Sydney ": the joys of urban living : Alissa Duke

I live within a short walk to Sydney CBD and there are many joys in urban living. There is always something to entertain. It is a wealth of visual stimulation for the sketcher .

The sketch below is one day of sketching. I see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance as I walk down near the water. If the weather is pleasant there is a seat or wharf I can sit at to draw. I also walk through major tourist areas, which are full of families and people enjoying themselves on holiday. It is also near major business buildings, so there are lots of workers too.  Last week when I walked past Wild Life Sydney Zoo (used to be called Wildlife World) there was a koala in a tree in a  display area in the foyer. It was in the area before you purchase ticket and was close enough for me to stand and to draw. He was asleep and only moved once to yawn.

Sometimes there is so much to look at it is hard to know where to start drawing! This is at the Maritime Museum for the Classic & Wooden Boat Show this weekend. All the flags are up for the show, but the rest of the scene is always there - a warship at the Museum and  the city skyline. I started this by just wanting to draw the flags, and the it grew and grew....

and the not so great part of city living....

There is a new tower being built on the building across the street from my apartment. They have been working on it for two years. and most happens while I am at work. This weekend the very large crane on top of the building is coming down and being dismantled on my street. Like a giant mechano set! It began EARLY yesterday morning and this morning again. The crane body was taken away yesterday by late afternoon. At the moment there is a pneumatic drill undoing the bolts on the bulding base, which is why I am typing this blog, instead of catching up on sleep !

But overwhelmingly, the joys of urban living far outweigh the annoying bits !