Wareamah

cockatoo island

Spent a lovely day on the largest island in Sydney Harbour with Liz and Chantal, sketching and chatting up a storm.

Cockatoo Island/Wareamah has rich history, cultural significance, and expansive views of the Sydney’s iconic harbour. It served as a penal colony starting in 1839, housing convicts who worked on constructing the island’s facilities, including silos and dockyards. From the late 19th to the 20th century, the island was one of Australia’s largest shipyards. It played a significant role during both World Wars, where naval vessels were constructed and maintained. The shipyards eventually closed in 1992, but the island has since been revitalised as a public space. Definitely worth a visit—I hope to return another time.

palette

I’ve done all of Liz Steel’s Sketching Now courses, some of them multiple times. But I get the most out of them when I do the group run-throughs. Liz is so generous with her time, and provides new content, examples, and reviews with each weekly Livestream. Her latest Watercolour group run-through started yesterday, and in its honour I assembled a new, reduced palette for working on the exercises.

in the garden

In Liz Steel’s Sketchbook Design class, she shows how, even if you don’t particularly like your first sketch, you can rescue the spread by adding another one, and/or other design elements. I’m not going to win any awards with this spread, but it’s somewhat improved from where it was an hour earlier.