Shafto Lane, Perth

Two versions of the same sketch…. the one on the left all hand drawn on site (details below)..the one on the right has digitally added sky (photoshop elements) as I couldn’t decide whether or not to paint the sky blue at the time! I think I prefer the blue sky version…. feels warmer and more intense and the “clean” dense blue would be near impossible to create with watercolour and a small brush out on location.

Shafto Lane in Perth this morning with the Perth Sketchers. Eight of us gathered in the narrow pedestrian lane-way that runs between Murray and Hay streets in the centre of Perth. This is a view of the South end of “Durty Nellies” Irish pub. I liked the metal chimney/vent and the flower boxes in front of a rather industrial breeze-block wall. The lane-way was lovely and quiet…very few cafes open early as they’re all open late. Plus we had benches and tables to sit at under shady trees and umbrellas with a water-fountain trickling in the background …. very peaceful!

Perth Zoo

Visited Perth Zoo this morning…. I’ve been to the Zoo many times in the past but always with children in tow so this was a very different experience to be on my own…able to sketch at will with out having to think about anyone else! It can take a while to create a sketch from a live animal as you often have to wait for some time for the animals to come back into view as they pace up and down or round and round behind bushes or rocks. It is of course so much quicker to take a photo…. but I did find my self noticing small details as I was sketching that I know I wouldn’t have seen if just taking a quick snap…..The knobbly shape of the tortioses shell and the way it’s legs creased as it walked…. The matching stripes of the Zebra and how their tails seemed to swing in time together (plus at Perth Zoo the Zebra are not black and white…more a black and dirty yellow…maybe from rolling in the ochre coloured dirt). The elephant was a real challenge as he was quite far away and kept turning around. But it was lots of fun to try to capture the real live animals.

I spent about 3 hours in total wandering around sketching, mainly the larger animals that stayed still (usually the sleepy ones around midday)….the monkeys and smaller animals really move around a lot.

Dome Subiaco

Another hot day yesterday (three days in a row of +40’C heat) so a cool air-conditioned cafe sketch….Dome in Subiaco….always friendly staff and good coffee. The bright red coffee machine was what caught my eye….it was the most incredibly bright and gleaming red.

Carriage Cafe Fremantle

This is the Carriage Cafe in the Esplanade Park, Fremantle this morning. The park is surprisingly pleasant on a hot day…. there was a cool breeze from the Indian Ocean and lots of shade from the huge Norfolk Pine trees. (According to the Heritage Council of WA the Esplanade park is land reclaimed from the sea around 1900 and originally the seafront was the aptly named Marine Terrace).  The cafe really is made from an old train carriage and has been in existence since 1912. There’s a corrugated roof giving shelter through which two pine trees are growing …. holes cut into the roof to accommodate. The coffee wasn’t the greatest but it’s a lovely spot.

A sandstone water fountain in the middle of the park, brass bubblers and wrought iron decoration.

Pilot Parallel Pen 1.5mm with De Atramentis Document Ink, various watercolours with Pentel waterbrush, Pentel waterbrush with Liquitex acrylic ink, Pentel waterbrush with water and a few drops of sumi ink (grey), Holcroft sketch and draw diary 225gsm.

Coffee Drinker

A quick fountain pen sketch of a rather elegant elderly Asian lady sitting drinking coffee with her partner this morning. She had very delicate features, flawless skin and wore a lovely bright scarf and hat. I didn’t feel comfortable getting out my watercolour kit in the cafe so opted for a pure pen sketch.

Lamy Safari EF fountain pen, De Atramentis Document Black ink, Bockingford 150gsm medium paper

Swan Bells

The Swan Bell tower down by Barrack Street jetty this morning. An impromptu sketching session with a couple of fellow artist friends proved to be very productive. The bell tower houses a set of 18 bells of which 12 are English royal bells (apparently the only ones outside the UK) from St Martin in the Fields that were given to the state as part of the bicentennial celebrations in 1988. The actual bell tower was specially built to house the bells as there was nowhere else in the city suitable. Opening in 2000 it cost $5.5m to build.

This is the bridge across the new Elizabeth Quay which opens into the Swan river. The quay has cost $440m to create and will take an anticipated 15-20 more years for all the apartments, offices, hotels, restaurants and cafes to be fully built and operational. The current “bust” in the mining industry may cause changes and to the plans.

The Perth skyline is quite attractive from the quay side (my quick sketch doesn’t do it justice) and the whole area feels open and light.

There is so much to sketch here I tried to do it all….in only 90 minutes. We will return and scribble some more.