This past weekend I took a long weekend to travel with a sketching friend, Angela ( instagram @lunchsketch) to Warrnambool and Port Fairy . We were going to Port Fairy for the Exhibition Opening night of the Blarney Books & Art Biblio Art Prize. We both had entries accepted. It was such a thrill so see mine exhibited among so many creative works. That is another story….

A long weekend gave us three days of sketching ! I completed 25 pages of sketches (Angela was about the same ) and two postcard giveaways on Instagram. Today I am showing you the sketches from DAY ONE – the Great Ocean Road, My sketches are with watercolour pencil and Lamy Safari ink pen.

The Great Ocean Road is a famous drive with 243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia . Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world’s largest war memorial. The road is an important tourist attraction in the region.

It has beaches and stunning craggy cliffs composed of limestone and sandstone. You look out on the wild and windswept Southern Ocean. The coastline is dramatic ! The stories associated with it are too.

The day was grey and cool ( 16 degrees) and very windy along the coast, At the stops where stayed and sketched we found a sheltered nook to stand in.

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The tourists came in waves as the buses came and left. They did not stay for a long time. As sketchers, driving by car, at our own pace, we are fortunate to be able stop and stay longer. When you sketch, you look and observe and see things that a quick photo would not see. We sketched and could hear the waves crashed in on the rocks.

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Travelling the Great Ocean Road was a wonderful experience and the dramatic coastline continued to amaze me. I was very fortunate took have slightly local person (Angela) who could tell me a bit of background and stories of these places.