Claremont Goods Shed

The historic Claremont Goods Shed (next to Claremont Station) was the venue this morning for the Perth Plein Air Painters gathering for a paint-out.

The Goods Shed was built in 1887 a year after the Claremont station opened to the public serving the new Fremantle to Guildford rail line which had opened in 1881. This shed served as a small warehouse for goods that would have arrived by ship in Fremantle.

Unbelievably the passenger services on the Fremantle to Perth were abolished for 4 years between September 1979 and July 1983 (allegedly due to poor passenger numbers, the service was only reinstated with a change of government).

The shed has been restored and re-purposed as a not-for-profit arts hub run by Form and has a little cafe (opposite side to my sketch).

 

http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/Public/Content/PdfLoader.aspx?id=fd107a19-8cd9-412a-9be2-350db8e57076&type=assessment

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-06/old-claremont-shed-to-become-art-gallery-and-cultural-hub/6920368

TWSBI Eco fountain pen with EF nib, De Atramentis document black ink, Pentel waterbrushes broad and fine, various watercolours in homemade Altoids paintbox on Clairefontaine A5 plain notebook.

 

Christmas Day 2016

Christmas morning at City Beach, Perth. Beach and sea packed with people having a Christmas dip….Big waves crashing on the sandy beach, Santa hats, reindeer antlers, mince pies, champagne and sunscreen. Merry Christmas….may your God go with you 🙂

City Beach bathers Christmas Eve 2016

City Beach this morning…. Christmas Eve. Sketching with the new TWSBI Eco, loving this pen 🙂

TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen

A new pen….early Christmas present…. TWSBI Eco fountain pen with Extra Fine nib….with a black cap as they always get inky over time (see the Lamy cap below).

The previous UWA sketch is made with my new TWSBI Eco. I prefer to sketch with my pens un-posted (with out the cap on the end) but I’ve put pictures below of the pens I use most often above so you can see how they compare for size and line weight…(all pens below are filled with my favourite De Atramentis document black ink except the ball point).

This pen is really lovely to write with…very smooth when used the “normal” way and very fine and smooth when used upside down. It also feels very comfortable in my hand….some people really dislike the triangular grip of the Lamy pens – that has never bothered me -but the Eco somehow just feels “right”.

The Eco is a piston only fountain pen – it does not take ink cartridges – simply dip the nib into a bottle of ink and twist the end of the pen to operate the plunger and suck in the ink from a bottle.

I personally prefer bottled ink….in the long run it’s cheaper than buying cartridges, they don’t create landfill (most ink bottles are glass and can be recycled) and there’s a massive choice of ink colours to choose from or you can mix your own ink colours if using the same brand of ink (check with the manufacturer).

Lamy bottle ink = AUD 0.57 per ml

Lamy cartridge ink = AUD 1.16 per ml.

BUT….what really makes the Eco different is that it can hold a “bucket load” of ink in its belly….the Eco holds 1.7 ml of ink compared to 0.6 ml for the Lamy and Pilot = Fewer pit-stops for re-fueling!!!!

I think the TWSBI Eco may replace my much loved Lamy Safari….have to do lots more sketch to find out……..

Winthrop Hall, UWA

An impromptu sketching session this morning down at the University of Western Australia (UWA). Sitting on the grass in the shade of a large tree sketching Winthrop Hall – the ceremonial heart of UWA. Opened in 1932 the building has a Cordova tile roof and is faced with sandstone and limestone from nearby Donnybrook. A reflection pool lies in front of the building.

 

This was a bit of a scary and fiddly building to sketch….my first attempt to draw this I abandoned and started over….this second attempt is better….I am not an architect so drawing something like this is always a challenge….but I had fun.

Old Shanghai Food Court, Northbridge

The Urban Sketchers Perth met this morning at the Old Shanghai Food Court in James Street, Northbridge for our monthly sketch-meet. We started with some blind contour drawings of each other to warm up (and have a laugh at the results!!!). I think it’s really important to warm up before starting sketching….it loosens the fingers and relaxes the mind before starting a “proper” sketch.

This is my blind contour sketch of Heather…it has some elements of her character (except that she doesn’t have 2 noses!). To do a blind contour drawing there are only 2 rules…..don’t look down at your paper and don’t take the pen off the page….try to slowly follow the outlines and form changes with your pen/pencil and feel your way around the object you are viewing. Invariably it won’t be accurate but it is a lot of fun and always brings laughter from the sketcher and the subject.

This is my quick sketch of the interior of the food court…quite dark except for the lovely bright red paper lanterns and the neon signs of the food vendors. We arrived at 10am when the place was empty of customers…only the cooks preparing the delicious foods.

This is the honey chicken, rice and spring roll that I enjoyed….sketched first…about 20 minutes…yum.

These three images are of a guy checking his phone whilst waiting for his food to arrive. I drew on location with my trusty Lamy Safari fountain pen and De Atramentis black ink. The watercolours I added later at home from memory in stages, taking photos in between to see how the colours changed the feel of the sketch I can’t decide which version I prefer the original pen only sketch or the final with the red cup…..

Last but certainly not least…..everyone’s sketches from this morning….what a variety of different scenes that everyone chose to draw….we were all sitting around the same table but focused on different things….

Sunset Hospital Dalkeith

Cycled around the old Sunset Hospital site on the foreshore at Dalkeith this morning, it’s just been opened to the public having been closed and fenced off for over 20 years. Built in 1904 as the “Claremont Old Men’s Home” it was renamed as “Sunset Hospital” in 1941 when it became a hospital for returned servicemen and later a public hospital for men and women. Most of the 13 buildings are still fenced…. off presumably awaiting renovation. There are new BBQ facilities, children’s adventure playground and good seating underneath massive Moreton Bay Fig trees which overlook the Swan river. Current renovations have been financed by selling off part of the land to the Sultan of Johor, the long term plan is to preserve the heritage listed buildings for future arts, culture and community use.

 

Finally….. a quick sketch of the Perth skyline from Matilda Bay Tearooms (which have also been renovated).