Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Melbourne - Post 90th Birthday Party


Hi

I was down in Western Victoria again for a Surprise 90th Birthday Party! It was such a fun lively gathering for wise L in Horsham.  

We drove back Sunday so I had the Monday for some last minute sketches ... 

Next time I'll have to be more organised and arrange a catch up with some Melbourne sketchers!  

On the corner of Swanston St and Flinders St, you have 4 distinctly Melbourne buildings. The two that I sketched are St Paul's Cathedral and the Flinders St Station. The third is Federation Square and the only thing I know about it is that I had a nice meal although dead tired at Taxi when I was in Melbourne for work. The last building is a pub, the Young and Jackson. The Young and Jackson houses the once scandalous nude Chloe. So next time, I think I'll have to sketch the other two buildings. 

I found a nice spot on the steps of the cathedral to paint the Station ... but I painted in full sun. It blinded me a bit and the colours turned out a little bit wild and bright. I don't think I have learnt to ease off on the Quin Gold or Azo Yellow ... as I am used to using Raw Sienna.  

The painting of the Cathedral was done on the steps of the Station - pretty much underneath the central hand rails. It was tough as I painted it at what seemed like peak hour for Australian standards and I had people walking passed really closely - palette to the right, bag under my knees, no room for a water bucket so I was spraying the water into the palette which means no clean brush. 

So I had two challenging sketch locations ... can other people share some tips on where they sit and how they get some space. Does having a  small seat help?

The last sketch was done in very pleasant surroundings at two cafes! Toby's Estate and Phillipa's. I am always a bit torn between relaxing and enjoying the cup of tea or coffee or getting out the sketchbook!

I found links to the Flinders Street Station design competition here and here. They announced the winner of the competition in August 2013 - the same people that designed? the Tate Modern and National Stadium, "the Bird's Nest", in Beijing. They are now going to see if it's viable ... 

A





Melbourne - Flinders Street Station



IGA_20_11_2013_11_57_4_713



Paper: Moleskine Watercolour A4
Tools: Watercolour, pencil