Susan's Garden & a Watercolor Challenge

I am planning on doing the challenge posted by Marc Taro Holmes for #30x30DirectWatercolor2018. Here is a link to the original post about it, but if you go to his blog, you can find all kinds of posts about it, lessons to help with the challenge, and interviews with some artists participating. As of this morning there were 1520 people that had joined up to do the challenge on Facebook. Basically we will be doing 30 watercolor paintings in June without drawing any pencil lines first. You know how I like a challenge. lol So I practiced on the two paintings posted here...both are done directly with watercolor. I don't know if I will do something as complicated as these for the challenge, but we will see.

My friend, Susan who lives in East Patchogue emailed me the other day with a photo of her poppies and the words, "They're blooming!" So on Monday after the Memorial Day Ceremony I headed over to her garden to paint the poppies. Another friend of ours joined us, but Susan had work she had to do so she couldn't stop and paint. She said the next time we come to paint in the garden she will be charging us and we will have to do some weeding for her as payment. lol Both of these are 5 x 7.

Of course when I finished the poppies, the irises were calling my name so I did them too.

Hecksher Park

Last week was busy for me. On Thursday a friend texted me and asked if I was interested in going out painting with her. I was still tired but you know me...no slowing down. We met midway between her house and my house in Huntington at Hecksher Park. This building is the administrative offices for the Hecksher Museum. It's pretty enough that I would want to live there.

St Francis De Sales

Of course I was exhausted when we got home last Tuesday at 10:30 PM. I went straight to bed and slept until only 5 AM. I was really dragging all day but I didn't want to nap and then not be able to sleep at night. My Wednesday sketch group was meeting in Patchogue and I joined them, even though I was really tired. The group will be doing a show sometime this year and we were asked to get sketches ready to be juried into the  show. So we are concentrating on Patchogue scenes. The group met on South Ocean Ave by the VFW Hall was where I sketched for the Memorial Day Ceremony yesterday. I didn't want to do that building. I was attracted to this building which is the Parish Center for St Francis De Sales Church. It is a complicated building so I was only able to do the ink sketch of it that night.

But I did go back over the weekend when the sun was out because I wanted to paint it with shadows on the building. Here it is as it stands now. I may tweek it a bit more.

Memorial Day Ceremony

Today is Memorial Day so I went to Patchogue for their annual Memorial Day Ceremony and parade. The parade goes by too quickly but the stand was set up ahead of time. I met a friend there who planned to sketch too, but she ended up too busy taking photos and socializing to get any sketching done. I started sketching as soon as I got there doing the platform first. The master of ceremonies was up there making announcements and then introducing the participants in the parade and the people on the stage with him. Someone on FB said the crowd looks very small. The funny thing was that most of the ceremony was taking place behind us, so most of the people were standing behind us too. The wreaths were placed, the restored cannons were rededicated, a tree was dedicated...quite a bit going on there, but I was committed to doing the view ahead of me. I did get most of the people on the stage into the sketch, and the master of ceremonies for the event was someone I know who is a new leader of his VFW post so he was thrilled to see that I sketched him at the podium.

I was captured sketching.

Here is a photo of me and Dave Rogers with the sketch. 

Photo by Pat Sweeney

Last Day in Perth - Part 2

We headed for the Perth Airport for our flight home. Our first stop was back at Sydney Airport. I had some time to do a few airport sketches while we waited to board our flight back to LAX. Our flight home took about 25 hours...much too long even if I had time to sketch. I don't sleep on airplanes so on the way home I probably saw about 8 movies.

There is usually time for a sketch on the airplane too. This wasn't done on the way home, but during the flight from Sydney to Perth. I forgot to post it earlier because it was in a different sketchbook.

With these sketches my trip to Australia comes to an end. It was a great trip with lots of time for sketching.

Last Day in Perth - Part I

Our vacation was finally coming to an end. Our first flight wasn't until 11:55 PM and we had arranged for a late checkout from our Perth apartment. That meant I really had almost a full day of sketch time. I planned to make the most of it.

I started with a sketch of this building in the Cultural Arts Center area.

Then I headed into the Art Gallery of Western Australia. They had a wonderful exhibit of aboriginal art. These were a few of my favorite pieces.

"The Protest" by Julie Dowling

"Wanampi Tjukurpa" by Tiger Palpate is based on an aboriginal tale about creation.

"Tree of Life" by John Coburn

Next I sketched in Yagan Square. The 9 metre high (29 1/2 ft) sculpture called Wirin, the Noongar word for spirit by Yjyllyungoo/Lance Chad dominates the Square.

After lunch at my favorite dim sum place in Old Shanghai I went out a different exit and found this wonderful structure.

Then it was back to the apartment to pack up, go to dinner, and then head to the airport...stay tuned.

Meeting the Perth Urban Sketchers

The last full day that we were in Perth I went to Scarborough Beach to meet the Perth Urban Sketchers. I was in touch with Aggie Lim before I left the states and she told me where and when their group would be meeting. Again, the beach was a busride away, but since I had figured out the way to the other beach I figured I could do this one too. Their sketch group only meets once a month, unlike the NYC group which meets twice a week. They were doing their sketching around the Scarborough Beach Pavillion which included a pool, an ampitheatre, a skateboard park, a rock climbing wall, kiosks, and lots more. There was something for everyone.

I headed over to sketch this kiosk that was over looking the beach, called the C Breeze Kiosk...clever name isn't it? I couldn't fit it all on one page, so I extended it a bit onto the other side.

Next I sketched the lifeguard's overlook. There was also a lifeguard chair on the beach but I didn't get to sketch that.

The group met back at the amphitheater at 11:30 to share their sketches in a throw down.

And of course, we posed for a photo of the whole group.

It is always fun sharing sketches with other sketchers...and these people were so nice.

Aggie took a photo of me painting down by the beach.

The group dispersed but I figured since I would stay a while. I headed over to Peter's by the Sea for lunch and when I finished I sketched the view from my table. I loved the surf mural that was part of their sign.

It was a really nice day, made special by meeting the other sketchers.

Cottesloe Beach, Perth

Perth is know for their beaches so I made sure to check some of them out. I headed to Cottesloe Beach one afternoon. I ventured out there on the bus...and didn't get lost. It was a pretty beach with water that was a beautiful bluish turquoise. Although it is fall in Australia now there were people at the beach swimming in the water. I made sure I got to put my feet into the Indian Ocean while I was there...another first for me. I like the rocky coast along the shore.

Home At Last - Garden Sketch, Perth

After 25+ hours of traveling from Peth we arrived home at about 10:40 pm NY time last night. We did the entire trip...Peth to Sydney, Sydney to LA, LA to NY in one continuous stretch. I do not sleep sitting upright for more than a few minutes so I was a bit like a zombie when we got here. I went straight to bed. It would have been nice to sleep and sleep. I didn't set my alarm hoping to sleep late, but I only slept about 7 hrs and was up by 6 this morning and went to meet my friends for a walk. We will see how tired I am by mid afternoon.

My thanks to all of you who followed my sketching adventures while I was gone. I do have a bit more to post from the trip so bear with me. It is so nice to be back using my laptop for posting rather than my iPad. I can't complain because I was able to post most days, but it took so much longer than usual and many times the posts just disappeared and I would have to start all over. I was able to visit some blogs while I was away and if I haven't been to yours in a while I will catch up to you soon.

This sketch was done in Perth's Elizabeth Quay area. There is a lovely park and in one direction you have a view of the tower which I posted a while back. In the other direction is the Supreme Court Gardens which I sketched this time. The entire time I sat there the bells from the tower were ringing. Luckily it was far enough that they weren't too loud and distracting.

Kings Park Botanic Gardens

Kings Park has a nice Botanic garden however since it is fall here there is not much flowering. Instead I looked for a bit of the unusual. One sketch is of part of a Gondjandjal tree. It was really an interesting species. Then I found this huge baobab tree. Apparently it was given to the park as a gift by the aboriginal people. The tree was in a location where a highway was going to be built. This tree which weighed 72 tinned was moved over 200 miles. It is the largest tree in Australia to ever be moved.

Perth from Kings Park

Perth has a lovely, big park called Kings Park. At one end is a very steep climb that really fit people use for training. I knew I didn’t wanly to enter the park that way...so I googled the route from our apartment. Little did I know that it would take me up a set of stone stairs that would nearly kill me. Lol About halfway up a man offered to carry my backpack the rest of the way up. I told him it wasn’t my backpack that was the problem, it was my legs. If there wasn’t another way to exit the park I was in trouble. Anyway there was another way out and I took the bus. I think if I had googled public transportation it would have taken me in on this route. When I got to the top I sketched one of the many views looking back at the city.

Old Shanghai

The last few days I have had dim sum at a stand in Old Shanghai, a food court in Oerth. The food is delicious and I don’t have anyplace home that I can get it this easily.

London Court, Perth

All the family is gone and we are here in Perth by ourselves. We are in a nice apartment a but if a walk from mist things, but I don’t mind. Perth’s buses inside the central zone are all free which is nice when you want to get back after walking all day. My hubby who is not a sight-seer actually apcam our walking a bud with me this morning to see where he could go for lunch and still find his way home. We passes London Court whic seemed so Britis and timely for the royal wedding...of course I stopped and sketched it and later did some shopping there. The have nice pedestrian mall to walk aroun free from traffic.

I ask sketched a very strange gepreen sculpture in one of the plazas.

Wine Tasting

The Margaret River area must have about 100 wineries. After lunch in town and a bit of shopping we stopped at two different wineries. The first was a small winery and we sampled what they had. The billing was rustic and the hostess pouring was nice. Then we went to the Carpe Diem Vineyard which dies their tastings right by the tanks of wine. I sampled all the wines at the first winery, buy I am not a red wine person so when we went to the second winery I only tasted the whites and then sketched while everyone else except my BIL (designated driver) sampled about a dozen reds. My niece figured they had about 3-4 glasses of wine. I’m glad I sketched instead. Lol

Burton Farmhouse View

After we left Pump Hill Farm the newlyweds, my sister, her husband, their one son, Jerry and I traveled to  Margaret River a noted wine area about 3 hours away. We stayed in the Burton Farmhouse, a six bedroom home with these views.

Puml Hill Farm Sunday

We haven’t had internet the past few days. This is not like the city. This is the cottage we stayed in at Pump Hill Farm. I think there were 15 cottages in all and each was different. We had an old one but the view of the valley was wonderful. Sunsets were great.

Pump Hill Farm Saturday

Yesterday was the wedding day. I went out in the morning to sketch the location of the ceremony. I sketched out the tree and the barn structure  painted the sky and the barn. I left most of the bottom empty because I was sure where the figures would go until after the ceremony. No photos were allowed during the ceremony and we were asked not to post on social media...but I know you won’t tell. I took photos after the ceremony and then added Kathleen and Fionn this morning. I finished the rest of the painting then too so I could give this to them today. They loved it. Kathleen said her friends kept telling her I was painting all over the farm and they hoped I was getting a painting.

At the bottom is a photo of gorgeous Kathleen and handsome Fionn.

Pump Hill Farm Friday

Weddjng preparations are underway. The tent for the reception is up and the tables art arranged. I think all the guests have arrived. Last night Kathleen and Fionn hosted a big bbq dinner for everyone.

I did get out to sketch in the morning finishing my page of animal sketches as well as one of the “homestead” where Kathleen, Fionn and two other couples are staying.

Sorry I haven’t checked blogs much lately. The internet is slow here especially with my blog for some reason. If you are on FB I have been trying to catch you there since that works so much easier.

Pump Hill Farm Thursday

This morning was a bit cold and we had a bit of trouble getting our wood stove to stay lit for heat. We are city people...what do we know? Lol so I started the morning with a little sketch of the view out the window. When it warmed up a bit I went up to the gay shed and sketched that and one of the donkeys.

Pemberton Day 1w

We drove from Fremantle to Pump Hill Farm in Pemberton. It was a long ride so I sketched my view from the rear seat of the 7 seater my my sister rented. I didn’t take a photo of just the sketch. The sketchbook is back in our cabin and the internet doesn’t reach that far. The car was crowded with people and luggage. At the bottom is the view from our cabin.

Caversham Wildlife Park Photos Part 2

There we’re so many wonderful Australian animals but the koalas and the kangaroos were my favorites. I did stop and do a quick sketch of a kangaroo.

We are heading to Pemberton tomorrow for Kathkeen and Fionn’s wedding. I am not sure the cottages we are staying in have internet service or not. Will post if I can.