Today we decided to lie in as the Brits say and then take a leisurely afternoon in nearby Kensington Gardens to sketch. On the way to the park we discovered an art show on Bayswater Road. This little known Sunday art show has been going on for more than 50 years. Artists display their works on the iron fence surrounding Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park along Bayswater Road. It was great fun to meet the artists and talk about making and selling paintings. We managed to see about 3/4 of the art before deciding it was time to do our own sketching.
In the park we each soon found our own benches and settled into sketching. I completed a couple of sketches of a unique tree before Jean joined me. I also began a sketch of a young woman in a bikini sunbathing on the grass, but she moved position which made it difficult to complete a sketch. A quick gesture was the best I could do.
A friendly man from the neighborhood stopped to chat and told us of the gardens between Kensington Palace and The Orangery. We walked down that way and discovered the crowds increasing. Much to our surprise we emerged into an Astin-Martin auto show. This is quite a big event in London and for car fans. The 007 car was there, but we didn’t get to see it. I did get some photos of the older cars, which I prefer for their classic styling.
Travels With Picasso 
Hey, thanks for the posting. I am not sure I can get turned on by old Aston Martin, but everything is possible. On the other hand Bayswater is an underground station I remember well for Elli brought be there for me to taste for the first time some indian food. There was then (has to be 1971 or 1972) a wonderful restaurant called Standard Indian Restaurant. I however was not aware of any art show in the hood, but it may not have been at the top of my concerns then. A hug to you both. JP
What a nice coincidence! We haven’t seen Standard Indian Restaurant although there are a couple of Indian restaurants near the station. We’ve been eating in our studio most of the time so haven’t tried them.
The art show along Bayswater has over 60 years of continuous showing on Sundays. However, it gets no publicity from the city of Westminster, the tourist board, or anyone else. It is simply word of mouth. I’m not surprised you weren’t aware of it in the 70’s. That was the heyday of the show, when the pubs and stores closed on Sundays so an art show was something to go to and spend money. The artists tells stories of The Shah of Iran and other dignitaries coming to buy paintings and Ladies in Waiting from nearby Kensington Palace strolling by. Nowadays with the pubs open all the time and stores ready to take your money 7 days a week the art show sees less traffic. Last Sunday the Astin Martin show brought thousands to the park and many of them strolled down the sidewalk to see the art. It was good for the artists.