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!

Barangaroo Development, Sydney

Since the beginning of 2014, I’ve been really interested in documenting the huge 22ha Barangaroo development which is changing the face of Sydney's CBD. It is named after an important indigenous woman in the early days of colonial NSW who was also the wife of Bennelong, after whom the site of the Sydney Opera House is named.

In my first sketch of International Towers Sydney in February 2014, I tried to capture the noise and energy of the site with its Lend Lease cranes.

In August  last year,  Barangaroo South was a hive of activity, yet these massive pieces of machinery seemed so graceful and birdlike, I called my sketches “The Dance of the Cranes”.

In November 2014,  I sat  in the park in Millers Point which is now closed to the public, which gave me a good view of Central Barangaroo and all the construction paraphernalia. Tower 2 was up to the  42^nd floor.

On Australia Day 2015 I drew from Darling Harbour with the Harbour Ballroom boat in the foreground.  I just love the logos  stenciled on the towers, which began as a way to track progress but have become a public calendar of significant events. Because Australia Day falls on 26 January, the corresponding floor of Tower 3 was plastered with a giant Australian and Aboriginal flag to celebrate our national day.

Feb 2015 - Drawing Tower 1 from Napoleon St while the cranes and machinery hammered out their music around me. The triangular forms of the cranes really appealed to me. Note the Australia Day flags and two stencils painted on the tower to commemorate the 100th centenary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli . Another one reading “63 not out” marks the 13^th floor being constructed when cricketer Phil Hughes died when he was struck on the head by a cricket ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Drawn recently from the Maritime Museum.  There are so many changes since i first started to draw this site in early 2014, but the cranes continue to intrigue me. It’s interesting to see how the glass reflects the surrounding building colours now that it's in place. As the sun was beginning to set, the red floating lighthouse at the Maritime Museum provided such a lovely contrast in colour.

Last weekend I went back to where I drew from last November, to see the changes to Central Barangaroo. The gardens on Barangaroo Point are well established now and in the foreground there is row on row of individually crafted sandstone blocks, 10 000 in all, and all quarried onsite.!  Nawi Cove has also been created between Barangaroo Point Reserve and Central Barangaroo. The waterfront promenade has just been named  Wulugul Walk. Wulugul is  Aboriginal for kingfish, which have a golden band along their blue-green skin, similar to the foreshore walk’s golden sandstone lining the blue of the harbour.

It’s exciting watching the energy and scope of this development and it will certainly be high on the list of places to see for visitors to Sydney in the future! I look forward to documenting more of the site as various sections are opened to the public.