In Memory of an Old Friend

I added this sketch of our African Violets in memory of a very old friend, Iris, who sadly passed away recently. Her favourite colour was mauve/violet. We met when she, S, J and I were living in the same dorms at university. We went our separate ways after graduating – different countries, different cities, connected only by a yearly Xmas letter over 50 plus years. We had a happy reunion with Iris and S in 2019. 

The older sketches at left of the page-spread are of vegetables (silverbeet and parsley) and left over morning tea which I came home with after attending a talk for Casey U3A's Garden Club group.

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour,#Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”. #Caseyu3a

Autumn Views

Autumn views from our kitchen window. Finished this main one recently (I couldn't stop adding dots and dashes). 

These other two were done almost exactly a year ago! The older ones were done with gay abandon and compromised eyesight after my first cataract operation last year. I think I like the old ones better! I couldn't see properly at the time and didn't care about the final product which resulted in freer more expressive drawings!

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #MoleskineWatercolourAlbum, 5x8”.

Community Capsule Exhibition

Here's a couple of photos from the launch night of the recent exhibition Community Capsule in Fed Square, Melbourne where 9 pages from my Covid Journal (now in the State Library) were displayed. The 2 photographers featured with me in the panel discussion were Julie Ewing and Bri Hammond. 

Our projects were Melbourne Stories Told From the Heart. Here's the official flyer.

To read about Julie and Bri's Covid Projects:

Julie Ewing: 

https://museumsvictoria.com.au/one-year-on/across-the-fence/

Bri Hammond:

https://www.brihammond.com/isolation-portraits

and mine (just showing my favourite pages from the 80 page sketch journal):

https://www.klhnewman.com/covid-journal/

No Parking for Buchanan Park

“Wait in your car until your GP calls you”. We forget we’re still under the cloud of Covid (and now flu). Sketching Buchanan Park from the parking lot of our health provider on 2 separate occasions. 

What a beautiful white gum behind the fence! There seems no vehicle entry to Buchanan Park and people are parking illegally in the medical clinic’s parking lot!

Marker pens, Handbook Journal 5.5" x 5.5".

Sketching the Coronation 2023

Sketching from live TV coverage on my comfortable couch at home was better than being there!  Thank you BBC! 

I should have sketched scenes in the abbey when people were mostly stationary but I was too afraid to miss anything. 

A page in history.

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

Anzac Day 2023

I love sketching action so the parade and ceremony at the War Memorial in Berwick, Victoria for Anzac Day was too good an opportunity to miss. It was just a small ceremony in this outer suburb of Melbourne but nonetheless meaningful. Quite well attended and the cafes did well after.

Note the soldier in the photo below marching in a WWI uniform. 

People were watching one of two big TV screens. We got the works – Hymn Abide With Me, a flyover, the Last Post, a gun salute and the New Zealand and Australian anthems!

Soldiers in the parade started to line up after the ceremony. There wasn't much time to sketch them before they marched away. I was sorry not to be able to get a sketch of those in WWI uniforms. 

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, SeawhiteTravelJournal 5.5" x 5.5".

Cruden Farm (second visit)

A timely visit to Cruden Farm after watching Episode 1 of the documentary The Murdoch Empire. This is the main house at Cruden Farm in Langwarrin, east of Melbourne. It was the childhood weekend home of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. His mother Dame Elizabeth Murdoch spent her long life (she lived till 103) redesigning and maintaining the lovely garden. It is considered one of the most significant gardens in Australia as the initial design was done in 1930 by the renowned woman landscape designer of the day Edna Walling and the estate still maintains many interesting features from that time. The giant tree in front of the house is a magnificent hybrid oak, a cross between a Pin Oak and a Macedon Oak. It is known by the Cruden Farm gardeners as the Laughing Oak as it sheds its leaves at a different time from other oaks.

To read a post on my first visit to Cruden Farm click here: 

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