May 12, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Sketch

A quick sketch with some added watercolour from a cafe stop today. I still struggle with the idea of only adding highlights with watercolour rather than ‘colouring in’ my sketches.

Coffee drinkers at the Italian Bakery, pen and ink and watercolour, 12 May 2015

What I was really happy with when I made this sketch, was the performance of my modified Duke 209 fountain pen. Despite making progress in getting a thicker line with the modifications I’d made several weeks ago, the ink flow overall was still poor and very intermittent. The brand of ink I was using (Windsor and Newton Calligraphy Ink) was drying up between the ink cartridge and the nib. I was at the point of chucking the pen out but decided that maybe the problem was the ink not the pen! I put Noodlers Bulletproof Black into the cartridge and right away the ink was flowing. The ink has kept flowing even when I don’t use the pen for several days. I’d like to also pass on a tip I saw on someone’s video clip (possibly one from The Pen Habit) of turning the pen over and drawing with the top of the nib to get those fine lines – weird but it works. If this pen continues to deliver as it did today I’ll be very happy indeed.

May 12, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Breakfast at Bean and Grain

This sketch of breakfast at the Bean and Grain cafe, at the Fyshwick fruit and vegetable markets, was done in several stages. I started it several weeks ago but didn’t get a chance to finish it until last week. I decided to add my breakfast plate (after the yummy serve of bakery-made crumpets was gone) for a bit of extra interest.

Bean and Grain bakery and Cafe at the Fyshwick markets. pen and ink and watercolour,8 May 2015

May 10, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Colour therapy

I decided to buy some of the Daniel Smith watercolours that I tested last week and a few days later they were in my letterbox. Along with my purchases came yet another sample palette, this time from David Taylor, an Australian watercolour artist. I sat down the other morning to do another test run of this set of colours – but I’ll spare you the details because I realised that I was just having immense fun mixing colours on the page.

What a revelation that I find myself so tied up in drawing and painting specific subjects that I have managed to forget how good it is just to play with colour!

Manganese Blue Hue and French Ochre

The earthy tones of Perylene Green and Transparent Red Oxide

LHS, Cobalt Teal Blue with a flash of Cadmium Red; and RHS, Quinacridone Gold blending with Bloodstone Genuine

I’ve decided to make a book of my colour samples, not only because I can use them as a reference, but also because I’m sure they will bring me great joy simply to look at!

If you would like to indulge in other explorations of colour I can highly recommend I Send You This Cadmium Red… A correspondence between John Berger and John Christie, Actar, (English language edition 1999). This book documents an exchange of colours, ideas and exploration of colour and its meaning and expression between Berger, an art theorist and novelist and Christie, a documentary maker and creator of artist’s books.

May 7, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday – on yer bike

A friend joined us at the cafe this week so there was more chat than drawing. The wind was quite bitter so we huddled under the awning where the cafe blinds gave us some protection.

Thankfully another patron parked their motorbike in a convenient position for me to draw.

Motorbike, pen and ink with watercolour , 6 May 2015

May 3, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Canberra Sketchers Group in Braddon

The first few meetings of the Canberra Sketchers Group were focused on Canberra landmarks, such as the National Gallery of Australia and Lanyon Homestead, but this time we decided to hit the city streets – or more specifically Lonsdale Street in Braddon. In the perfect autumn sunshine of a Canberra Sunday morning, the street was jumping. Cafes full of patrons, people cramming the footpath and more traffic than a busy weekday lunchtime!

The group was pretty unanimous in heading to ‘The Hamlet’ where a whole pack of food vans are ready to supply hungry people and provide a subject for our group to sketch. There were various food vans to draw which occupied many of the group for the whole of our time on location.

Chasing Mr Morris food van in Braddon, pen and ink and watercolours, 3 May 2015

Food Vans in The Hamlet, Braddon 3 May 2015

While the food vans and cafes represent the new face of Lonsdale St, I decided to focus on what was rapidly being knocked down and bulldozed away. Prior to it’s rejuvenation, this part of Braddon was home to car yards and mechanics workshops. This sign is about all that’s left of that era now.

Old Sign, Lonsdale St Braddon, graphite and watercolour, 3 May 2015

While I’m not sad to see the car yards go, I am sad to see that local landmarks such as the Cornucopia Bakery and The Electric Shadows bookshop have ceased to exist. At least I know I’m not quite alone in missing that local history.

Grafitti, Lonsdale St, Braddon, watercolour and graphite

Here are some of the day’s efforts.

Some of the groups drawings, 3 May 2015

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Month / May 2015