January 8, 2017January 8, 2017 by Leonie Andrews

Sunday with the sketchers

Today the Urban Sketchers Canberra group met for its first outing of 2017 at the Mt Stromlo Observatory. I wasn’t sure how many people would come along as the forecast was for 34°C, thankfully it didn’t get that hot while we were there and we had a breeze for a fair part of the morning.

While we were gathering I spotted my first choice for sketching. This fire hydrant is a rather folorn reminder of the devastating firestorm that swept across Mt Stromlo and down into the suburbs of Canberra in 2003.

Fire hydrant remains at Mt Stromlo, watercolour, 8 January 2017

As the morning hotted up and the ants started biting I decided to retreat to another location. I joined one of our other sketchers in the cool shade of the remains of the Yale Columbia telescope (built in 1923).

The ruined mounts for the telescope now make for very dramatic sculptures inside the shell of the building.

Inside the ruins of the Yale Columbia telescope, Mt Stromlo Observatory, watercolour and graphite pencil, 8 January 2017

The other mount reminded me somewhat of a Dalek, must be that squat shape.

Mount for the Yale Columbia telescope at Mt Stromlo Observatory, watercolour and graphite pencil, 8 January 2017

We were happy to retreat inside to the cafe for our sketchbook ‘throw down’ and compare notes after several hours of sketching.

You can see more sketches from this morning on the USk Canberra Facebook page and on this blog by fellow sketcher Michelle.

My previous visit to the observatory can be found here.

13 Comments

kestrelart January 8, 2017 at 8:43 pm

Great textures on these objects Leonie

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1. Leonie Andrews January 10, 2017 at 5:49 am
  
  Thanks Neil. When the ant bit me I dropped my brush so quickly I got paint all over myself. That reminded me of deliberate splatters, very appropriate for the textures on the walls where they have been cleaned back but are a real collection of splats and colours and rusty bits.
  
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  1. kestrelart January 10, 2017 at 7:22 am
    
    Artistic ant
    🙂
    
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Mo Crow January 11, 2017 at 2:40 pm

love these watercolour sketches, have never tried to paint en plein air!

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girlandworld January 12, 2017 at 1:32 pm

Wow you are very talented

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1. Leonie Andrews January 13, 2017 at 7:49 am
  
  Thank you for your kind comment.
  
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Rosie Scribblah January 31, 2017 at 4:20 am

Ants! Heat! You are suffering for your art! I love it 😁

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1. Rosie Scribblah January 31, 2017 at 4:20 am
  
  Not that you are suffering, the end results
  
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foresterartist February 27, 2017 at 11:52 pm

Nice sketches Leonie! Looks like a lot of fun.

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1. Leonie Andrews February 28, 2017 at 12:01 am
  
  It is. And it stops us from sitting on our butts all the time!
  
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  1. foresterartist February 28, 2017 at 12:05 am
    
    Indeed! That is a good thing. 😄
    
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Yul K December 19, 2017 at 2:38 am

I love the painting with the ruin of the telescope – I can feel its grandeur, thanks to you and the artistic ant. It’s also a nice composition filling the frame with the mount.

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1. Leonie Andrews December 19, 2017 at 9:32 am
  
  Thanks for your kind comments!
  
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