Cafe Sketching

For several years, thanks to the initiative and steady organization of a sketch friend Carmen, I've been able to sketch regularly with a very small group of sketchers. The core of the group has its roots in Casey U3A but we've added other friends over the years. Where possible we sketch on-location somewhere in our local area but on the most recent sketchmeet day there was a severe storm warning so our venue was a cafe. On this occasion I took a dozen of J's wonderful life-like food fridge magnets for us to draw. We played a "speed sketch" game where we had 2 minutes to draw a magnet before passing it onto another sketcher. Two minutes is a long enough time to draw one of these magnets but doing 12 for 2 minutes each in quick succession required serious brain work...for a group of mostly Seniors!

Cafe sketching will take a back seat as we head into sketching outdoors in what I hope will be a good summer. I decided to add the splash of watercolour to the page later but I'm not sure if that was an improvement or not. Here is the group of magnets I took for us to draw.

#Sailorfude pen, #Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.

Casey U3A Showcase Day 2024

Casey U3A (University of the 3rd Age) is part of a global organization offering activities for Seniors. Their annual Showcase Day on 4th October was when this branch displayed all its offerings as part of a membership drive. Our Member of Parliament, Jason Wood, graced the celebrations to cut a big cake as it was also Casey U3A’s 33rd birthday! 

It's been awhile since I've attended one of Casey U3A's main events so it felt really nice to reconnect with friends I'd not seen for sometime. During the event, members of the organisation showed off their skills in exhibits and activities. Visitors would have been impressed by the camaraderie of the members who demonstrated sessions of Zumba and Tai Chi, played Pickle Ball, Walking Football, showed off their artwork and manned booths showing all the many activities of the organization. A sausage sizzle and coffee truck was an added bonus.  

Casey U3A now has more than 500 members and (did I hear correctly) with 66 activities offered there is much to choose from! 

I first joined Casey U3A 8 years ago when I was new to the area. For 5 of those years, I also led one of their courses (an on-location sketching course) and made many new friends, some of whom I still sketch with regularly. Casey U3A continues to be an uplifting source of social connection for me and I look forward to an enjoyable year ahead. 

This was sketched and painted on-location at Showcase Day, Jack Rae Pavilion, Akoonah Park, Berwick. Embellishments were added at home.

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”. #caseyu3a  #u3a

Sketches While Waiting

On-location sketch opportunities these days seem to mostly happen while I'm waiting so I'm restricted to the tools I have in my handbag at the time. Here's a couple of ladies at Tilly’s Cafe while waiting for my prescription to be filled at a nearby pharmacy. 

Also the car park outside Casey Allied Health while J was with the physio.

On another day, a longish sketch opportunity while J was with the Physio also yielded an unexpected discovery! I thought Ceylonese By South Ceylon next door was a night-time dining venue but it was in fact also open for morning coffee and Indian snacks. We enjoyed a coffee break but also went home with a tray of take-away curries!

Marker Pens, #HandbookJournal 5.5" x 5.5".

This Week In August

No not a sporting injury for J but an attempt to improve on failed hand surgery done some years ago. Sweet homegrown oranges from our lovely neighbours and energized TV viewing. Thrilled to watch it all LIVE and be a part of history in the making! Glad our Salvia Shangri-la plant is making its yearly appearance and the seniors' lunch at La Baguette was small but satisfying.   

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #MoleskineWatercolourNotebook, 8.25”x 5". 

This Week In July

This week in July. Cold, rain, aches and pains are keeping me at home but a few sketches around the house and the exciting world news is keeping us occupied!

Here's another from my "This Week in..." series. 

We have grave concerns for our 5 Longfin Zebra Danios (how their fins have grown!). We got them last summer and were told by the fish shop that they would be fine to overwinter in our outdoor unheated bowl pond. Unfortunately it has been an unusually cold winter.

Here's hoping the warmer days and nights ahead will help get them through.

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, colour pencil, #MoleskineWatercolourNotebook, 8.25”x 5".

A Trip to Singapore

Planning what tools and materials to take is part of the joy of being an Urban Sketcher! I sketched the tools I was taking with me on our recent trip away but only added the colours after getting home. 

I love using the yellow pouch on planes – light, scrunchable, easy to find in the seat pocket if you leave the cord hanging out and you can hang it up on those plane seat backs that have a hook! 

J bought that pouch in Japan in 2019 at a museum displaying the art of famed Japanese cartoonist Osamu Tezuka (the Father of Manga). I hardly used any of the tools I took in my blue stand-up case as family commitments filled my time. 

Climate change? Never experienced such long periods of turbulence.

A coffee/tea stop after meeting friends for lunch. Almost forgotten how to order coffee/tea the local way! Teh C is tea with evaporated milk. Killiney Kopitiam (Killiney coffee shop) is a coffee shop set up by a Hainanese immigrant from China in late 1919 on Killiney Road. There are now many many branches across the city. 

I ended up with this composite sketch due to being blocked by a huge tourist bus so had to move to complete the sketch. These gentrified old shop houses now are restaurants with their tables in a big night time outdoor eating area. Noisy, touristy and expensive but unexpectedly well patronised...by locals! 

Cities is something I’ve got out off practice with.

I didn’t have enough time to eat (or draw) all the things I wanted to. 

The trip home. Trying out a Daler Rowney passport size sketchbook I bought for $1.97!

#FaberCastellPittPen, watercolour, #MoleskineWatercolourAlbum, 5x8”. 

Last sketch – marker pen, #DalerRowney sketchbook.

A Dog Sketch

You know what they say "don't work with children or animals, neither sit long enough". Our son's dog Peach was enjoying the sun on the deck when I sat down to sketch her. She moved 3 times but I managed to complete a sketch of her...eventually!

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour,#Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.