Emu

 My final painting for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge is of an emu that I took when I was in Australia. They are such interesting looking birds.

Sunset

 This was done for the 30 x 30 Direct Watercolor Challenge. I used a photo I had taken when I was in Australia for my niece's wedding a few years ago. Pump Hill Farms in Pemberton had some really great sunrises and sunsets!

Pump Hill Farm Character

This was done from an iPad photo I took in Australia at Pump Hill Farm where we stayed for my niece's wedding. There were all sorts of animals roaming around including this duck. They acted like they owned the place. lol This is another art postcard for the project I am taking part in.

Sunset at the Farm

Another art postcard done from my many, many sunset photos taken in Australia.

An update on Jerry...he should finally be moved to a regular room at the hospital. He is doing better and is off most of the monitors and back on regular oxygen. It is good to see him moving in the right direction.

Emu 2

I really liked sketching the previous emu, so I looked for another reference photo from my Australia trip. This will join my collection of art postcards for the troops.

Morning Sun

This was also done from a photo taken in Australia, near Margaret River, a wine producing area. It is another art postcard for the project.

Emu

This sketch was done from one of my photos that I took when I was in Australia. I love the emus. They are such quirky looking animals with so much character. This will also be heading to the troops. I like it so much I may do a few more...and maybe a larger one too.

Quick update, Jerry is back in the hospital...pneumonia. It was a long, stressful day. 

Bubble Man

On Saturday I took a workshop from another urban sketcher at Columbus Circle. I haven't finished the piece of artwork from the workshop, so I will post that at another time. In the afternoon I met up with the rest of the NYC Urban Sketchers near the model boat basin in Central Park. Since I had been there over Labor Day Weekend, I focused on an entertaining scene of the bubble man busy at work. I'm lucky I can blow tiny bubbles. These huge ones always amaze me. He even blew bubbles inside bubbles.

Last week I had seen a post on the  Urban Sketchers Perth Facebook page by someone from Perth who was visiting NY and posted a photo from Brooklyn. I invited her to join our group if she was free on Saturday, telling her where the group would be but that I was taking a workshop in the morning but would be sketching with the group in the afternoon. I also said how I had enjoyed meeting some of the members of the Perth group when I was in Australia. So when I found the group in the afternoon I asked if anyone from Australia had met up with them. Jacqui had found them and sketched with them in the morning. She went off to sketch a bit away from the group in the afternoon but promised to come back for our "show and tell" at the end of the day. Here is Jacqui Masters sharing one of her sketches of a lamppost from Central Park. She was really sweet and so thankful that I had contacted her and let her know we would be sketching. 

We also had another visitor. Debo was in NYC from near Savannah, Georgia for a doctor's appointment for her husband. She has visited before but this was the first time I met her.

One of the nice things about the Urban Sketchers is meeting people from other places and having a common interest. You can meet great people that way!

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.

Landscape ATCs

I've mentioned before that I'm participating in an ATC (2.5 x 3.5) landscape exchange on Wet Canvas. 

Here are a few more that have been received.

This is "Beach View III" which was sent to Margarite in Washington.

This one is "Beach View IV" done for Nancy in New Jersey.

Next is "Ireland I" for Sue in Queensland, Australia.

Here is "Marsh View I" for Val in South Australia.