Zombies

                                      

Sydney had a zombie walk yesterday, a fund raiser for brain research.  They gathered and then paraded the streets.  Sketch club joined them when they gathered and we madly sketched.  The woman above is a makeup artist and spent many hours making up herself and two of her friends,

                                      

                                      

                                      

The man above and lady below are a couple.

                                         

People could get makeup done at the park and there was a long line of people waiting for their blood and wounds.  The wounds were very realistic and gruesome.

I will add more zombie sketches to this blog mid week.  What a great afternoon!

                                        

 

       

 

Sydney Observatory

      

This is Sydney Observatory built on a hill overlooking Sydney harbour right above the Opera House and next to the bridge.  It was built on land that was called Miller's Point because there was a big windmill there to grind the grain for the new settlement.  They started building a fort and a signal station there too but all that was torn down before this structure was built from sandstone in 1859.

The Observatory was important to give the correct time to the ships in the harbour, for weather observation as well as astronomical observation.  There are two copper telescope domes, one holds a 29 cm refractor telescope dated from 1874.  The northern dome now has a modern telescope for pubic observing.

Originally the Goverment astronomer and his family lived in the building and the structure to the right of the central tower was their accommodation.

This historic building is now part of the Powerhouse museum and is open to the public.

This is a lovely building but I wish that big windmill from 1804 was still there too.

High Tea

                             

Sketch club got together for high tea today.  It was a quiet time with everyone concentrating on their sketches and not surprisingly, letting the tea get cold.  This was the scene across the table.  A great time was had

The last of the Greenway wander

   

        

This is the last of the sketches done as I travel along this green corridor.  Above is a cafe that mainly caters to dogs and their owners.  Dogs can have a pupachino in a bowl when it's Mom or dad has their own cuppa.  There was dog training going on Sunday morning so there were soooo many canines having lots of fun.

        

I went out early this morning to sketch the scene above.  It's on Marion st, Leichhardt at the light rail station.

         

This is Canal road at Iron Cove.  I liked the curve of the road and the buildings that stretch around it.

   

Mungo Scott Flour mill

          

This flour mill was built in 1922 in Summer Hill which is 8 km from Sydney's central business district.

It is currently being redeveloped into residential and commercial spaces.  I went around to the back but it was a construction site and was not allowed to stay.  So, I went back along the trail and sketched the scene below.  The scene above is from the light rail platform.

        

More touring of the Greenway

 

      

I'm still moving along that green corridor and sketching what interests me along the way.  This rocket is a vintage bit of playground equipment.  They have covered the entry so kids can't get in there.  There was another one in a park near where we used to live and I have  lovely memories of it when my daughter was little.

          

There is a friendly  dog and it's owner in the lower right corner.

          

This fantastic building is in an area that is redeveloped.  I'm not sure of it's future.

         

All the sketches are in a Japanese Moleskin accordion style sketch book.  There is more sketch book page space and further Greenway to go.

  

The GreenWay

        

The GreenWay is a belt of green space that runs from the Cooks River in Earlwood to the Iron cove bridge on the Parramatta River.  You can walk or ride your bike along much of it and it is hoped that in time you can ride all the way.  The light rail line, a number of animal species, playgrounds, coffee shops and historic sites also share this space.

I plan on filling a Japanese concertina book with GreenWay sketches and here are this morining's efforts.  The first one, above' is the beginning of GreenWay, at the Cooks River.

I then went up to Dulwich Hill, crossing the light rail station and found myself at this lovely park with skate board and tennis facilities.  The heat and hunger then drove me home.

       

                                     

   

Luna Park Sydney

                                

It was Luna Park Sydney's eightieth birthday on the weekend. The entranceway  has changed slightly over the years but remains the  iconic face of this historic park.

The park is under the Harbour bridge on the north side.  In fact the land that Luna Park was built on was the land  used during the construction for the bridge.  Once the bridge was completed someone had the bright idea of an amusement park.

                               

I'm not sure what happens in Coney Island but people go down into it after showing their ticket to the guy on the right.

It was a really hot weekend but it didn't stop lots of folk enjoying Luna park on it's birthday.

Balmoral Beach

       

Urban sketchers met at Balmoral Beach which is a Harbour beach on the north side.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, thirty degrees C, very summerish. 

There was no end of subjects for sketching.  Many of us did the rotunda above and the light was perfect for it.

I enjoyed sketching the older couple below who look like they spend quite a bit of time at the beach.