nicely framed by your boats and their masts.

An excellent portrayal of a Thames Barge in its natural environment, a Thames-side wharf and pub.

So much in this, great work once again.

Excellent sketching Alan.

Paul is right, such drawings set your mind back to those times. Very evocative. On summer days my family often walked along the Thames, these sailing barges were common back then. When we passed one unloading it was the smell I remember…coal, hay, cement etc, all mixed with oil, tar and ozone. Not unpleasant I thought, but an uncle told me the barges didn’t like to make the return trip empty, they’d fill up with rubbish or manure. Lots of horses still in use back then…I’m talking early 1950’s. The barges would run it down to the Kent farms. Great memories provoked by this drawing. It’s a beauty, they get better and better.

Fabulous detail Alan and it comes together perfectly.

Super sketch Alan.

Wonderful free sketch but with so much information, really like this a lot!! Hats off to you Alan I don’t know how you manage everyday and they are all top quality and expertly done!🙏🙏👌👌

Love those old buildings, and the clever use of shadow - probably instinctive to Alan by now, but those partial washes, unplagued by dull consistency (to get a bit poetic in my old age) just work so well to give life and movement; it would be so easy to draw this as a static scene, maybe accurate in rendition, but dull as a waxwork. Places like this are hubs of hard work, energy, and life, and they should be depicted as such. I doubt that I'm alone in looking forward to the next view of it.

Thanks guys for your comments… the other view of this is complete and will post tomorrow - no boats but I prefer it… see what you think!

It's excellent, it's as good to look at as the Roland Hilder version of the Prospect at Whitby but even more interesting. Great painting, well doneAlan.

So much to interest the eye, really good Alan

A wonderful pen and wash which evokes good memories of visiting the Prospect of Whitby when I was a student in London in the 1960s. Artistically, I would get lost in all that rigging!

A masterful sketch Alan.

Lots of intricate detail to view, great piece Alan.

Great loose pen and wash painting.

So much to see in this Alan. Super pen and wash.

Really like the hint of colour in your sketches

A rambling jumble of marks and washes, but oh so fine - smashing!

Excellent Alan!

Wonderful. You've managed to convey so much