September 9, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Facing up to it

I’ve said it before that drawing faces is one of the biggest challenges I have in drawing. I’m not even talking ‘likenesses’ – I don’t expect to become a portraitist – I just want to draw someone who looks like an individual. This is currently the bread and butter of my sketchbook routine, go to the coffee shop and draw people’s faces.

Faces at a coffee shop, pen and ink and brush pen , 14 August 2015

I opted to do the Marc Taro Holmes workshop at the Singapore Symposium to try and get a handle on how I could approach this task and I found it quite helpful.

Double spread, typical of my cafe drawings, pen and ink and brush pen , 15 August 2015

Marc has very kindly posted the link to his notes for this class on his blog.

Here’s last night’s effort. A double-page of faces and gestures from our pub trivia night at the Hellenic Club in Canberra. They may not recognise themselves, (possibly better if they don’t), but I’m happy that at least these people look like individuals.

Faces at the trivia night, pen and ink and brush pen, 8 September 2015

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday panorama

I had so much fun with last week’s panorama that I decided to go with the same format again this week.

The weather was vile with a cutting icy wind so instead of our regular cafe which has very little by way of wind-free tables we decided to try somewhere else with indoor seating. Our choice was A Bite to Eat at the Chifley shops. In Canberra most of the good and quirky cafes are hidden in otherwise unremarkable suburban shopping precincts. The Bite has a retro vibe with lots of anodised food molds on the wall and large laminex topped tables I could easily spread my book and paints out on. And the Persian Spice cake was really yummy too!

A Bite to Eat, watercolour, pen and ink and graphite, 26 August 2015

August 21, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday combo

Post overseas travel and we are finally getting back to our routines. This week we have made it back to our regular Wednesday cafe. To hang onto that holiday magic just a bit longer I decided to use the Derwent Panoramic book which I won in the final raffle at the Urban Sketchers International Symposium in Singapore. The paper format is 420x 180 mms and weighs in at 165 GSM. This paper is designed for pencil and light watercolour wash.

I wanted to use the extended panorama format to bring a more interesting compositional approach to this very familiar subject. I had in mind the workshop I did on Day 1 with Inma Serrano and Miguel Herranz where we were working on capturing a complex scenes in a series of images on the one page.

At Biginelli’s along with the dinosaur, watercolour and watersoluble graphite, 19 August 2015

I knew I was pushing the paper’s limits with the amount of water I added to the paper, but it seems to have held up quite well to the watercolour, although there was buckling. The elastic strap on the book has helped tame the ‘buckle’ factor. I also intend using this book for pen and ink and brush pen sketches and plan to take it along to some of the other events we attend such as Drawn In and Dr Sketchy where I feel the large format will enable me to make a montage of images. We will see.

PS I’m not sure what the current availability of this book is. I have seen it on offer at various websites, but I couldn’t find it on Derwent’s home page product list. If you want to try this format you might need to get one sooner rather than later.

August 12, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

On the street in Chinatown

We loved the quirkiness of our new hotel, not to mention the free wifi. But what turned out to be one of its greatest assets was the bar area at the front of the hotel which was open to the street. We could sit here and sketch in comfort with a cup of coffee or a glass of something stronger by our side. It was also a great place to meet people, including the three other sketchers who had been in Singapore at the Symposium, and were staying at the hotel as well.

The phone box outside our hotel, 29 July, watercolour, pen and ink

In the lanes around the hotel were many vendors selling just about everything from coffins to fresh fruit.

Apple stalls in Thanon Mangkon, Chainatown, Bangkok, 29 July 2015, watercolour, brush pen and ink

I’m not sure of how the street stall system works in Bangkok, but people clearly had their ‘regular’ position. This was the vendor selling roast chestnuts out the front of the hotel.

The roast chestnut stall, Chinatown, Yaowarat St, Bangkok, 30 July 2015

I really loved being able to just sit and enjoy watching the people passing on the street and on Friday night the joint was really jumping. It was also raining heavily so while the kitchen was under cover,

Kitchen under the umbrellas, Chinatown Bangkok

the wait staff just had to improvise!

Quick and easy rain hats, Chinatown style! Bangkok

July 3, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Cafe Wednesday – another place

This Wednesday I had to go across town for an appointment so afterwards I had coffee at a different cafe, The Front in Lyneham. It a quirky place with retro furniture and a funky feel, well this is in the heart of university / inner urban Canberra.

I was blessed with a subject who was completely involved with reading the paper and a quirky window above him. The window, which was originally some sort of external fan or vent has been replaced by a sculptural arrangement of brass taps.

Reading Man, pen and ink, 1 July 2015

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Tag / cafe drawings