View from inside the plane. Domestic Airport Sydney

This was the view from inside our plane. An old fashioned Propellor plane from Qantas. I was pretty exited as they are far better that the jets in matters of noise and the feeling during the flight. I love to look at the propellors during the flight. 

Sydney Domestic Airport

I love airports and planes. They mean travel, they mean adventure, encounters and many reasons to be happy. This sketch is from the Sydney Domestic Airport in Mascot while waiting for my flight to Port Macquarie. 

Earlwood, Enmore & Marrickville

I had planned to draw around Steele Park and Cooks River this day, but the weather was bad for plein-air sketching. I headed up to Earlwood and stopped in a for a hot coffee and cannoli at Salvatore's Bakehouse. There's nothing like going for a long walk to justify eating pastries!

The next day was the complete opposite - sunny, warm and dry. So I busted outside and headed down to Enmore Park. When I was at school we use to play here after going to swimming classes at Enmore Pool. The only thing that remains is the Rocket Ship. However, they have since blocked off the two higher levels of the rocket in case kids get stuck up there - as adults can't fit inside to rescue them!

Back in Marrickville, Agar St has some second-hand stores that only open on weekends. Plus one of many bicycle stores that have popped in the area over the last couple of years.

Paddington Reservoir Gardens

This relatively new garden is below street level in the busy inner city suburb of Paddington. There are chairs to carry around and sit where you please - what a luxury for a sketcher. There are many interesting vantage points and arches upon arches upon arches. I started a new handmade sketchbook of Canaletto paper 5" high by 7" across, so this sketch is 5" x 14". Lamy Safari pen & W&N watercolours.

Sketchcrawl 31 Sketches

We had a very successful sketchcrawl in Sydney on Saturday despite terrible weather. Throughout the day, we got approximately 30 sketchers in total. A small group of 6 met at Tara Tearoom in the Rocks for a morning cuppa (I wonder whose idea it was to meet there??) and then we met up with others at the Opera House.


I tried twice to sketch the Opera House – both times it started raining and it was easier to continue with my umbrella up then to pack up and head for shelter!

Here are some photos of the keenest sketchers David, Lola and me (although I am talking in the first photo and packing up in the second) Thanks to Jennifer and Mike for these photos.


We had 23 sketchers at lunch and then all met up in the Botanic Gardens for the final Garden Sketchabout. We went into the Tropical Centre which was covered from the rain – but still rather wet. Lots of weird and wonderful plants in there. We finished up with an afternoon tea. What a great day!
The Garden Sketchabout has been a wonderful event and despite the fact that we only saw sun 2 out of the 6 weeks (very unusual for Sydney!) we establish a great core group of sketchers. Surprisingly many people were there every week. We also got to explore lesser known parts of our wonderful botanic garden – I still have a long list of places to sketch!! Thanks to the Gardens staff and especially Kerry Brown for hosting such a wonderful sketching event – something that will continue through out the year.
Also there is going to be an exhibition of sketches from the sketchabout next week - check about the sketchabout blog for more details... and if you are in Sydney please come along!
The rest of my sketches from the day (11 spreads in total) are on my blog

Calling all Sydney Sketchers

this Saturday is the last sketchabout in the Botanic Gardens AND it is also an international sketchcrawl day... Our plans are:


Official meet up time will be 11am at the Opera House (in the middle of the steps at the front). We can work our way, either individually or in small groups, from there around the water's edge up to have a quick lunch from say 12.15 at the café in the centre of the Botanic Gardens near the Lotus Pond. As sketchcrawl coincides with the last of the 6 weekends of the Autumn of the Arts Garden Sketchabout we will join the public sketchers at the Garden Shop at 1pm for another 2 hours with the group show n tell at 3pm.

More details about the Botanic Gardens Sketchabout - http://gardensketchabout.blogspot.com/

I will be starting my day with morning refreshments at 10am at Tara Tearoom located at 33 George Street in The Rocks - just behind the Irish Design Shop where the weekend markets are held - and anyone interested in seeing the wonderful tea cosies that I am addicted to drawing is welcome to join me for tea and scones...they also do coffee as well! More information is available at http://www.irishdesign.com.au/g/4145/tara-tea-room.html

If you can’t make it all day, do try to make it for the afternoon skechabout in the gardens. This has been a really wonderful sketching event over the past month...and we want to finish off in style!

Time Travel In Macleay Museum

Hi, Frieneds, did you have a nice weekend?
On Sunday, we, Sydney sketch club members enjoyed sketching at Macleay Museum in Sydney University. It's a museum of natural history, ethnography and history.

Let's enjoy a time travel from 18th C and from a micro to macro world. Indeed, the biiiiig bones welcome you at the entrance. Manmos? No, an elephant. Ohh...huge!Regarding nature, the museum has more than half a million insect specimens in the collection. Wow...!! A wide range of collections impressed me so much. Pioneers' passion and enthusiasm for study also touched me. The display showed used devices, too.However, the Macleay Museum is often overlooked by visitors. I have to confess I did not realize it and only know Nicholson museum till today. A bit shame, the Nicholson Museum seems to to be very popular. I wonder if the Macleay museum has got enough budget to maintain the collection. I saw one insect collection being damaged. Hopefully, more public attention and a financial support will come to this historical and precious Macleay museum.

Yes, I was sketching...

In respect of ethnography, more importantly, the Macleay museum has a great collection of Aboriginal people's culture and life. An amazing number of photographs are there. So, researchers and professors still visit here for study. I had a fun in finding a historical Japanese new year greeting card and Japanese old fashioned geta(="wooden sandals") in display.

(*Can you guess what animals are they?)

But some collections in ethnography surprised me such as an ornament made of human teeth. Another historical one is human foot bones used for an educational purpose. (*I did not sketch them all...a bit scary at night?!)

Imagine. Once upon a time, no internet, no DVD, no computer! Certainly, lecturers and scientists have used these collections for education, research and study. These influential data has contributed to the development of science, anthropology and so on, even though today, internet and computers are taking over some part of the museum. I sincerely hope we can maintain this museum for the future.

Apart from the serious stuff above, sketching was really a fun. Very dim and dark. One friend had to "keep dancing" on a floor in order to get light. Why? A light sensor turns off every several minute. Oh, poor girl, but we giggled. Other friends said, "feel a bit headache" from too much concentration. But Friends, you know, I sketched Chinese First Emperor at NSW Art Gallery nearly in the darkness. So, the Macleay was quite kind to me.

Well, I whispered to other club members... one day... after the explosion of nuclear power plants...
humans are in a window and cockroaches look at display.
Of course, the friends burst into laughter!!!

But Friends, this is a scientific joke. According to a biological research data, cockroaches would survive radiation exposure.
"Sadami, they don't understand literature."
"Well, after the nuclear exposure, they will achieve a miraculous evolution--get a great brain! That needs education for kids, too. Excursion for Macleay Museum."
"Hahahahaha!!!" we laughed, but...hopefully, it will never happen on homo sapience in the future.
Anyway, have a wonderful week and happy painting!!

Twin Ponds

I drew this bridge between the twin ponds in the Royal Botanic Gardens, and some of the birds that wandered by. My favourite is the dusky moorhen on the water. They have a red face and a hooty-tooty call.

Marrickville, Addison Road Community Centre

This is a hot spot for creatives and environmentally-conscious DIY shoppers. The centre also has an art gallery and small theatre, but some of it's biggest drawcards are the three below...

MARRICKVILLE ORGANIC MARKET

THE BOWER

Collecting and reselling salvaged building, plumbing and gardening supplies or preloved, worn and authentic goods.

REVERSE GARBAGE

This is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells industrial discards, off-cuts and over-runs to the public for creative and practical uses, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. They also have a small gallery/shop outside with things made from recycled stuff, including these wonderful sculptures made from discarded car mufflers, exhaust pipes and window wipers.