Last Casey U3A Sketchmeet for 2018

Last sketchmeet for 2018 with sketchers from my Casey U3A sketchbook class. Hardly managed to get a sketch in amidst the coffee and chat. Bunjil Place, Melbourne.

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The Nobbies

It was blowing a gale at The Nobbies (headland at the SW tip of Phillip Island) so I had to be content with sketching through the window while having a sandwich in the visitor centre cafe. 

Luckily there was a nesting colony of gulls just outside to keep my interest. Seal Rocks just beyond Round Island is home to one of Australia's largest seal colonies. 

These gulls had very red legs and feet!

So very quiet in the visitor centre cafe...was it because of the week old sandwiches?

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Dinosaurs and Rugged Coasts

So exciting to be in dinosaur country (Bass Coast, south east of Melbourne)! This is looking towards The Caves from Eagles Nest. Eagles Nest is the site of the discovery of Australia's first dinosaur bone – The Cape Paterson Claw in 1903. 

The dinosaur dig at The Caves is the most productive in Victoria. There is also a Theratops foot print in the rocks near the stairs at The Caves but we thought it too dangerous to climb over the numerous rocks to look for it.

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Gippsland Gourmet Package

The Radius Restaurant at the RACV Resort, Inverloch is an excellent dining venue with a stunning view.  Inverloch is a small town on the spectacular Bass Coast in Gippsland just east of Melbourne. Mid week, off peak and with a members' discount is the way to live it up! 

Looking out to Bass Strait (and all the way to the south pole?) while J has a beer in the Zenith Lounge before dinner. The trees were starting to turn pink in the setting sun.

Someone sketching at dinner was new for the waitress. Not wanting to get paint on the white tablecloth, I added colour in the Zenith Lounge (with dessert) and did the final touch up later.

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Coogee Beach

J's cousin Margaret used to live near the top of that very steep road that led down to Coogee Beach. We visited her a few times over the years. Today we were at the beach to meet family for a celebratory 70th birthday lunch for J at the Coogee Pavilion. There was a crowd watching a volley ball game on the beach and when the wind came up it blew a marquee over the wall from the beach. The crowd scattered...and my sketching had to come to an end.

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The Carrington Hotel

What a wonderful stay at The Carrington Hotel in Katoomba. That's a township in the Blue mountains, an easy 2 hour train ride west of Sydney, Australia. The hotel was built in 1880 and called The Great Western. Under new ownership it was renamed The Carrington Hotel in 1886. Listed with The Australian Heritage Commission, it's old world atmosphere and artifacts made it a fascinating place to stay at! 

My sketch of the ceiling from the wine bar was a bit of a challenge (watercolour only followed by black pen).

Here's some of the *hundreds* of lamps in the hotel!

 

I never got the opportunity to sketch the interesting front of the hotel but taking refuge from rain on the last day of our stay I got in a sketch of the side from the Cultural Centre next door. The tower is what's left of the coal power station built at The Carrington in 1903.

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White Rabbit Gallery

These are sketches done at the rather charming teahouse in the White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, while waiting for family to arrive. Chrysanthemum and Gogi Berry tea and dumplings says "upmarket"! 

The family were *very* late (no parking as usual) which meant more time for another sketch. (Empty bird cages hanging from the ceiling in an eatery in Australia was a new form of decoration for me...but it's catching on in other establishments).

The White Rabbit Gallery prides itself as having one of the world's largest and most significant collections of contemporary Chinese art. It was a bit of a thrill to see an installation by the artist/activist Ai Weiwei – a very large black (plastic?) splotch. 

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