Bathers Beach Fremantle this morning to check out the annual Sculpture installations…a couple of sketches too (it was a hot an humid day). TWSBI Eco with EF nib and Fude nib, De Atramentis Document ink, various watercolours with Pentel waterbrush.
Gel Pens
Lincoln National Park & Catninga Farm-stay
Lincoln National Park last night Fisherman’s Bay…quiet relatively sheltered bay, watched lightning and heard the thunder to the North but apart from a few spots of rain it didn’t bother us. Kids went rock- hopping & had skimming stone competition. Spagbol with samphire from the beach for dinner.
Staying at Catninga Farm-stay in the foothills of the Flinders ranges tonight….glorious sunset, lots of flies (but they go to bed at sundown) stars amazing.
Kings Park Wildflowers 2018
Sketches and photos of this years wildflowers in Kings Park, Perth…..
Sketch Kit July 2017
I’ve made some recent changes to my sketch kit and bought a new pen case – “Lihit Lab smart fit small double pen case” that holds all my sketch gear (except the little water bottle) in one compact unit….
It has 2 sections, one opens like a book with pockets and elastic to hold all my pens and brushes, the other side is a half zip pocket where I store my Altoids paint box and other bits and bobs…..The above pictures are a little misleading, the as the pen is resting on the floor it looks much smaller than the case….actual size see below with pen stored inside….
Below picture…. top row from top left are…
TWSBI Eco fountain pen with Extra Fine nib; Pentel pocket brush pen (cartridge refilled with DeAtramentis Document Black ink); Uniball gel pen with White pigment ink; Pentel broad waterbrush filled with tap water plus a few drops of Lamy black ink (makes a convenient grey ink wash); Zig BrushH20 “broad”waterbrush (this is actually a flat brush); Pentel round waterbrushes sizes fine and broad; Travel brushes (separated in the photo) – 6mm (1/4”) dagger brush synthetic hairs (no name on brush, bought from Malcolm Carver website) and Escoda Number 8 Sable brush; Bic Classic fine ball point; Pentel 0.7mm mechanical pencil with 2B leads; Cheap 6mm flat brush (for gouache); cheap synthetic rigger brush.
Other items above are: Altoids paint box (see next picture below for details); wrist sweat band for wiping brushes; Nalgene bottle of water 60mls / 2oz (this bottle doesn’t fit in the pen case): Nalgene bottle of white gouache 8mls / 1/4oz; Bulldog clip; Metal ruler
I’ve also changed a few colours recently… from top left…Winsor Lemon, Hansa Yellow Medium, Yellow Ochre, Buff Titanium, Quinacridone Violet, Permanent Rose, Winsor Red, Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet, Sepia, Perylene Green, Turquoise Green, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Indigo
Perylene Green is my newest interesting colour and the only ready-made green I carry, mixing other greens as needed from above……
I have to say that 95% of my watercolour sketching is done with waterbrushes….even though I have great “proper” watercolour brushes I still love the convenience of waterbrushes. They do take some getting used to ….hold them lightly and gently – don’t squeeze the barrel unless you want water.
It is possible (though a little tricky – needs practice) to get dry brush effects…. thoroughly wipe off excess water from the bristles and paint holding your paper and brush vertical (with the bristles pointing skyward) it feels a little strange – but gravity can’t pull the water down down out of the barrel!
North Beach and City Beach
Mends Street, South Perth
This is a view of “The Old Mill Pharmacy” on Mends Street in South Perth. According to the Heritage council it’s a classic example of federation era styling, built in 1898 as Mrs Boucher’s Tearooms. It originally catered for visitors heading to Perth Zoo (presumably tee-total customers) as the Windsor Hotel is almost opposite! The Swan river ferry still operates from the bottom of Mends Street (there were 4 jetties around 1890) across the Swan river to Elizabeth Quay (was Barrack Street jetty until earlier this year) about a 10 minute boat ride. The big blue and red cranes are a sign of new developments – apartments going up which will have fabulous views of the city from the South Perth Esplanade.
Lamy Safari EF fountain pen, various watercolours, Uniball Gel pens. Holcroft sketch diary.
Below a very quick sketch of the P.S. Decoy (paddle steamer) moored at Mends Street Jetty this morning. Built in 1986 in Fremantle it is a replica of an original paddle steamer that used to ply the swan river in the 1870’s. It is now used exclusively for private functions. (wikipedia)
Pilot Parallel pen 1.5mm with De Atramentis document ink, Uniball Signo Gel pens
sketchbookblue 