Last weekend I had a flying visit to Brisbane (a 1 hour 45 minute plane journey from Melbourne) and did many sketches in the 48 hours of my time away.

Sketching on the bus to and from the airport, at the airport and on the plane are almost second nature to me now. I enjoy creating a record of events in my life, whether they are everyday happenings or more exciting times. Sketching fills in the time ( I usually arrive early) and it is very relaxing.

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At Brisbane Airport I sketched this while waiting to be collected. The people were coming and going and moving quickly. However the buildings stayed, so I could use them to give context and a measure for the height of people as they moved towards and away from me.

Relaxing with a view, looking out to Mount Cootha …. this was completed in two sittings

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At the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art to view the Asia Pacific Triennial . An excellent exhibition with many interesting installations and art. I did two very quick sketches there. I usually don’t sketch the art at art galleries, instead focusing on the people . Art galleries and museums often have very strict rules about what mediums can be used when visiting and it it worth looking at the policies on their website. Sometimes it is dry material only, or graphite only.

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I had contacted Brisbane Urban Sketchers and they had kindly arranged an event at Riverside for the Sunday morning. About 30 people turned up ! I sketched with a few different people and met others at the 11.30 throw down/pass around of sketchbooks. Wow – what an amazing variety of styles and medium.
“Urban Sketchers is an international nonprofit dedicated to fostering a global community of artists who practice on-location drawing… We maintain a network of blogs and online groups where urban sketchers can share their drawings and stories and interact with each other.”

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Urban Sketchers is also an excellent way of connecting with local sketchers and meeting local people when you travel. I sketched with London. Bristol and Edinburgh Urban sketchers when on holiday last September in the UK, and have plans for Sydney this year. Often you get to sketch places that are only known to locals. These moments have often been a highlight of a holiday. Most of the sharing and posting of events is on facebook regional groups, as well as website for lots of other information.

A composite sketch at the airport. My plane ready for boarding. And then on the plane – the passengers opposite me. Sometimes I sketch with my Lamy Sarafi ink pen and leave the page uncoloured, othertimes I add watercolour pencil to areas on the page. This time I decided to only use my watercolour pencils. It often just depends on how I feel on the day !

I arrived home very pleased with my record of events.

I spent a few evening drawing a birthday card to give to a friend. It is drawn in watercolour pencil on watercolour paper (called University paper). I remembered to take photos along the way to show how I built up the colour.

Below are some (very bad) photos from the initial pencil sketch on a loose sheet of paper. I knew what I wanted it to look like and searched online for images to bring it together. There were a lot of scribbles and ideas put down on paper before coming to this. This is a combination of about ten different images .

The first week of 2019 is over and life is almost back to normal routine, I started back at work, and returned to sketching my usual topics.

Treasury Gardens

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I am fortunate to walk through two parks on my walk to work in Melbourne city. I choose to regularly sketch these topics on the way to work because:

• I enjoy drawing them. I never tire of drawing the ducks in the gardens or the trunk and roots of Moreton Bag figs.
• they are quick and easy sketches. I start the day in a good state of mind, having accomplished something already. They are quick and easy because I am so familiar with them.
• I spend 10 or 15 minutes in the peace and calm and green of the gardens. I breathe in the fresh air. By looking at nature closely I am always amazed by it.

Supreme Court of Victoria

I work in the Library under the Dome. Sometimes I arrive early and sit and sketch the Dome. I draw this semi- regularly (not as often as the ducks and the trees) and have become familiar with how to measure the curve of the dome, the height of the columns etc. I measure using comparative distances . Your brain tells you this is a huge dome on top of the building, but when you look from most angles, it isn’t. I look at it and see that, in centre, two of the “green part” of the dome fits into the height of the columns. This measuring is automatic and practice on this dome has assisted when I have sketched domes in other cites and countries. I hope it help when I visit Brisbane next weekend and sketch Customs House with Brisbane Urban Sketchers at Riverside. If you are in Brisbane – lets sketch together see details.

I have also drawn this building and its architectural features on Greeting cards that are available for purchase on my ETSY store online.

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Food

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The first drawing was completed at home after afternoon tea, as I took some of the food home. The drawing was completed that evening. The second drawing is a Birthday card that I drew for a friend. It is a compilation of about 10 different images I located online and also my own idea that I had in mind when I began.

And finally – catching up with friends. A wonderful way to start the year was to sit up on a rooftop bar in Melbourne and toast the New Years with a glass of bubbly. I know I wanted to draw the skyline, so my non-sketching friend kindly agreed to sit at a table with a view, even though it was a bit cooler. It was 21 degrees in Melbourne and a bit grey and damp (compared to 42 the day before).

I hope that you all have a happy Sketchy 2019