National History Museum - Mineralogy

This month, Opus Artz & Friends, took the opportunity to visit the London Natural History History Museum on our regular monthly research & sketchtrip - in this instance to study and be fascinated by the vast variety of crystal and stone formation growths stored in the vast stone repository.



The National Building and Decorative Stone Collection contains 10,000 rough and polished samples which record the international use of stone over the past 150 years, facilitating the comparative identification and sourcing of replacement stone.

Many a sketchbook were filled with studies of stone formation and unfathomable strange shapes that crystal growth could undertake, given the right conditions. Especially bizzare were images of fused mixtures of multimple minerals growing between one another.

Natural History Museum

During our monthly sketchtrip, Opus Artz & Friends too the opportunity to visit the Natural History Museum (a good ole haunt and favourite) due to its vast palatial grounds and its naturist engraved designs inherent within the building's construction and impressive attention to detail throughout.



One thing to note, some days even in the cold weather of a February morn - it can get especially busy (even on an off peak season)




Here are some shots depicting the graceful architecture, mood and lighting within the Natural History Museum. Certainly it is worth spending at least 2 - 3 hours sketching and studying the various compositions and architecture (especially for environmental concept artists)