As you probably know from various other blog posts, I love joining other sketchers from the Cambridge area and drawing some of the beautiful or unusual places we are lucky to have, in or close to Cambridge.
One of my favourite streets in Cambridge is Portugal Place. This a car free street off the beaten tourist track but used as a thoroughfare between Jesus Green and Bridge Street by many locals. The street is not long and around 40 sketchers turned up on the day, you can see some of us after the sketchcrawl - that's me on the left, front row, with the blue shoes.
Obviously people live in these houses so we needed to be a little discrete. But one thing about sketchers is that they get very engrossed in their drawings and do not make any noise.
I loved the house at number 26 and as the curtains were closed it looked as if I wouldn't be disturbing anyone inside when I drew it. I pondered wheteher to draw the 'Stop Brexit' sign but an Urban Sketch is about drawing the time and place - so in it went giving a lovely orange point of visual interest in the window.
The house I drew is opposite the Latin and Greek signs on a short railing. There has been some disagreement by various academics over the exact translation from the Greek but 'Classicist Prof Mary Beard, from Newnham College, said the Latin – DUAE ROTAE HIC RELICTAE PERIMENTUR - is correct, and translates literally as ‘two wheels left abandoned here will be removed.'
Wonderful Cambridge!
Painter living in Cambridge. Mixes fantasy and realism and loves medieval art and it's detail. An avid sketcher.
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