Author / Leonie Andrews

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Posts by Leonie Andrews

I am an artist of the landscape of common objects. Discarded items and suburban life fuel my art practice.
by Leonie Andrews

Boxing Day sketchfest

On Boxing day we decided to head out for another sketch-a-thon. We chose to go to the Sculpture Garden of National Gallery of Australia, because of its wide variety of potential subjects to draw, not to mention its proximity to a good cup of coffee.

I was trying to put into effect some of the lessons outlined in my Christmas present, The Urban Sketcher: techniques for seeing and drawing on location, by Marc Taro Holmes. In particular I was working on sight measuring and angle checking. This is  something I mainly do by instinct, so a bit of practice wasn’t going to go astray. Holmes comments that it’s the measuring process that underlying the sketch that provides your framework to draw spontaneously – “Loose is how a drawing looks, not how it is made.”

My first subject is a favourite sculpture of mine, Gaston LaChaise’s work Floating Figure, 1927, in bronze. In the garden the sculpture floats above a pool of water. I had just turned away from my drawing when I saw that a dog belonging to some passing pedestrians had decided to have a quick dip in the pool! Sadly I wasn’t quick enough with my pen to catch the moment.

Floating Figure, Gaston Lachaise, bronze, 1927, National Gallery of Australia, 26 December 2014, Copic Multiliner

Floating Figure, Gaston Lachaise, bronze, 1927, National Gallery of Australia, 26 December 2014, Copic Multiliner

Meanwhile my mother-in-law was tackling Rick Amor’s nearby sculpture called The Dog. It certainly isn’t the most handsome of animals, but it is an interesting subject to draw. Here is the view I made of the work.

26Dec2014b

The Dog, Rick Amor, cast bronze on a steel base, National Gallery of Australia, 26 December 2014, Copic Multiliner

I’ve decided that I would like to go back and spend some time drawing this piece from a variety of angles. I’d also like to take a greater variety of media with me next time. I was working in my Strathmore visual diary and I found that the Copic Multiliner wasn’t moving across the paper as easily as I would have liked. I’d managed to leave my Lamy Safari pen at home, because I hadn’t checked my kit from the previous day’s drawing. Live and learn.

After lots of discussion about drawing negative spaces and how, from certain angles, the dog looked rather like an anteater, we went inside for a break. Later in the day came some of the best news we’ve had from the National Gallery in a long time – they are lifting the blanket ban on taking photos in the NGA! You can read about it here, National Gallery photography ban lifted.

by Leonie Andrews

A Christmas full of art

Santa was very generous with art-related presents this year. There were color markers and visual diaries and drawing books and some art even got made.

Christmas, the aftermath, pencil, 25 December 2014

Christmas, the aftermath, pencil, 25 December 2014

For some post-Christmas entertainment there is also the film about JMW Turner, Mr Turner, in which Timothy Spall gives a strong and characterful performance as the artist. Beautiful photography of the landscapes that inspired Turner’s art add to the fascination of the story. Full of dry wit and complex emotions, this film is definitely worth seeing.

 

by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday – Christmas Eve

Obscured landscape, partial view from the National Arboretum cafe, Copic Multiliner, 24 December 2014

Obscured landscape, partial view from the National Arboretum cafe, Copic Multiliner, 24 December 2014

The shopping was done, the presents were wrapped so what better way to spend our time than to do some sketching. Our local cafe had closed for the holidays and it was overcast and raining so we took ourselves to the cafe at the National Arboretum Canberra for some of the best views of the city and surrounds.

by Leonie Andrews

It’s complicated …

Our second, all singing and dancing family sketching event took place at the footbridge near a local high school. We thought that the dramatic central pylon which suspends the footbridge above the road and the sweeping curve of the bike ramp would make an excellent subject to draw. It does, but it turned out to be rather more difficult than we anticipated.

I started off with a blind drawing, just to get some idea of which section I might draw. I initially picked an area that was fairly complex and included the main ramp, and the stairs off the bridge. By the way, the main structure of the bridge is painted a bright orange colour, (which has upset some of the nearby residents).

Initial blind drawing, pen and ink as well as using watercolour to indicate some of the different elements of the bridge, 19 December2014

Initial blind drawing, pen and ink as well as using watercolour to indicate some of the different elements of the bridge, 19 December 2014

I thought this section was perhaps a bit ambitious for a first attempt, so I switched my attention to the curving bike ramp instead. I was reasonably happy with this until I realised that I was struggling to getting the double hand rail and its’ support structure in the correct position. I added the watercolour as I wanted to keep in mind the silhouette of the ramp against the skyline.

The first go at the bike ramp, Copic Multiliner and watercolour, 19 December 2014

The first go at the bike ramp, Copic Multiliner and watercolour, 19 December 2014

At this stage there was some muttering in the ranks about sketches not quite going to plan and needing to shift position so we were out of the sun. As the happy sketching ambience started to disappear along with the shade I decided to cut my losses and try and work out just how those little support bars hold the hand rails up.

Those little tubes holding the hand rails in place, Copic multiliner,19 December 2014

Those little tubes holding the hand rails in place, Copic multiliner,19 December 2014

By the time I’d managed this small detail there was a big push to return home to a nice cool drink. Ah, happy families!

(In my defence, I will state here that no-one was forced to go sketching against their will, it just seemed like a good idea at the time!)