Sketching in Brunswick Street, Melbourne

A trip to a favourite art shop for supplies ended up with sketching over lunch. This is my messy page (above) capturing the scene around me, while my coffee and lunch got cold. At least I had fun.

I had drawn this building before (above - it’s across the road from where I was sitting) but I had not noticed the condition of the roof. There were several gaps or holes which I tried to capture. It’s still a beautiful building, but in need of some maintenance.

This is a sketch from last year. I am posting it to show where I sat – outside and under the shade. From there I could see the sign “Alimentari” on the oval sign (also see next image)…

There is a flower shop next door, with a spinning wheel – the big yellow petal – that kept spinning the whole time.

This area - Brunswick Street in Fitzroy- is interesting in that it’s quite arty; with lots of grungy as well as funky retail outlets, great food, good coffee and is a great location for people watching.

Lunchtime Sketch – South Melbourne Town Hall

I drove around to find the cafe that would give me a view of the South Melbourne Town Hall. I was lucky – the sun was out and I found a seat outside the cafe. With lunch ordered, I settled down to draw. When the food arrived, I had to stop to eat because I was starving. Time was passing quickly so I drew while I ate. I drew a little, coloured…. looked at the watch, and decided that I had time to extend the drawing. Drew some more, coloured some more. People stopped to comment… smiled, said thank you but I was conscious of the time passing, so I tried to limit conversations. Coffee ordered, plate empty (now what did I eat?), so now I can focus a little bit more. Stopped to enjoy my coffee, and finally a few more brush strokes, paid the bill. Looked at my watch, rushed back to the car as fast as I could, hoped I could beat the meter man… I did.

Kuala Lumpur sketches

In between catching up with family and friends while in Kuala Lumpur recently, I was able to sketch a little. I left Kuala Lumpur to move to Australia over a decade ago, and while I was living over there I was not drawing much. So being able to draw these two Kuala Lumpur icons was quite special (even somewhat emotional) to me.

The Petronas Twin Towers has 88 floors and was once the tallest in the world. It was built when I was living in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, my office was across the road and I saw the building whenever I was in the city. But I never realised the structure of the building until I began to draw it.

I also never realised how beautiful the towers are – even more beautiful in the rain. I was caught in a heavy downpour one night and cannot resist taking this photo of the towers glowing in the dark.

The Kuala Lumpur Tower is another structure built when I was in KL. It’s a communications tower, and a popular tourist destination. I must admit that I have not really been there except for a drive around the surrounding area. Isn’t strange that we don’t explore the places that are close to us? Well, maybe one day when I am in KL again, I will go up to the observation deck and take in the view of KL.