John Brack-Racecourse series

      

Steeplechase, 1956, watercolour, pen and ink

John Brack is a favourite Australian artist of mine. He was born in 1920 in Melbourne and died in 1999.  In the 1950's and 60's he often drew and painted life around him, his family, the city and his friends.  

The Racecourse series was done in 1956 and contains about twenty five drawings, watercolours and etchings. It documents a day in the life at the track.  

It doesn't seem to be a happy, fun filled day at the racetrack though.  The owners, trainers and book makers seem rather menacing. Everybody's faces are lined and serious.

They drawings all tell a story and a person could elaborate greatly to what is first seen.  I love the sketchiness of the work.

When this series was exhibited in 1956 a good number sold which allowed Brack to afford to pay a model and did a number of figure paintings after this.

       

Weighing 1956, watercolour, pen and ink

        

The Falling jockey, 1956, watercolour, pen and ink

                                              The Stipendiary Stewart's 1956

    

The Conference 1956, watercolour, pen and ink

        

         

Spectators, 1956 dry point

                                 

The Bookmaker, 1956, watercolour, pen and ink

   

  

     

  

China Town Sydney

  

                                 

Urban Sketchers met at China Town in Sydney this morning.  This is one of the gates to Dixon st where there are many Chinese restaurants and shops.  The sign at the top has an English sign and a Chinese one.  The English one says "Within the four seas all men are equal".  A Chinese man asked me if I would like him to write the Chinese letters on the lower sign. He very kindly did so.

                                

This restaurant is called the Live Crafts Centre Tea house.  We got there early and the doors were closed.  Before finishing there were tables, plants and signs between the building and myself.  Managed to finish though.

                                

This is Masterken's Seafood restaurant.  There are big aquarium windows with huge fish, crabs and lobsters on each side of the front door.

It was a big day in China Town including a yummy lunch of dumplings and noodles with other sketchers.

  

    

Pitt St Mall

   

                                             

There is a wonderful light show in Sydney right now called Vivid. Google Vivid Sydney to have a look.

I was meeting a friend to see Vivid  one night last week and had some time to sketch before hand.  I sat on the ground to sketch this 1903 building in the Pitt St Mall.  

Pitt st is a shopping precinct  downtown and this building's facade is one of many with a shopping centre and eateries inside.  

Marrickville Fire Station

          

Marrickville Firestation was open today to the public.  The fireman were available to talk to people about fire safety at home and kids and adults could sit in the trucks.  This building turned 100 last year and it is still in fine form.  This building sits beside Marrickville Town Hall on Marrickville road.

Before coming to the fire station a friend and I went to Bourke st Bakery for a coffee and cake.  Here are folk waiting for their coffees.  Bread in the background.

Every day in May sketches

  

       

The Every day in May sketching project continues for a little while longer.  We have been given the daily themes and sometimes they seem a bit ordinary.  I thought the sketch above was kinda nice even though the topic isn't that interesting-m for measuring cup. The cups are Nigella ones and the fabric below is a vintage tea towel.

       

M for metal anything.

                              

M for Muppet is a topic I would have never chosen.  This guy was fun to sketch though.

 M for mountain.  These are the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains in NSW.

 This is m for matches.  These matches are actually stick pins.  The Australian artist Brett Whiteley made huge sculptures of these originally.  These were sold at an exhibition of Brett Whiteley at the Art Gallery of NSW years ago.  The woman I bought them from went to this exhibition and wanted her boyfriend to buy a painting.  She was disappointed when he bought these stick pins for her.

The month of m sketches continues.....

   

Enmore theatre

      

The Enmore theatre is a favourite for Sydneysiders as a venue for  a wide variety of performers from the Rollingstones to the local ballet school.  The big names like it because it is an intimate space and the local performers like it because it is well... local.

This theatre is the longest running live music venue still operational in New South Wales.  It was built in 1908 but had a big renovation in 1920 and this palladium Art Deco style is what still appears today.  The building has evolved over the past hundred years and this results in an architectural fabric which includes elements of art nouveau, Edwardian, Art moderne and various Art Deco styles.  It is classified by the National Trust and is listed in the Historic Building register of the Australian Institute of architects.

This place brings back fond memories for me of attending many years of my daughter's ballet concerts at the Enmore theatre.  Good times.

Every day in May sketching-part two

    

                                       

The project sketching every day in May continues.  I haven't been as good as others and have not done the M sketch each day but most.  The above sketch is M for Monet.

                                     

M is for magpie.  The magpie is a beautiful bird with a great call.  They are good mothers and want to protect their young so attack people riding or walking in their nest area.  It's scary.

                         

m is for metacarpal. I used watercolour pencils which was okay until I added water, then it turned rather bright.

         

         

M is for marble.  These marbles are hand made so not perfectly round.  This is a solitaire game aiming to have as few marbles as possible left at the end.

Hmmm, I may have a game now....