St Peter Port Sketch Club

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOWN

The brainchild of local architect, Charlie Hodder of CCD, the St Peter Port Sketch Club has seen dozens of people take to Town’s streets this summer. Combining a love of art with an appreciation of the island’s historic architecture, the sketch club has encouraged islanders to pick up a pen and record the streets of St Peter Port.

When Charlie Hodder was working in London, his large firm had a weekly sketch club to encourage employees to leave their computer screens and improve their observational skills. For him, it was both a useful way of understanding his environment and an enjoyable way to spend some time. When he returned to Guernsey, he was keen to continue the hobby and the St Peter Port Sketch Club was born.

“As an architect, I think drawing is a really important skill in itself. But studying the town in the way we do has other benefits,” said Charlie. “I think people who are good at reading the street and noticing all the little details are also the ones who tend to design better buildings when they’re back in the office.”

But while the sketch club has architectural merit, it also has plenty of artistic appeal. The group is not just aimed at architects – anyone with an interest in drawing or simply in St Peter Port is very welcome to come along and try their hand. The group meets weekly during the summer months to draw the buildings, streets and squares of Town. Sketching takes place for around 45 minutes to an hour, with all work to be completed in that time. The group then heads for a social drink to examine their work.

This year group members have ranged from seven to 70-plus with a wide range of skills and backgrounds. For Charlie, that breadth is important, “Many of the people who have come along have had no prior experience of drawing or of drawing the urban environment, and have been very surprised at what they begin to notice and how much their drawing skills improve. All you need is a sketch book and a pencil or pen and a willingness to give it a go.”

One of those who was willing to give it a try was Charlie’s colleague, Stuart Pearce, who has been a keen member of the sketching group this summer. For him it’s been a really rewarding pastime, “I think it’s tempting to take it too seriously so we really encourage everyone not to overthink it and just enjoy the process. I hadn’t sketched in this way before, my work tended to be very accurate depictions of elevations of buildings. When I first came to the sketch club that was exactly what I tried to do, but as the weeks went on it’s encouraged me to develop my skills and my work now is completely different. I have such an appreciation of being able to look at a streetscape and consider it in a completely different way. I’ve really got the sketching bug – I now pop out in my lunchbreak to see what I can find to draw.”

Luckily Guernsey, and St Peter Port in particular, offers a wealth of options. This year the group visited 19 different locations. The first week started in the heart of St Peter Port at Market Square before moving on to draw the Town Church, the High Street and the quay side. As the weeks go on, the group moved further out to draw all of the significant public spaces in Town such as Trinity Square, Candie Gardens, L’Hyvreuse, Clifton and the Mignot Plateau.

With the nights drawing in, the sketch club has stopped for this year but the group will no doubt be keen to pick up their pencils again next summer.

WANT TO SEE MORE?

An exhibition of all the drawings from the St Peter Port Sketch Club will soon be taking place at the Gate House Gallery on the Grange.

The exhibition opening night will be from 6 to 8pm on Thursday 17 November, with free admission during gallery opening hours on Saturday 19 November.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Follow @stpp.sketch.club on Instagram for more information about the club and when drawing sessions will recommence in 2023. Social media not your thing? Contact Charlie Hodder at CCD on mail@ccd-architects.com or 01481 726461.