Public buildings in the city

                                         

A group of friends met this morning to sketch in the city.  We had planned on going to the Lloyd Rees drawing exhibition but only one of us actually went in.  The others were busy sketching!

Above is the Museum of Sydney which is a modern building built on the ruins of the first Goverment house.  The governor Arthur Phillips lived and worked at this site in 1788.

         

This is the Justice and Police museum, Phillip St frontage.  This museum was originally a police station built in 1890.

                                           

This is the side of the Justice and Police museum.

                                          

We then had lunch at Sydney Custom House, built in 1845.  This is the front door.  This building would overlook the Harbour if the train station had not been built in it's way in the 1950s.

A great day in town!

Australia Day in Annandale

                                     

I am lucky to have quite a few friends who, like me, are interested in sketching.  Today is Australia Day and  a handful of these friends got together to celebrate the day.  We gathered in Annandale, a lovely suburb in Sydney's inner west, had a BBQ and champagne and of course, sketched.  The scene above is an old Victorian pub which is now a cafe.  We sat across the street in the shade and talked to quite a few passerbys.

        

This Annandale community garden is well tended by a number of passionate gardeners and there were people coming and going all morning.  There were kookaburras laughing, cicadas buzzing and three tawny frogmouth owls sitting on a tree branch overhead.  Magic!  The building above is an old dairy and below is the back of the house on this public land.

                                      

Ephemeral City

                                       

Some sketchy friends and I went to Barangaroo Reserve in Sydney to see Olivier Grossetete's Ephemeral City, part of Sydney Festival.  The community participate to build a city out of cardboard and tape.  We arrived at 10 am but it wasn't open yet so drew the sketch above from behind the barrier.

We returned later to find the place buzzing.  There were people building bits and then the buildings would be lifted by others,  another level of cardboard slipped in from below and then taped in.  Slowly the buildings  grow from the bottom.  There were ropes making sure they didn't tumble.

There is a flying fox with people zipping around the building as well.  Lots of noise with tape being dispensed by the km, buildings being lifted with the site managers whistling and calling out commands and children making a lot of child sounds.  I should sleep well tonight!

                                           

                                              

The city will all come down on Tuesday, Australia Day.  The event is a great idea, lots of fun.

Newcastle Beaches

                                      

It was great spending the weekend in Newcastle.  Despite the bad weather we did plenty of sketching and enjoyed the beautiful coastline.

This is the central part of the Newcastle baths facade, above,  built in 1922.  It has a long semi circular facade with the ocean baths behind it.

         

The landform above is Strzelki lookout.  There is a walkway recently opened that you can see in the sketch.  It was a windy and a little rainy day and the seas were rough.

            

This is Nobby's Head and Nobby's beach.  There is a lighthouse on the headland and a number of buildings that you can rent for the weekend.  

I can't wait to return to this city, it's fantastic with so much to do and see.

Newcastle

  

                                  

I went to Newcastle with friends this weekend. Newcastle is a city about two and a half hours north of Sydney.  It is a beautiful place with plenty of heritage buildings and beautiful beaches and coastline.

The 1892 building above was built by one of the best architects of the 19 th century, German born Fredrick Menkens.  Baroque in style and built to be superior office accommodation and for wine auctions.  Menkens's own offices were in this building for many years.  We were invited to have a look inside when we were there and it was beautifully restored. It is now a wedding venue and wine bar.

                                      

This is Customs House built in the Italianate Renaissance Revival style by Nsw Colonial Architect James Barnett in 1877.  The side entrance is below.

                                        

We sketched this building in the pouring rain, luckily under an awning.

More on the blog mid week with Newcastle beaches.  A great weekend!

     

Back to Manly

 

                                     

Urban Sketchers met at Manly on Saturday.  Manly is a Harbourside suburb 17 km north of the Sydney business district. It is an interesting place partially due to it being located between the ocean and the harbour, you can enjoy both views.  We were on the harbour side and the above scene was drawn from the ferry terminal  looking across the bay.  The beach is to the scene's right. Those posts hold the shark net so swimmers can bathe without worry.

Sketch below is on the ferry terminal which looks like it has deco and mid century architectural influences.  The figures under the three umbrellas are Urban sketchers working away.

A great day!

          

Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour

   

                                    

I love these gardens in Darling Harbour and often bring overseas visitors here.  They were built in 1988 and designed by Sydney's Chinese sister city Guangzhou. The gardens are named the Garden of Friendship, symbolising the bond between China and Australia.

There are waterfalls, mountains, lakes and forests and they provide an opportunity to experience traditions of landscaping, garden design and architecture.

A person can rent beautiful Chinese costumes here and wander around looking very, very special.  Too much fun!

                                     

Day in the Rocks, Sydney

                                       

Sydney Urban sketchers went to the Rocks recently.  The Rocks is an area which was developed early in British settlement and is close to Sydney cove.  The building above is the Australian Steamship Navigation Company Building located on George st and Hickson Road.  It was designed by William Wardell in the Federation Anglo-Dutch style, completed in 1884.  This building was a warehouse which held goods which arrived in the Harbour until the custom duty was paid.

          

This is a quick sketch of a colonial building behind the Rocks in Millers Point.  It was called Millers Point because of the big windmill  which ground the flour for the settlement.

                                      

I sketched the side of this Millers Point building which curves around the land it was built on.

                                        

Back lane in the Rocks.

It was a great day with fellow Urban sketchers...and it was all day!