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

Coastal Urban Mandies at Tallwood

My morning coffee is usually at Tallwood Mollymook (South Coast NSW)
This morning it was freezing. So after a surf I went to Tallwood and did a sketch.
Back in pattern I hope.

A coffee e (Piccolo) a glass of water, my phone for perceived emergencies, a bowl of mandarines and my moleskin watercolour. Go ahead. And I did.
Just do it.
Cheers

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.

Drawing on Bridge Road, Richmond

Bridge Road in Richmond, Melbourne is such a nice place to sketch. It’s a busy street with power lines, trams, old buildings, and lots to cafes to sketch in. What more can one ask for!

You Am I

I saw one of the best rock and roll bands this country has ever produced last night at the enmore. Normally I'm quite satisfied with drawing one or two sketches, but I felt compelled to do more. They played two albums worth, so I had plenty of time to sketch. Here is a selection, for more please visit my blog here. Cheers, Meegan

Better late than never

Hello everyone,

I've been caught up with other art projects and forgot to upload some outings over the last month.

Gastropark Game of Thrones dinner

Some friends booked a table at Gastropark in Sydney - its a resturant that's won several awards and is know for its gastronomic inventive dishes. The owner and chef is a big fan of this fantasy tv series and celebrated the release of the second series by creating a menu inspired by the show.

So everything had a viking-barbarian-knights of the round table feel to it. As I was sharing the food with others I had to quickly draw everything, so I'm not sure if its all accurate and discernible in my sketches.

Taronga Zoo

I went on my own international sketchcrawl to the zoo. I went in the afternoon with a friend who wanted to spend some time patiently photographing animals, so it was good to go to the zoo with someone who didnt necessarily want to check list all the enclosures, but sit and study a few.

If you would like to see more sketches from both of these outings, please visit my flickr site here.

Thanks,

Meegan

Sydney Inkorporated

That's such a terrible heading... Anyway, apologies for not having contributed in awhile I have been holding off until I got my own blog sorted out.

After my success at Cockatoo Island I was keen to test it out some more - making sure it wasn't a fluke. I had  a quiet week so decided to head out around Sydney. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great - I think I had one or two days free of rain, but it was quite satisfying and am dying to get outdoors again.

St Stephens Cemetery, Newtown

National Maritime Museum

Macquarie Street

Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens

Dixon Street, Chinatown

If anyone would like to see more of my colour inks please visit my blog scratchyas.com  Cheers!

Bus Stops in April

I managed to get out this last week and stretch my legs. I haven't drawn outdoors for a while so it was hard to get back into it again. Luckily it's like riding a bike. My work took me out to Belmore (Sydney's west) but I only managed one sketch near the train station.

A few days ago I took a walk in my area, and found a nice sunny spot overlooking this building. It belongs to the Salvation Army and is or was their office site (?). I always used to think it was a castle.

 On the same walk I walked past a bus stop with a corner shop next to it.

On another day's walk I decided to  draw from a bus stop I always pass. When I went to write down the bus stop number there was no bus stop sign - they don't use this stop anymore. So this is my first "ghost" bus stop. I wondered why that car was parked in a bus zone...

 Last weekend, heading out to a baby shower in Darlinghurst, I had time to do some drawing. I dont get to come to this part of Sydney as much as I used to so it was nice to take it all in. This is an old fire station which is still in use - and its the first time I've ever noticed it. How terrible is that! Unfortunately it is obscured by the trees, but that was my view.

Then, full of scones and chocolate tarts, I made my way home by catching a bus back in the city centre.

Australian War Memorial

On my last day in Canberra I visited the War Memorial. The last time I was here I ran out of time, so I gave it most of one day - but it still wasn't enough. My whole intention was to draw and tried to keep reading the descriptions for another visit, but it was too interesting and displayed so well that is was hard not to absorb whatever I could. I limited myself to 1-2 drawings per room, but I still only made it to the WWII exhibitions. How I wish there was an express bus from Sydney straight to the War Memorial every week.

I also loved the combination of my leaf green, Mustard and Iron Grey Inktense pencils and stuck with them through this visit. This first sketch, however, is with watercolour and indian ink.

Sunset over Sydney

I headed out as part of the welcoming committee for a fellow sketcher from the US, thinking what gawd-awful weather we've been having lately and that we weren't going to get a few hours to sketch outdoors. But just when you think you have mother nature pegged, it turned out to be a perfect evening with a beautiful sunset thrown in. I tried to capture all the reflections on the sails, but they kept changing all the time.

Camping Mount Archer Qld Australia

Mount Archer is 90 minutes drive south west of Brisbane.  The mount is 604 metres high, and dominates the Mount Archer National Park.  The mount is named in honour of the Archer Brothers who explored the Fitzroy area, and it is part of the Darumbal Aboriginal people's traditional country.  I camped there this last weekend with my camping group.  At night and early morning, we were delighted with the raucous calls of the majestic Black Cockatoos..

We camped along Moores Creek, I think it was called, and it was delightful to hear the water rushing by at night.  We had one major thunderstorm on the Saturday night, to add to our excitement.  Everyone managed to stay dry..

Rain - Rain - Rain

So much rain, my studio is under water...  It is too wet to sketch.  I have no car..

Today I sat under my carport, and sketched my drought tolerant garden.  All this rain and humidity has made it grow like crazy!!