View from a carpark

This is still very much work in progress. Although I'm not sure I will do more to it. I do believe in the manifesto of urban sketching, where 90% of a sketch is done on location. Maybe I will go back to that spot at some point and draw more, or add watercolour? It's quite accessible. I just have to take the tram into town, and take the lift to the 5th floor of the carpark on the corner of Cathal Brugha Street and Marlborough Street. I really like this idea of finding views from the top of carparks. It's wasn't my idea. But I might develop it. It excites me more than sketching churches, that's for sure. 

Tree Shadow - springtime

I'm a believer in painting lots and planning before painting. If I stick to these principles, I will paint something good at some stage. This painting is proof that it works.

Phisborough Phizzfest

Great day out in Phibsborough, where the Phizzfest was under way. I love it when our volunteers pick cool venues to sketch!! There was lots of free entertainment - a flea market, access to artists' studios on the 4th floor above the shopping centre, music on a barge on the canal, and we even came upon a drag show at the Bernard Shaw pub!

And I always thought of Phibsborough as being too far away, but the green line tram goes all the way there, so it was perfect, although I did get off the tram two stops too early and had to walk for a bit!!

The flea market was great, but too busy to sketch, so I headed to the artists' studios on the 4th floor of the shopping centre. Yes, that ugly building that dominates the whole street. Most of the windows are covered with a strange ugly plastic and you can't see through them. But a couple of studios had clear windows and the views were wonderful. I chose the view looking towards Glasnevin, with its round tower and the trees of the botanic gardens. I so enjoyed drawing every chimney and extension built onto the houses and the trees and vegetation that still survives Dublin residents' needs for extra space. Drawn in fountain pen, with a grey marker for shadows. Now that I think of it, I should have drawn the window and part of the artist's studio. But I ran out of time. The artist whose studio I borrowed was Dee Barragry. I was very careful not to disturb anything.

Then I went in search of a barge on the Royal Canal. I had gone the wrong side of the canal so I had to retrace my steps and arrived for the very end of the performance. I don't know who the band was, but they were great. And the concept of the wrong side is very subjective. Most of the other sketchers were on the "wrong" side, happily sketching the boats. I wasn't interested in boats. I wanted to capture the live performance. But I did draw a bit of the barge too, enough, I think, to show that it's a boat. The clue is in the gangplank! 

And then, the best part, we went to the Bernard Shaw pub, just on the bridge. Annah had booked tables for us, which was very thoughtful, as the pub was busy. Then, a drag show started, and a whole bunch of sketchers went over to the other side of the pub to watch it. I was looking after someone's bag, but as soon as they came back, I went over and started sketching like crazy. I had a fluo pink Posca marker and my trusted Sailor Fude pens and I drew and I drew. And I sang and I danced! I had a ball. Thank you to Miss Roots and Miss Taken! You made my day! These sketches might not look like much, but I hear Hold on for one more day in my head the moment I look at them!

Top of O'Connell Street

Catching up on my sketching, after a sketching holiday. It sounds a bit ironic. But it was good to catch up with my fellow Dublin Sketchers. The weather wasn't great. This is Ireland after all. So after a quick sketch done while standing on the street near the top of O'Connell Street, I retreated to Guud Day café, where I had a good chat with Emma from Richmond Barracks. And I painted the town green. Well, my tea was actually green, it being a matcha latte! 

14 Henrietta Street

We were invited to 14 Henrietta Street for Drawing Day, and about 10 of us Dublin Sketchers made it and had the privilege to sketch in this wonderful museum, which is not normally accessible to us, due to the delicate nature of the exhibits. There was limited space, but we all found a spot that we liked and quickly set to work. No watermedia were allowed, so I brought a few markers and pencils on top of my usual fountain pen. 

The top left sketch is part of the fireplace in the kitchen. I didn't get to finish it, but I got so lost in drawing it, time flew by. 

The main sketch was then the door and the prams and bicycles in the children's room (though it probably wasn't the actual children's room, which I'm sure was on the top floor of the house at the time). I drew rough shapes in markersm, then added more detail in black ink. Again, I lost track of time, and I had to go! I would love to go back there again, and spend more time sketching the stairs and the lovely rooms on all the floors! It's a big house!

Sweeping mountains

I did enjoy the square format, so I tried another one, with much softer contrast, which is more what I lean towards. You could say I'm a mid-value artist. It's really colour that I chase. I don't like super-sunny days. I find the light too blinding and the contrasts too strong.  This is where I'm more at peace.

Squid

It's great to get back into the flow of watercolour. This is another one inspired by the same location, but somehow the word "squid" comes to mind! 

Morning Bright

Another version of the same location. I like exploring the land between representational and abstract art. I'm very much a landscape artist, but I find it liberating to get lost in the light and the colours I see, rather than every accurate detail. I have a couple of areas I want to soften a bit, and then I'll call it done. 

As you can see, I've painted this view many times over the last few years, big and small. This version is painted on half-sheet watercolour paper, but cropped in a broader landscape format. Some of the small postcard-size versions are still my favourites!.

 

Morning light - Clogher Head

Do you have some landscapes that keep playing in your head? For me, it's Clogher Head on the Dingle Peninsula. Morning light, diffuse, everywhere and nowhere. Heathers. Rocky outcrop. Larger mountains in the distance. I regularly come back to this scene in my paintings. 

This is a colourful version, as I'm back painting, after a long break. I have a lot of painting to do between now and October, for a special event in November. I'll tell you more about it closer to the time. Let me just say "No pressure!!!".

Sketching by the Dodder

Back from my travels, and back to sketching. Apparently the weather wasn't good while we were away. So spring has been quite slow, which I'm selfishly delighted about. It means that the trees are still at their bright-green stage. My favourite time. By June, the leaves have often turned a dull dark green, which I don't find as interesting to paint. 

So on this particular Sunday in early May, we went sketching by the Dodder, between Windy Arbour and Milltown. Very easy to get to with the Luas, and the sun came out, shining through the leaves and sparkling over the river. Yes, the Dodder is a smallish river that runs through South Dublin, from Tallaght to Grand Canal Dock. I never really explored it much, until the pandemic when we started walking its banks, as it was within our 5km range.

When I sketch, I don't think much about the perfect view, or even the story I'm trying to tell. I just see something that catches my eye, and then I sketch it. Maybe this tree reminded me of the big trees in Albert Park in Auckland? Well, everything is bigger in New Zealand, the mountains, the lakes, the trees!

 

Next I went in search of a spot closer to the water. I walked past Dartry Mills and found this little corner that became my personal paradise for an hour or so. The reddy brown water, bright green reflections, sparkling water running over the rocks. That's all I wanted .

Street view World tour - Kharkiv

I have lots of photos of New Zealand still to share with you, but it's too big a job to sort them all out, so I'm procrastinating. Plus, I really need to get back into painting (more about that some other time).

Anyways, I found the perfect antidote to jetlag - Zoom sketching with friends around the world. I really didn't want to miss this session of Street View World Tour, as the location was Kharkiv, and the invited artist was Nina Khashchina, a wonderful artist who lives in San Jose. I've never met Nina, but I really feel I know her, as she has shared sketches of her parents on her blog since Russia invaded Ukraine, and we often exchange comments over social media. It's a strange world we live in, where strong connections can be established with people we might never meet. Well, I do hope I will meet Nina. When the war in Ukraine is over, I definitely plan to go sketching there and meet urban sketchers all around the country. In the meantime, virtual sketching it is!

Sketchbook Flipthrough - Perth, travel and extras

One sketchbook is never enough for me. I didn't quite fill these other ones, but I'm glad I brought them!

Perth

Travel

Extra handbag sketchbook

Sketchbook Flipthrough - New Zealand

Somehow, it's easier to do a flipthrough of my sketchbook than photograph each sketch separately, which I had already done for Instagram while travelling. This sketchbook is precious to me, containing so many memories of our wonderful travels around New Zealand. I hope you enjoy it. And if you prefer your flipthroughs silent, turn the sound off!

Urban Sketchers International Symposium 2023 - Auckland

It will be a few weeks before I catch up on posting here. In the meantime, here is a video Brendan put together from his time photographing the sketchers in Auckland, where the International Urban Sketchers Symposium was held a few weeks ago. It was an amazing event, which I enjoyed thoroughly. 

Too many pencils!

I'm in the process of pre-packing. That's the phase where I line up everything I want to take with me and then eliminate what won't fit in my suitcase! Half of these pencils need to go. And I really don't know if I need two arttoolkit palettes on top of my usual watercolour sketching palette!!

And in case you're wondering, I'm scheduling this to post after I come back from our big trip!