So what has everyone been sketching in May?

I have had a quiet-ish May in that I haven't been out on any sketching excursions lately. But it was so good to get out yesterday at lunchtime to sketch! I have been working on A4 sheets of paper lately and it has been a lot of fun and great not to have to wait for the paint/ink to dry on one sketch before starting the next ones.

I have been  preparing for the workshop that I will be running with Frank Ching at the upcoming Urban Sketchers Symposium in Santo Domingo on Sketching Architecture.(I would love it if there were going to be some Australians there..... for more info go here)

Anyway these sketches yesterday were part of this prep. I am exploring different ways of sketching complex buildings. I have recently reminded myself how much I love my Pentel Pocket Brush  - it is such a decisive tool to use. You have to live with every mark you make. Most people recommend working slowing with it... but me? No... I just go for it!

I have been hanging out in my favourite tearoom as well(what is new- hey?)...but trying to sketch views rather than just the cup and scones on the table!

Another work trip to Melbourne

Two full on days in Melbourne for work (as usual)...so this is what I managed.



The flight down - taking away my ink lines... I don't really enjoy plane sketch but I do it out of habit. Fills in a little time and a great way to at least get one sketch done.  It is amazing how different my painting feels (from my usual ink and wash) although it is exactly the same.



Da Noi Dinner- South Yarra

An AMAZING dinner with the client - a Sardinian restaurant with a set menu (ie the chef just decided what to give us) Many antipasto dishes, then two 'mains' then a cheese plate and then some desserts.

I never have the courage to sketch in a work context... but as my sketching had recently become part of the conversation and my sketchbook passed around the table I thought I should go for it... AND funnily enough  a cup of tea shortly afterwards arrived on the table (followed immediately by some desserts) So here is my quick sketch done with sketchbook on lap, paint tin on table.After my 4.30am start, walking around site all day, I was somewhat tired...but my reflex action of sketching kicked in!  I didn't have my pen with me (so first time using pencil outlines under pressure)I added ink later and touched up n the flight home the next day)



Flight home..sketching is such a great way to fill in the long waiting time associated with flying. One day, I hope to be able to explore Melbourne with my sketchbook.... but it is unrealistic to expect this to ever happen within a work context!

Crows Nest house (without ink lines)

I am having fun at the moment with not sketching with my beloved ink pen... It is quite different having my paint exposed without the security of the inklines and I am enjoying the challenge of something new! Here is a 10 minute sketch I did this week of a quirky house in one of the streets of Crows Nest... I wonder what it used to be – a shop? - and why it is in the middle of a series of small cottages. On the left is some recent new paints ....

Tulips-Coffee-Candle

I've been sketch slack lately.
Things will change...
Next week I am going to FNQ sketching for a week.
This is a very old silver coffee pot holding some very fresh Tulips.
The candle is not in the wind

The view from Birkenhead Point

Birkenhead Point is a shopping centre that was converted from some old  warehouses in the 80s. There used to be a pub where you could get a BBQ lunch and sit on the lawn & watch the view. The pub has long gone and there are blocks of high rise apartments everywhere blocking the view.

The shopping is factory outlets, so we went over there looking for a few things and planning also to sketch. The shopping centre has been completely modernised recently and we had thought perhaps to draw inside.

Unfortunately the shops were not of interest so we walked down to the foreshore where they have now made a long narrow park. There is a marina on one side and just around the corner is this view of Cockatoo Island  with Spectacle Island in the foreground. I've previously drawn this building, while on the island and also the drawing office, right at the top. And the cranes if course.

So, a satisfactory day though NO new jeans and NO new sketching jacket.