Sketching at the University of Melbourne

Melbourne USK Sketchcrawl at the University of Melbourne – first sketch over breakfast. The university was quite quiet since it was a Saturday.

Lots of heritage buildings here.

A red Vespa and her little cousin, a red push bike :) – surely I had to sketch them.

Open House (Melbourne USK)

Every year Open House in Melbourne allows the public to see buildings that you otherwise might not have the chance. They even have a ballot to get into the most exclusive ones. For alot of they have limits of the group size and long lines. We managed to find a treasure in St Patricks Cathedral. It was warm, with beautiful lighting and lots of seats. Then we went to the Old Treasury building (you can access throughout the year). We found little hidey holes or lent against the walls.  

 

The inside is really amazing with the soft lighting and pillars.

Annual Zombie Shuffle in Melbourne

“Zombies” gathered at the Treasury Gardens a couple of weeks ago. It was a great opportunity to draw as the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. I did not manage to get many zombies in my sketch so I got 2 of them to hold my sketchbook. Such a fun day to sketch and to people watch.

Lucy Loves Charlie - Auburn Road, Hawthorn (Melbourne USK)

I live just 5 mins drive away from Auburn Rd, but I'd never really been down there. The small village of shops in Hawthorn is a treat to draw: from the heritage buildings to the cute shop fronts. Lucy loves Charlie is a florist which stands out. It's certainly a complex but lovely heritage building. Then Angela pointed out a shop front of shoes and I was hooked. We seem to be having a run of beautiful sunny Saturdays, perfect for our sketch meetups.

Hidden in Rookwood

Last Saturday I went to Rookwood Cemetery as they run an annual installation art exhibition called Hidden. 

But any excuse to take a trip out there to sketch is never turned down. Call me strange but I do love sketching in old cemeteries. It's not that they're creepy, in fact if you get a really nice spring day, like what I had, its an incredibly peaceful and beautiful surround to sketch in.

I usually have a tackle box full of watercolours and colour inks when I draw on location, but lately I have started to enjoy using graphite pencils (3B, 4B) and using a rubber/eraser as a drawing tool as well.

So I would draw a bit, rub out a bit (quite aggressively and leave all the smudges in there), draw again, rub etc until I felt it was finished. Its such fun when being messy is part of your technique!

If you would like to see more drawings from this day, please visit my blog.

Thanks for your time.
Happy sketching!
Meegan

Melbourne USK visit the Royal Arcade

As you can see we were rugged up for Melbourne winter weather to sketch the Royal Arcade which is on Bourke Street in the CBD. Some of managed to sketch outside for an hour or so before finding refuge from the chill inside the arcade. The Royal Arcade is Victorian heritage and one of the draw cards is the giant clock which has two giant statues Gog and Magog either side.

We had a good day, enjoying a hot chocolate (at chokolait) and then followed with some lunch and more sketching at one of my favourite cafes in Melbourne. The Little Mule is hidden cafe down an alleyway. They service and sell bikes so they have things hanging off the wall and the staff are a treat. They hold classes there during the week (Laneway Learning).

Gift From the Sea

Hi, Friends, I enjoyed a first swim at Narrabeen beach and re-read "Gift from the Sea" written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I've loved that book since my late twenties. Her insightful writing always gives me what a woman's life is at each stage from youth to aging, regarding relationship, marriage, creative activities and solitude in a modern society. Anne's very frank and unsentimental eye on herself and topics are very touching -- as if we were having a conversation in person. Young readers will find advice on marriage and love in Anne's comparing the shapes of shells to women's life stages. Middle aged readers will find comfort and suggestion in the maturing process of life. Aged people will find a direction to go both outward and inner world. 

Now, this is my first sketch of the sea. I play with waves on paper as well as in water! The fresh green of a big wave attracted me. Big waves in Narrabeen beach are popular among surfers. Always waves capture my heart. Its colours, movements and shapes are changing or waves never stay the same. It is much like our lives. I made this sketch around noon. Fortunately, the weather was good and the watercolour painting relatively got dried well. 

Today, I did not collect any shell. (*Usually, I pick up some shells.) Like Anne Morrow Lindbergh writes, I know we cannot collect all shells -- we all, one day, clearly realise the limitation of abilities and time given on the earth. But it is the beauty of maturing ; know what we are well and properly. So, we can concentrate on what we want/need to do. This paradox is true, I feel, if we go any direction in the limitation, we can find eternity and no restriction.

People enjoyed swimming, surfing, sun tanning or just walking on the beach. A water temperature was a bit cold, 18'C. Often people said to me, "You're brave!" Only a first step was cold. Once, you jump in a pool, that's fine. An ocean, like a mother, kindly held me, water was not cold at all. Few people were in the pool and almost mine early in the morning! Big waves broke against the walls of the pool and made splashes! Some came into the pool. That's very impressive, but hard to capture it. Anyway, this is my try. I hope you can hear waves and the sounds from the sea.

Then, the below is the sketch of the pool. A day time saving has started from this Sunday. We are getting into summer. Our long weekend was over. Each of us will go back to routine from tomorrow. But it was lovely to have had such a rich quiet time in the off days.

I feel like reading well that book, "Gift From the Sea." Quite a thin book, yet it's full of wisdom in lyrical and rhythmical sentences like waves sounds. If you have a spare time, it's worth reading.

Friends, Happy Painting!

Urban Sketchers BRISBANE September Roundup

It was a good month for the Brisbane Urban Sketchers  Our interview with The Great South East TV Show on Channel Seven was aired.  They did a really great job of promoting us, and we have had over 50 new members join, with inquiries still coming in.

We have a regular TUESDAY SKETCHOUT with up to 15 members coming along,  This coming Tuesday 7th October we will be at Fortitude Valley.  Check with our FaceBook Group for details. or our Flickr Page. We also have weekend events happening you just have to check the events tab in our FB page or Flickr.

Next weekend event is an OPEN HOUSE SKETCHWALK October 12th.