A Wet And Wild Day in Wollongong

Yesterday as much of our state was lashed by wild storms, some brave-hearted Sydney USKers ventured down to Wollongong to draw with a group of sketchers there who are keen to grow and become linked with us.  We caught an early train, and travelling together gave us a lovely chance to catch up and chat, which isn’t always what happens when we’re sketching outdoors on a sunny day.

Despite the fact that the planned itinerary was never going to work in that weather, we all found sketching spots under some degree of shelter. Some of us visited the art gallery, while others drew the Town Hall or the amazing architecture of the new Wollongong Central and its views. Its design is based on the industrial heritage of the city, and its landscape, reflected in the rust-coloured steel bars on the front  facade and the local flora designs as embellishments on the white panels.

Despite soggy shoes and wet clothing we had a great day and it was good to encourage the Wollongong group too. The itinerary they had planned for yesterday is all ready to use the next time we go down, and we thank them for their warm hospitality! 

BRISBANE Usker April/May Roundup by Brett Danvers

USk Brisbane April and May Roundup

April and May were another two great months for Brisbane Urban Sketchers.  We have continued to hold two Sketchouts every week and managed to hold 18 over the two months. This would not have been possible without the dedication of the Admins and members who volunteered to host Sketchouts.  

We ranged all over the Brisbane region from the inner-North former suburb of Ithaca to the Bayside suburb of Manly and its yacht filled marina all the way out to the wilds of Ipswich where our sketchers enjoyed the Medieval Festival. Some of the other places we sketched at were St Stephen’s Cathedral, St John’s Cathedral, UQ St Lucia, and the City Botanic Gardens.  Our final Sketchout for May was held in Victoria Barracks which is a closed Army barracks not open to the public.

We were also able to sketch with USk members from interstate who were visiting Brisbane. Two of them were Martin Perera from Goulburn and Bernard Hornblower from Melbourne. We moved our Saturday Sketchout to Sunday so that Bernard could meet up with us.  Any sketchers visiting Brisbane please contact USk Brisbane and we will do our best to organise a Sketchout that you can attend. 

Leigh Memorial, Historical Architecture in Parramatta

I'm searching for my own style in architecture drawing. I'd really appreciate your feedback on different approaches : "traditional vs loose." Leigh Memorial is a Victorian Gothic church opened in 1885. Today, it's Uniting church in Parramatta. This historical and very charming architecture elegantly stands opposite to Parramatta Artists Studios on Macquarie St. 

A first image is created by a traditional methods. The church building has unified colours on it. My paints have come together well. The colour of a shadow seems fit to the architecture. I really enjoyed drawing. Street walkers often talked to me. Thanks for cheers! 

The black and white is below. In the colour work, added people show a scale of the building and something humane.  

A loose image is below. In fact, I had done it earlier than the work created by a traditional drawing methods. I enjoyed colours in a quick way. But my eyes have told that the building is too thin. So, I made the building stout in the first image. I tried Leigh Memorial for several times. The more, I draw, the more, I learn. What do you think these two different modes?  

In my eyes, the drawing of architecture, itself, is not so complicated, as long as my eyes capture a building as a "mass" and chunk it down in simple 3D. A headache is architecture demands preciseness in drawing. Of course, there are many artists cook architectures by their unique styles. Produced architectures taste good and so beautiful, which very much interests me! 

I need more time to learn how I loose up architectures/landscapes or try other drawing methods. Practice gives me answers. I'm very proud of messed up papers! 
Btw, we're getting into autumn. It was very cold today. What about your area? Take care. 
Friends, Happy Painting!