South Mole lighthouse Fremantle midday…a strong Southerly breeze (blowing up from Antarctica…a bit chilly) watching the big container ships being escorted out of the port into Gage Roads…
Watercolour Pencils
Brisbane Sketchfest 2019
Brisbane Sketchfest 2019…….175 sketchers from around Australia and as far as New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia gathered in Brisbane last weekend for 3 days of urban sketching workshops, sketch-crawls and shared sketching action. I took workshops with Peter Rush using coloured pencils on cereal packet, Ch’ng Kieah Kiean (known as “KK”) using sharpened twigs dipped into Sumi ink plus brush and watercolour, Robyn Bauer drawing trees using diluted sumi inks and varied lines.
Brisbane was a fun city with lots happening, evening markets, electric scooters zooming everywhere, lovely to walk around the city a mix of old colonial style next to high rise buildings. The city was buzzing with people and the Botanical Gardens were very beautiful and peaceful….
Sketches by me and others over the 3 day event…
Ascot Brickworks Kiln
Cycling around Perth today, stopped at the old brickworks in Ascot, quick sketch of one of the kilns, there’s a row of these domed little kilns and several square chimney stacks all in disrepair. The brickworks ceased in 1982…
Tom Fricker Cottage
Sketching with the Perth Plein Air Painters this morning…this is “Tom Fricker Cottage”. It’s an old single storey iron and weatherboard house that was originally sited in nearby Jolimont but moved to Swanbourne and placed next to Tom Collins house as examples of early WA architecture, set among mature gum trees it’s beautiful spot…
Kalbarri – Winter 2019
A winter break in Kalbarri (about 560 Km North of Perth)…wonderful warm and sunny weather…walked the Murchison Gorge Loop, along the Kalbarri cliffs and along the beaches. Saw emus, kangaroos, bobtailed skinks,an echidna on land plus whales (in the distance), dolphins close to shore and caught a couple of sand whiting in the estuary (one was returned to the sea, the other was delicious). Finally the Pelicans which are fed each day by a team of volunteers….
Guildford, Western Australia
A sunny autumn day in the old part of Guildford – originally the first Swan River settlement before Perth became favoured as the capital city of Western Australia. There are many original Australian colonial era buildings that are still standing but often with different wares for sale in the 21st century. The “Apothecary Hall” is currently a dress shop with beautiful crimson and plum full length frocks in the window. “James of Guildford” is a second hand/antique and curios place (couldn’t find any history on this shop). The power poles and power lines make the town feel like stepping back in time (many metro areas now have underground power – less cluttered looking).
Claremont Caravan
There’s a really cute 60’s/70’s style caravan sitting on the carpark next to Claremont train station…it’s been there for at least 12 months. I’ve been past it many times on the Fremantle-Perth train but never stopped to sketch it, the van body has lovely curving lines. On Monday we had an impromptu sketch-meet at the The Goods Shed Claremont….the perfect opportunity.
Kings Park Wildflowers 2018
Sketches and photos of this years wildflowers in Kings Park, Perth…..
#OneWeek100People2017
Some of my collection of sketches for the #OneWeek100People2017 challenge….all drawn from life at the beach/coffee shop/on campus. Overall I’m quite happy with the sketches…given that they’re all real quick scribbles…the photos below are random. I started drawing with ink in my favourite TWSBI fountain pen but soon switched to a neutral grey Inktense pencil which is quite soft and gives better variety of line weight – light grey to deep darks – better for quick sketching. I feel I definitely improved my sketching techniques….having to draw quickly there is less time to get caught up in detail.
sketchbookblue 