January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 by Leonie Andrews

Material concerns

Sketching materials often cause me a dilemma. Like many sketchers I run the risk of paralysis from too much choice. When I made my trip to Brisbane last week I decided on one sketchbook – a grey-tone Strathmore and a limited selection of pens/pencils. My main pencils were Koh-i-noor Magic pencils, so I couldn’t ‘control’ to any extent the colours that came out. I didn’t know whether I could do it! Indeed I did resort to one digital drawing.

Brisbane River Bridges, digital drawing on PS Touch app (for Android)

Despite this small detour I did get back on track.This sketch uses only coloured pencil and white chalk. I used several types of the Magic pencils: Original, Fire and America.

Late afternoon sun on the Storey Bridge Brisbane, coloured pencil, white chalk, 20 January 2016

The next day we took our sketch books up to the Roma St Parklands where the twisting shapes of the Moreton Bay figs captured my attention.

Fig tree, Roma Street Parklands, white chalk, graphite and coloured pencil, 21 January 2016

Back home I realised that I hadn’t picked up a pencil in days so I grabbed what was to hand, a green Artline fibre pen and my black ink pen and got down to it.

Backyard, green fine line pen and ink, 29 January 2016

It can be a challenge just getting past that ‘perfection’ monkey, but it’s always worth getting out and just drawing.

December 27, 2015December 27, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Federation Rocks

It would have to rank as one of the weirder birthday presents, but when the city of Canberra turned 100, in 2013, we got a set of boulders, one from each state and territory in the Commonwealth of Australia. They are collectively known as the Federation Rocks. We stumbled across this place when we followed a small stub of a road to see what was there.

Each boulder, with the exception of the ironstone from WA, has a small ‘window’ where the surface has been polished so you can enjoy the beauty of these rocks. They also have a descriptive plaque attached to them, hence the odd rectangle in the painting below.

Queensland’s contribution, a limestone boulder from Chinaman Creek, studded with marine fossils, 23 December 2015, graphite and watercolour

While the Chinaman Creek boulder from Queensland is the most dramatic of these boulders, I do enjoy the way they have been placed in a graceful arc.

From foreground to the rear, Chinaman Creek limestone (Queensland); My Goyder Syenite (Northern Territory); and Canberra Limestone, (Australian Capital Territory). 23 December 2015, graphite and watercolour

The ironstone boulder from Western Australia is the oldest in the collection coming in at nearly 2.5 million years old. The colours in it are so beautiful.

Brockman Formation ironstone, 2490-2450 million years old. Now that’s ageing gracefully!

At present these boulders grace a turning circle and small parking area which appears to be home to every spare road sign in Canberra. While I was drawing the boulders one of my sketching companions had lots of fun capturing the absurdity that is that turning circle.

There are plans for greater usage of this area. It is to be the entry point to the National Rock Garden, a relative to the National Arboretum which is located up the hill from this area. If you like quirky tourist destinations then I suggest you give this one a go.

The Federation Rocks are located at the corner of Lady Denman Drive and Barrenjoey Drive, (close to the National Arboretum), just drive the two hundred metres to the end of Barrenjoey Drive to find them.

November 2, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Urban Sketchers Canberra at the National Library of Australia

On Sunday we had our first official outing as Urban Sketchers Canberra, a goal we have been working towards since our sketching group started meeting in February this year. We had 15 people come along, including two people joining us for the first time.

With a bad weather forecast we had to do a last minute change from our planned outside venue to one that offered indoor drawing opportunities. So it was off to the National Library of Australia (NLA). As luck would have it the rain held off for a bit so many of us took the opportunity to draw outside the building.

Spot the non-sketcher, USk Canberra takes to the National Library of Australia

I decided to tackle a part of the building that I must say I haven’t paid much attention to before, the large sculpture above the entrance to the library. The work is called Knowledge and was designed by Tom Bass, who is probably better known to most Canberrans as the designer of the sculpture of Ethos in Civic Square. Commissioned in 1966 the work was installed on the building in 1968. At just over 21 metres in length, 2 metres in height and projecting nearly 2 metres from the wall this is a complex piece of work. Indeed I didn’t really consider how complex until I tried to sketch the projecting elements of the work.

Part of the sculpture, Knowledge, at the National Library of Australia, watercolour and brush pen, 1 November 2015

I managed to get through to the start of the watercolour when it began to rain. I retreated to the portico along with most of the other sketchers to complete adding the colour to my sketch.

As is traditional we met up at the end of our two hours of sketching to compare our efforts. As always the subjects and approaches were quite varied.

Some of our final works on the day

Discussions of the day’s work continued over coffee and lunch in the Library’s cafe. Some of us also looked at the exhibition of work of William Strutt currently on display in the Library. Strutt’s ability as a draftsman really stood out and we were in awe of his fine pencil sketches.

Studies of two male figures and a woman’s head, William Strutt, c. 1860, pencil (PIC R3339 LOC1132/F), collection of the National Library of Australia

The next meeting of Urban Sketchers Canberra will be on 5 December, at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. You can find details of events and more pictures on the group’s Facebook page, or contact us directly at urbansketcherscanberra@gmail.com

October 28, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

The Historic Hunter

Several weeks ago I was in the Hunter Valley which has many towns dating back to the 19th century. (A very short time period compared to the thousands of years of Aboriginal ownership of the land). In the larger centres the original facades of the 19th century buildings are visible rising above the ground floor of contemporary shops.

Here are two such facades. The first is in Singleton, located on John St, built in 1898.

The facade of the Singleton Arcade, watercolour, 9 October 2015

When I moved around to the front of the building I could see this interesting chimney, to the rear of the facade.

Chimney detail, the Singleton Arcade, pen and ink, 9 October 2015

Several days later I visited Maitland. The long main street here is also full of interesting buildings. 437 High St is now the home to up-market boutiques and gift shops. I was surprised to find out that it was even older than the Singleton Arcade. This building, originally built for the Australasian Bank (through subsequent transmogrifications becoming the ANZ Bank), was completed in 1869 and opened the following year. Its French styling and rounded ist floor balcony takes advantage of it’s corner location. This is a real stand-out among the other nearby buildings.

The first floor of 437 High St, Maitland, watercolour, 12 October 2015

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Canberra Nara Candle Festival

Today was the13th annual Candle Festival day, held in conjunction with our sister-city Nara in Japan. We got there a bit early because we were working on the Australia Japan Society food stall, raising money for the orphans of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
This is the quick sketch I made in my Leuchtturm 1917 Whitelines link book with pen and ink.

In the end we were so busy that our three hours working flew by. Although some of my toes went numb from standing for so long. After we sold out of food there was just time to look at the ‘stream’ of candles in the Japanese garden.

leonieandrews

Tag / urban sketch