January 13, 2026January 13, 2026 by Leonie Andrews

Another Sunday night sketch

Our Sunday ritual of catching up with art friends in the UK and Scotland continues. As we had been out and got back just 10 minutes before our meeting time I decided to simply grab my book and colour pencils and sketch my partner sitting at the other end of the table.

I really enjoyed the marks I used, but when I sat looking at it the following morning I realised that his head isn’t in proportion with his body. I’m happy with the drawing of both, but they are not quite the right size for each other. Oh well.

My sketches outside Old Parliament House

Earlier that day we’d been out with our local chapter of Urban Sketchers at Old Parliament House. As I have sketched here many times I decided to try and find some different angles to capture.

Top left is the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which has been occupying the land across from the front of the Old Parliament since Australia Day 1972. So that means that by the end of this month it will have been there for 54 years.

Bottom left is a view from the building from the Senate Rose gardens. Originally that fence kept the prying eyes of the public out, so the Senators could enjoy some fresh air in privacy.

The right hand page shows the first women to be elected to parliament. Senator (Dame) Dorothy Tangney on the left and (Dame) Enid Lyons, house of Representatives on the right.

These were done with watercolour and in the case of the Tent Embassy, I used pencil.

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025 by Leonie Andrews

Kambah Woolshed collage

I was out with Urban Sketchers Canberra at the Kambah Woolshed, this past weekend, attempting to make a collage in a very stiff wind.

Every collage brings new learnings – particularly when working in a representational style – compared to the more common free-form approach.

Working from the background to the foreground is the most practical way to start. Of course, I still trip myself up and have to re-glue or correct sections.

Having a clear picture of the tonal values is critical. Particularly when deciding on the background to the subject.

Sometimes, the tonal values don’t get completely nailed down until late in the process. The thin diagonal line on the roof on the right side was close to the last piece I added. This made so much difference to the roofline.

After looking at this piece when I got home my partner pointed out that one of the columns didn’t appear to be in correct perspective. He was right. I’d carried it through to the roofline when there was a section of planking that ran in front of it.

Here’s the final version.

The finished collage after one final tweak

I continue to be surprised that this process takes pretty much the same amount of time as my regular watercolour sketches do. I’m happy with the result.

July 21, 2025July 21, 2025 by Leonie Andrews

Back at the Portrait Gallery

I know it’s only been a week, but I was back at the National Portrait Gallery again on Sunday for their monthly life drawing session, called Drawn In. The Gallery provides easels, boards, materials, paper, and pencils, but you can also take your own.

My book is watercolour paper, so I did my first sketch, a tonal study, with pencil, on the smoother side of my paper.

Trying to focus more on tone, than lines, although I used both

I decided to move into the Family Art room as it’s possible to use watercolour in there. It was certainly a different angle to sketch from. It was almost the reverse of the view that I did first.

Lots of friends from the Urban Sketchers were also there, so we rounded off the afternoon with cups of tea and coffee in the cafe.

July 14, 2025July 15, 2025 by Leonie Andrews

Urban Sketching at the Portrait Gallery

It’s been several months since I went out with the Urban Sketchers Canberra group. The weather, being as cold as it is, didn’t seem to promise a large turnout, but I was wrong about that.

I decided to do a composite sketch, showing various aspects of the Gallery, starting with part of the building exterior.

I then moved inside, collected a stool, and found a spot where I could see a cluster of other sketchers. I also decided to incorporate some quick sketches of two of the portraits into the background of my double page spread.

Because I couldn’t use my watercolours in the gallery, I moved to the ‘family’ room where messy art could happen.

I planned to add some elements from the cafe in the bottom right corner, but I ran out of time. Maybe I can do that another time.

December 31, 2022December 31, 2022 by Leonie Andrews

End of another year

I will just share some photos as I haven’t reached any conclusions about the year. I’ve made work, communed with like-minded friends both online and in person around the world. Thank you all for being open and sharing your year with me as well.

leonieandrews

Tag / Urban Sketchers