South Terrace, Fremantle

A quick sketch of a beautiful old building across the road from Benny’s cafe on South Terrace in Fremantle yesterday. Couldn’t find any history on this place, it’s currently Dome cafe on the lower floor, don’t know who gets to enjoy the balcony views from above.

Photo below is of the Perth Sketchers plus sketching visitor Chris from Sydney.

Too brief a visit to Freo, there really is heaps to sketch here, places and people…….

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

Wolf Lane, Perth

Different views of Wolf Lane (off King Street in central Perth)  this morning with the Perth Sketchers. Two very different takes on the lane-way which has been revamped by the city with cafes and lots of really interesting large scale murals/graffiti.

The the picture on the left was sketched first and took about an hour, I wasn’t too happy with the end result….it’s a bit overworked and lacks a focal point. I think it would’ve been better to focus more on the two chairs and push the lane-way into the back ground.

The second sketch is the row of bins all filled up with overflowing bags after a big weekend….this one only took 20 minutes (1/3 the time of the first sketch) and is much fresher and more spontaneous. The old adage that “less is more” seems to work in this case….some times the most mundane items can be the most interesting.

Sculptures by the Sea Cottesloe 2016

Sculptures by the Sea at Cottesloe beach yesterday. An unusually humid and steamy day in Perth but great to go and check out this years sculptures on iconic Cottesloe Beach (one of the best beaches in the world)…it’s been a while since I’ve been out sketching. There was the usual eclectic mix of weird, funny and beautiful creations from around the world. Couldn’t sketch them all in a morning so together with sketching friend Aggie we found a sheltered spot next to a wall out the the full sun to settle down and scribble. This piece is titled “Travelling Bag” by Yumin Jing of China and is a lovely recreation of a handbag made entirely out of steel with rare plants growing inside, the reflections off its polished surface are amazing (and hard to paint!). Fun to watch all the people and overhear their comments (especially the school kids and their teachers).

This other sketch below is just quick gestural scribbles of people wandering around looking and relaxing on the beach.

Finally after all the sketching I had a quick swim in the Indian Ocean to cool off….a perfect morning!

Pilot Parallel pen 1.5mm with DeAtramentis Document Ink black, various watercolours, Pentel waterbrush, Holcroft sketch and draw A4 diary 225gsm.

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.