Mosman and Lucy Culliton

                                        

I went to  Mosman today to see Lucy Culliton's exhibition at Mosman Art Gallery.  I like Lucy's work very much,  particularly her portraits and landscapes.  See below for some of her work.

I took the ferry to Mosman which was a treat in itself.  What a beautiful harbour we have and the weather was perfect today.  After seeing the exhibition, having lunch and checking out the wonderful Mosman shops, I walked down Avenue Road to the foreshore where the ferry picks up.  That road was a beauty with a gorge on one side, which was natural forest, and cliff on the other.  The cliff side had lovely old homes and lots of palms, jacarandas and Australian natives.

Down at the end of Avenue Road was the water.  I would have liked to do a sketch which included the water but this view caught my eye and since I love palm trees, I had to record it.  The kookaburras were laughing and a few people stopped to talk so all in all, a nice time.

                    

           These paintings are by Lucy Culliton.  Have a look on the web for more of her work.  She is shown by Ray Hughes Gallery in Sydney.      

         This is Lucy and below is her art dealer, Ray Hughes.

                                      

Christmas Card

                       

Every year I make a Lino cut Christmas card and this year is no exception.  I thought I would show you the steps involved in the Lino cut print process.

                         

First Step was to do a sketch of the idea.  I had done a peacock hooking a few months ago and so this image is something already in my head.

                           

This is the Lino which was carved by the tools seen here.  I drew it on the Lino first and then carved  out the areas which were to stay white.

                            

The red handled roller has picked up the black ink and you can see the two prints on the left and the Lino on the right.

                                     

Watercolour now used to paint the bits that needed the colour.

Here is a bunch ready to go.

Martin Place Christmas

                                                                                

I visited Martin Place this morning to sketch the Xmas tree but it wasn't quite ready to be sketched, There was a big white fence and some cranes still around it.  I edited those out.  The big ribbon is electronic and flashes in different colours.

The General Post Office is to the left of the tree.  Whenever I see this beautiful building it reminds me of when I came to Sydney on a working holiday in the early 1980s.  On Christmas night I came here and booked an overseas call to Canada to wish my family a Merry Christmas.  You booked it and then sat in the waiting room till they called your name.  I think it was a dollar a minute.

Back to Art Gallery of NSW

                                                                                  

The Art Gallery of NSW has a Pop Art exhibition on right now and it is well worth seeing.  I particularly loved seeing some iconic work by David Hockney.  All the big name international artists from that era are there as well as Australians from the same time.

After seeing this show I spent some time sketching this scene which is the gallery entry way.  There is always a huge, beautiful vase of flowers there,  in the middle of a Victorian circular seat.

I sat in a quiet corner, working away until a security guard stopped to tell me I wasn't allowed to use water colour in the gallery.  He was very kind, after complimenting me on my work, said he would come back in a little while so I could finish it up.

City

                               

                                                                                

I sketched this scene in the city this morning, close to the corner of Elizabeth and Park Streets in Sydney.  The lovely blue building is a bus shelter.  Chuck Close is exhibiting here  and the yellow banners are advertising his show.

We moved further down Park St which turns into William St to sketch this old building which is directly behind the Australian museum.  It was built in 1851 and was originally a National School.  It has been used by the Museum since the 1970's and is named the Night Parrot.

                                                           

    

Sydney Cove Oyster Bar

    

        This very quaint building is on the edge of the harbour at Circular Quay in Sydney.  if you are walking along, heading to the Opera House for a concert or play, you would go past this Federation building.

It was built in 1908 and was constructed for the workers on the ships as part of the wharf facilities.  It included a public lavatory!

For the past 30 years or so it has been a restaurant specialising in oysters.

Bidura, Glebe

                This is  a wonderful National Trust building called Bidura, 357 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. It was built by the same architect who designed the Watch House in Balmain and Sydney University, that being Edmund Blacket.  He and his family lived in this house when he was working on the Great Hall of Sydney University.  This Victorian Regency style villa was built in 1858-60 and the bricks were hand made.

The building to the right of the main building is a ballroom.

NSW Goverment bought this property in 1920 and it was a children's home, housing children before they were placed in foster care.  it is still used by Community Services.

There is a yellow picket fence at the front of this property and I peered over this to do this sketch.  I would have liked to enter the gate, set up my chair in the garden and sketch in comfort.  I ended up standing on the sidewalk and sketching which was a bit less comfortable but okay.   A lady stopped to tell me what the building was used for and it's name which was great.

Balmain Watch House

          

                                 

I met fellow sketchers from Sketch Club on Sunday in Balmain.  This  building, called the Balmain Watch House, is the oldest police lockup in Sydney and was built in 1854.  The building was only one storey originally and I suppose that explains the two colours of stone.  It was designed by the colonial architect Edmund Thomas Blackett in the traditional Georgian style.  The jacaranda trees are flowering right now and that is what is in the foreground.  The bike belonged to one of the sketchers.  

The sketch below is a view of further down Darling St in Balmain.