Barangaroo Point Reserve Opening Day

I was very excited, after all the times I've drawn/painted this site over the last two years, to  be able to be there on the opening day of the reserve last Saturday. I got there early to get in some sketching before the crowds arrived and the ceremony began.  The site has been inaccessible for about 100 years as it was an old industrial / wharf area and closed to the public. It has been redeveloped into a park with amazing views across the water, which has changed the face of Sydney Harbour (and no doubt the tourist companies' schedules  too!!)

It felt quite special to realise I'm the first person to paint that harbour scene from that lovely spot on those sandstone blocks that now enclose the park, with the bridge in the background.

The foreshore was created using 7600 sandstone blocks reclaimed from the site, each numbered and placed in their exact position. The geometry of the way these  large  blocks have been laid is beautiful, as are the many colours to be found in them, some of which I tried to capture in my drawing. This view looks through to the Anzac Bridge in the background.

The old harbour control tower can be seen looming over the park from many viewpoints, asserting quite a presence. It was built after two ships collided near Millers Point in 1972. Some have called it "Sydney’s concrete mushroom", and sadly it has now been consigned to demolition, because they say it isn’t in keeping with the natural environment feel of the reserve. But I love it and the way it keeps its eye on the harbour and will be very sad to see it go!

This view was from the Burrawang Steps across the Stargazer Lawn, with the Harbour Bridge in the background. 

 Later in the morning a passerby told me there was someone else drawing around the corner, so sure enough, I found Lionel, another of our Sydney USK gang, drawing this tower from Wulugul Walk!

It was great to be part of the opening of this special place and I'm sure it will be enjoyed by Sydneysiders and visitors to our wonderful city alike!

Australia 2012

I arrived to Australia on July of 2012. Since then, I have been wondering around different places with my sketchbook and watercolors. Here are some of the sketches.

Opera House, Sydney

St. Pauls, Federation Square, Melbourne

a visit to Sydney Opera House : Alissa Duke

Today I realised I had been doing a lot of drawing recently, but not so much sketching. I knew I was going into the city yesterday evening, so I browsed through The Art of Urban Sketching to get me in the mood for sketching around the Opera House. I had planned to draw the lights of VIVID , where lights are projected on some iconic buildings around the Harbour. But is was so very wet that I decided that as I had seen the light display a few nights ago, I would not make my self uncomfortable in the wet and cold,. So I went towards the Opera House and sketched around there in the shelter and warmth.

I walked past a busker who had gathered a large crowd, He was up on a platform,  juggling fire.

Then I tried to capture the greyness of the day. This is when I realised how damp the day was. None of my pencils would take to the Moleskine watercolour page – it was not wet, but sodden with atmosphere.

I walked up to the Opera House forecourt, which was deserted due to the weather. Everyone was in the undercover cafes and bars. I did one or two quick sketches before going inside to see ChorusOz perform Carmen. Some of my friends were in the chorus

I had thought about sketching during the concert. The lights were still on, so I could see my sketchbook and I had figured out what I what sketch. However the seats are so close that I did not feel comfortable taking out my sketchbook. So I I waited until the performace was over and quickly sketched a small section of what I could see as people started to leave

Sydney skyline and cafe

More of Sydney




A walk in the winter sunshine . First stop was a cafe on the waterfront. There are so many cafes in Pyrmont - we were there wih corporate people doing their deals and working on their computers. Then after that, a stroll along the boardwalk and back to Darling Island to sketch the Sydney city skyline. Today I decided to concentrate on the lovely Harbour Bridge. The day was still and sunny. I decided not to add any colour to the bridge sketch. My Lamy Safari Joy pen has not been used regularly and is a bit scratchy.

Welcome!!!

Welcome to the blog for Urban Sketchers in Sydney. I am really excited that over the last 6 months or so we have got together a band of sketchers. My hope is that we can use this blog to share our beautiful city with the world!!!

So please start sketching and posting... And if you like, please introduce yourselves!


If you don’t know me... I am an architect who never seems to stop drawing and painting! I have lived in Sydney all my life and love it!!! Becoming the Sydney Correspondent for Urban Sketchers has really changed my life – being part of such an inspiring group of artists has been a huge spur to my sketching and has also given me the confidence to sketch on location more and more.

I hope to go out sketching tomorrow and post some new sketches but I thought I would start with re-posting this one from a few weeks ago. Here in Australia we have had terrible floods in QLD, NSW and VIC, bushfires in WA and then tropical cyclone Yasi. Now our thoughts are with our friends in New Zealand and those in Christchurch! Our deepest sympathies are with those who mourn or are living in dread of confirmation of lost loved ones.