Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Travels with a Sketchbook in Australia


Two views from Circular Quay
- Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Ferries (pencil, 8" x 11")
- Sydney Opera House from Wolfie's (coloured pencils, 8" x 11")
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

My sister Helen lives in Australia and in 1997 I visited her and her husband Phil and my 'soon to be three' niece Kate in Sydney, the largest city in Australia and the capital of New South Wales.

Making a record of my Australia Sketchbook will remind me about all the wonderful and different aspects of Australia. It'll also probably provide an incentive to visit them again soon - before my nieces grow up and are old enough to start travelling independently to 'do Europe' and visit their aged auntie in the UK!

This then is the start of my record of my last trip and the sketchbook I kept at the time - with a few photos as well. Well actually I've got more than a few photos but this is supposed to be a sketchbook blog!

I kept a brief note of what happened in my sketchbook and this series of Australia Sketchbook blog posts will include some or all of the following:
  • 4th April 1997 - arrival to wonderful early Autumn sunshine in Sydney and fish and chips at Balmoral Beach
  • 5th April 1997 - Royal Easter Show, Sydney (photos only)
  • 6th April 1997 - a trip out to visit part of my BIL's family in Empire Bay and the tropical rainforest in the back garden (photos only)
Empire Bay - the rain forest in the back garden
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
Sydney Back Garden
pastel, 19.5" x 25.5"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
  • 9th April 1997 - jet lag kicked in and after rest in the morning I drew my sister's back garden.
  • 10th April 1997 - sketching in the Queen Victoria building (which was described by Pierre Cardin as the most beuatiful shopping complex in the world), lunch at Wolfie's overlooking the harbour at Circular Quay and then drawing Sydney Opera House in the afternoon (photos and 3 sketches)
  • 11-15th April 1997 - a trip with my sister and her family to stay at Bluey's Beach via the Hunter Valley (home of Tyrrell's Wines and a lot of other famous vineyards!) and lunch at the Rothbury Estate (quite a few sketches and photos)
  • 16th April 1997 - a trip across the harbour on one of the Sydney Harbour ferries to Taronga Zoo with my "very soon to be 3" year old niece followed by a meal in the evening at the Rockpool - yum yum! (photos only)
The view of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House from Mrs Macquairie's Chair in the Royal Botanic Gardens
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I've got a page in the Travels with my Sketchbook part of my website for the Australian trip which has some of the Australia sketches from that trip.

As before with my trips to the southwestern states of the USA, New England and Venice, I'll be providing additional information about the places and links to associated sites for those who want to explore further. You'll notice I've already started to collect them..... ;)

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Henry Moore in Kew Gardens

The Palm House on an Autumn afternoon
11" x 16", pencil and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

...otherwise known as monumental sculpture in a world heritage setting!

At the end of October last year, we visited Kew Gardens on a sunny afternoon in order to get a lot of a fresh air, see the trees on the turn, walk a lot, sketch a bit and view some of the very many works by Henry Moore which are currently dotted around the Gardens until the end of March. You can see images of all the works on the Henry Moore Foundation website
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is hosting a landmark exhibition of monumental works by Henry Moore. 28 large-scale bronzes have been exhibited throughout Kew’s unique 300 acre World Heritage Site. There have been previous exhibitions of Moore’s work in the capital but never on such a scale and in a landscape setting and the exhibition will include some pieces that have never been seen in London......
Each site at Kew has been specifically selected to ensure maximum impact complementing and enhancing the 300 year old gardens. The selection includes Moore’s familiar figurative themes, as well as more rugged powerful works that hold their own alongside the historic buildings, exceptional landscapes and vistas at Kew.
Henry Moore Foundation
The sketch at the top is of the Palm House from the seat outside the Lily House. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon and the low sunlight was producing a very weird orange sheen on the glass.

I think we ended up walking round most of the Henry Moore sculpture trail before getting to a bit of a garden where we don't often stray - and where I found a big surprise - which is the subject of today's post on Making A Mark!

I'm amazed that Kew Gardens hasn't been used before for major sculpture shows - the works by Moore work terribly well in the gardens. Here are some of my photos of them



‘Landscape has been for me one of the sources of my energy… I find that all natural forms are a source of unending interest – tree trunks… the texture and variety of grasses… The whole of Nature is an endless demonstration of shape and form.' (Henry Moore; Energy in Space, 1973)
There are still some creative workshops taking place - including a wood carving one which starts tomorrow and a drawing one in March - Drawing Inspired by Nature.

You can also see how other people - including ordinary members of the public - have interpreted the exhibition in the Photo showcase site - the images displayed change each week and you can see all the photo showcase entries on Flickr.

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Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Walbrook Wharf and Southwark Bridge

Barges at Walbrook Wharf and Southwark Bridge from the Thames Path
pencils and coloured pencil in Moleskine, 8" x 10"
all images and text copyright Katherine Tyrrell

This is almost a nocturne. At the end of November, after visiting the Lynn Painter-Stainers Exhibition at Painters Hall, I walked down to the River Thames and sketched barges at Walbrook Wharf, with Southwark Bridge and the sun setting behind them.

Walbrook Wharf sits inbetween Cannon Street Station and Southwark Bridge (see map). This is where a lot of London's rubbish comes to be packed into containers and sent down the river on barges to landfill sites. The barges are enourmous robust affairs stacked with rust coloured metal containers.

I was sketching at what must have been close to high tide and I do remember trying to work out at one point whether or not the path I was standing on was above or below the high water mark.

I do know the strength of the River Thames is very apparent when standing that close. I was protected by a wall and was looking through an arch which I think is the one you can see at the base of the building with the turquoise blue windows.

You need to imagine the sounds which accompanied the making of these sketches. Water from a tidal river with a strong current is ebbing and flowing - slapping in a rhythmic fashion against the sides of the barges. Every so often it's stirred up as the wash left by a passing Thames Tugboat or a Thames Clipper reaches the sides and crashes very noisily against the sides of the barges and the embankment - just beneath my feet!

Sketching in half light is a challenge. As the sun set I had to switch to just pencil (with an overlay of colour added later).

When this happens I always focus on working out what sort of composition would work best in terms of what I can actually see.

I walked west as I left and saw the stone frieze in the underpass. This depicts scenes from the history of the area around Southwark Bridge. I'd never heard of it before - but it was fascinating and well worth a look if you are in the area.
Southwark Bridge was first built in 1819. The original design with 3 arches was made from cast iron and had a central span of 73 metres – the largest ever made from this material. The present bridge was completed in 1921. There is a stone frieze in the underpass showing scenes from Southwark’s past including Elizabethan theatres, fairs and the printing industry.
London Borough of Southwark - Historic Architecture

Note:
Weather in January and February isn't kind to my mobility and I'm not getting out a lot at the moment. I'm going to take the opportunity during February to post some sketches which didn't get posted when done last year plus I intend to revisit sketches from some overseas trips from the past - starting with Australia.

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