Urbansketching in the city

Sketchcrawl in the city to capture the Melbourne Christmas spirit…

A lady collecting for those in need below.

 

At ‪Christmas Square in Melbourne below - lots of colours, elves, antlers and people.

 

Enjoying a cup of chocolate at Koko Black in Royal Arcade - taking a break from Christmas shopping.

Sunday morning cyclists

Sunday morning cyclists catching up for a chat over coffee in by the beach in Port Melbourne.This is a very common scene as Port Melbourne has bike paths and great cafes for a stop before they head of to continue their ride.

Australia Technology Park

Fellow USK, Lisa Foong and I met up last Saturday to go to the Finders Keepers markets but also planned to do some sketching as well. The Aust Tech Park (ATP) is located right next to Redfern Station and in its former life was the Railway yards for Sydney trains. For those who watched the Sydney based series of Master Chef that is where it is filmed.

The big old wonderful bricked building have found another lease on life as a convention centre, with smaller IT research organisations seeming to have office space there as well. Like Cockatoo Island a lot of the heavy machinery is still there, pride of place for everyone to enjoy, especially us sketchers. I don't know why I love drawing them so much.

Plus there was an old red rattler carriage on display outside as well.

We had a peek inside one of the buildings which seemed to be the old metalworks area. It looked like a section of it was still in use but the rest housed all the old tools and machinery. It was locked but the security guard did say it was open to the public during the week, and in a few months time it will be open on weekends too! How exciting for us sketchers.

3days Stay In Melbourne, John Barrow Collection, PM Literary Awards

Hi, Friends, I spent time with Australian prominent illustrators, authors, publishers and agencies at John Barrow Collection organised by the mentor Ann James in Melbourne. It displayed the priceless original illustrations and illustrators' work processes. It was amazing to see the originals in my own eyes and compared them to picture books set at originals. I've learned lot. Great fun to meet super stars in person such as Leigh Hobbs, Gabrielle Wang, Jane Tanner, Craig Smith etc, etc, oh, too many to write them up. Some people who could not join ask Ann to have it again in next Feb. Sweet editor/publisher Helen Chamberlin took me to a cafe and we enjoyed a chat. Very supportive Helen introduced me to others. I really appreciate many people's support.

"Flinders St Station"

A next day, Monday, Ann and Helen were invited to Prime Minister Literary Awards 2014 in the evening. Helen accompanied Shaun Tan. (*Yes, Helen has nurtured Shaun and gave him a debut chance in children picture books.)  In a Children's fiction section, Bob Graham's picture book, "Silver Buttons" won!  I love Bob's work and admire him! Bob donated his winnings to refugees! What a marvelous coincidence! Ann James organised Bob's exhibition in Canberra in the past June last year. We celebrated Bob's win. I'm very happy to work with such a fantastic mentor and to be surrounded by humanistic illustrators who have a big heart and passion for social justice.  

 "Melbourne Town Hall and Trams"

In Melbourne, trams are cute and singing "ting, ting" always.  

Btw, it's much cooler in Melbourne than in Sydney. In Sydney, I do not need any long sleeves right now in summer. But in Melbourne, a light overcoat or a jacket are essential. How come? Beside a cool temperature, a weather is changing dramatically there. It is called, "Four seasons are in a day," brrrrr! I luckily sketched architectures in sunshine. 

One more, I'd write about the wonderful volunteer spirit in Melbourne! (Sydney does not have them on main streets.) When you get lost on streets what/whenever, find people in red uniforms. They happily help you! Volunteers love Melbourne! 

Thank you for people in Melbourne. You gave me a wonderful memory and heart warming time there. 
Now, I'll work on ongoing projects and portraits. 
Friends, Happy Painting!