081230 Just hanging around Sydney

Another visit to the Art Gallery to see the current Monet exhibition. I don't normally go to an exhibition so many times - but different friends wanted to see it with me. Each time is different - this time I met my first flickr friend in real life - The colourguru.
flickr.com/photos/thecolourguru/
So cool that we have so many mutual friends.
A quick sketch of the Art Gallery while I was waiting....



Like most things I do - I did this quickly and had lots of fun. Did this when I got home from the catalogue without looking at it too closely - my favourite painting in the exhibition.



A rather crazy spread that I did in a tearoom in my local shopping centre(mall). Been meaning to stop and have a earl grey tea there one day - it was wonderful. Pity I couldn't paint at the time so added colour once back home.I did try finger painting but it was a bit too hard and messy!
Is it obvious that I was having loads and loads of fun when I did this?
I will have to go back again sometime soon.

081227 Family Christmas Day

From our family Xmas day - a few days late (due to other commitments)



An Australian Christmas dinner - seafood BBQ!



The small tree with presents for the boys.



My nephew aged 4 wanted me to draw his present from Santa that he brought to show us all.

081226 Photos of Me Sketching

In the sun and in the shade!
I did feel a little self conscious sitting out on my own in the sun but no one came up to see what I was doing. I then 'retired' to the comfort of the shade verandah fo rhte rest of the day.

081226 Watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart Race

The first time we have ever been to see the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. D&I booked a spot at the Old Quarantine Station at the North Head of the harbour. Only 300 people there and they let us sit on the verandah - so had a great view in the comfort of dense shade and lovely cool breeze. Sketching this was the only time I was in the sun!


Filling in time sketching boats and people...




Middle head - this is the place that i think would be the best location (it is my favourite spot in Sydney) but who knows how crowded it would be



A vertical slice of the panaroma view


Getting ready for the start.... a real start line was forming and the spectator craft in the foreground was building up!


A bit crazy trying to draw as the leading boat sails past... I then proceeded to overwork the colouring! Sigh!

Last sketch for the day - the second boat, Scandia going through the heads. I then sat and just watched the boats - it was just SO amazing - I had tears in my eyes...it was so special! What a wonderful day!

081225 Sydney Harbour on Christmas Day

All the clouds of this morning disappeared so I decided to get out this afternoon for a quick sketch and to see what the harbour is like on Christmas Day...



It was bizarrely quiet.I have been to the beach on christmas afternoon a number of times and it has been crowded, so I was very surprisd at how deserted the harbour was. And to think the harbour's biggest day of the year is tomorrow. Boxing Day is the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and for the first time in my life I am going harobur side to see it! So stay tuned.....

But in the meantime here is my xmas dinner. This was one occasion when I only got the outline done before I ate, then added the colour from memory after my plate was empty!
Happy Holiday Everyone!

081225 MY tea cosy

Having a quiet morning - having turkey for dinner tonight but the big family day is on Saturday this year.
I am rather excited to have completed my tea cosy - since drawing this I have made it into a black and white pussy and added white whiskers.

081224 An Obelisk

The only one in Sydney that I am aware of - there is more to it than one would think!

081224 Start of Holiday

Back to using watercolour moleskine - ah! they are nice.

First page, done last night, is dedicated to a dear friend in Scotland who passed away last week. I did this at approximately the same time as the funeral was being held in the highlands.

The flower is Sturt's Desert Rose the state flower of Northern Territory.

Today, I went to Manly Beach briefly this morning - not there long but enough to do a quick sketch and get my feet in the sand and the ocean. (a good start to my summer holiday!)
Here is the beach sketch and also the full spread (couldn't resist a traffic sketch could I?)



(BTW I just fiddled with the html code for this blog to get the size of the images bigger - I really wasn't sure what I was doing but it looks like it has worked!)

081223 Last Day at Work for the year

I don’t know what it is like in other places in the world... But here in Sydney you have to plan your week around filling up with petrol on Tuesdays (or Wednesday mornings) as the price often jumps up 15 cents on Thursday! I don’t normally fill up on the way to work as the queues are shocking (often causing traffic jams) but today I was running on empty and besides, I suddenly saw a sketching opportunity.
A rare black and white sketch in the pages of my journal!


I normally chicken out of sketching my food during work lunches - but didn't today. Didn't quite feel in the groove today but am posting this as this spread completes my handbook (filled up in 5 weeks!)
Perfect timing to start a new book for my summer holidays. I AM looking forward to using a moleskine again (large watercolour type) I can't see myself choosing a handbook to use again - the paper just wasn't easy to watercolour on and felt cheap.

I do plan to be sketching and posting over the next few days but just in case I don't.....Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas/ New Year wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

081220 A friend's brief visit to Sydney

Sketches from an afternoon and morning visit from my friend who is always there at momentous stages of my sketching journey - when I started, my travel journals in Europe last year, really thinking about composing the whole spread when on location  
and this time.....
just going for it when it comes to sketching her and people on location (I won't get better or confident unless I just do it!)

081213 Mini Sketchcrawl

I have started to go along to sketching outings with the Sydney Sketch Club and today was a training for the next World Wide Sketchcrawl on Jan 10. We went to Balmain – a wonderful inner city suburb on the harbour. Not that I really need to get into the mood of sketching but I couldn't resist getting into the sketchcrawl mode and drawing from the beginning of the day... Nice warm day to be out sketching.

081211 New Equipment

Thanks to Fred
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31038637@N05/3092136099/in/photostream/

I have gone wild and filled my 12 pan set with 24 pans! Now to decide on the colours - here are some pages as I try to decide. I am certainly no watercolour expert... just trying different things. There is some much to learn.... (BTW I have already made changes to these colours.... And the arrangement of them in the set)

I just happened to be in my local art shop (funny that!) and I found a nice sketchbook... Daler-Rowney Ebony sketchbook 150g/m2 acid free cartridge paper. The test page I did with a nice wet wash and needed a quick sketch - what better than a 'simple' building... just happened to sketch Milan Cathedral (what could be more natural??) as it was the picture on my desk calendar. (okay - I know that I am NUTS!!!) The result... a very rough and lop sided sketch but the paper performed well....it has a slight buckle but less than the handbook paper. Nice white thick cartridge. I think it comes in A6, A5 and A4 size. I bought a A6 size to experiment the shop only had A4 or A6.

081212 Traffic Sketches

Been SO busy lately that the only option for sketching has been in the traffic.... And having lots of fun.

The sketches are always made up of composite views – I only draw when the car is stationary. Have started using  my Pentel Pocket Brush – in the past I have been afraid to use it since it is so bold and once you make a line there is no going back...but now I am love it!!! The colouring is always rather out of control as I am not always looking at what I am doing – combination of WC pencils and paint with my waterbrush.

BTW once the car arrives at my destination I stop drawing/painting ie. I never touch it up later.

081212 More Tea cosies

From Wild Tea Cosies http://www.grandpurlbaa.com/

They are SO much fun to draw!! I have actually gone out and bought some wool and have started knitting one of the simpler ones.

081205 Urban Sketching

Catching up on a few urban sketches in the last 2 weeks (I have only managed to keep my flickr up to date and this poor blog gets a bit neglected)

I am now blogging to the urbansketchers mega blog now....

If you want to see my posts follow this link
http://www.urbansketchers.com/search/label/Liz%20Steel

But make sure that you check out all the other wonderful wonderful work here....
http://www.urbansketchers.com/