Thursday, May 28, 2015

Urban Sketching Brisbane River and other Urban Landscapes

I have really been getting into the swing of sketching en plein air. I am finding it really suits my temperament to get out amongst it. I also enjoy experimenting with different media. At the moment I am particularly enjoying Black Ink applied with various tools, most recently with some bamboo twigs I found on one of my walks. I have also variously used a dip pen, brushes, and an ordinary felt tip pen.

Here are the results.

Robyn Bauer Urban Sketch of Paddington Brisbane

This is view down the street from where I live. Given Terrace Paddington looking towards Brisbane city.


Robyn Bauer Urban Sketch of Paddington Brisbane

It was rainy on this particular day so this is the exact view from my back deck over the rooftops. The church is Sacred Heart Rosalie and that is Toowong Tower in the centre.





This was the following day , rainy again. Although this shows part of the studio window and deck railings outside.
As you can see I am using different strengths of ink, some quite watery. The paper is only 135 gsm but after it dries if I put a heavy book on it it flattens out enough. I really like a flat paper look, not keen on the bobbles of watercolour paper. It looks too mechanical and contrived for me.



I did this one of the Museum on the group Urban Sketchers day. Again it was raining so we mostly worked inside. Lots of parents with kids around as it was a Saturday. I enjoyed the interaction with people watching me work. I could tell with a lot of the kids that they had never seen an artist actually working like that.


Robyn Bauer Urban sketch of Ipswich

This is a drawing I did while working on a commission painting of Ipswich.



This sketch was to accompany another commission. I was up on the overpass near Suncorp Stadium looking over Hale Street.



Another Urban Sketchers Group day. We were in Captain Burke Park under the Story Bridge. All Hallows School is on the left. That is Robert, one of the group working on the seat at right.



Another local scene. I was sitting in Princess Street Paddington just near Given Terrace, outside Ray White real estate office, looking up to St Bridget's church.




Looking down Ellena Street from Latrobe Terrace Paddington.





Looking across the Brisbane River towards Fig Tree Pocket from just near the Centenary Bridge.



This last one was just done this morning. I drove over to West End and sat looking across the river toward Coronation Drive. The trees are all mangroves with the little aerial roots coming out of the mud.