Occasionally Auckland Sketchbook escapes the city to somewhere interesting — and close. This time the sketchbook got a workout in The Bay of Islands . Only 3.5 hours by car and a world away from work. The sketch above was made in down-town Paihia, it doesn't look it, but it is literally behind the main street. The view is the back of an old homestead called Williams House . I was attracted by the orchard of very old fig trees on the left that had me imagining eating juicy ripe figs. Sadly they weren't in season but it must be a fun place at harvest time. Right over the other side of the bay you will find his falling down old house on Matauwhi Bay. For a while there the water had a turquoise glow until the sun went into hiding. This is Pompallier House and Clendon Cottage in Russell sketched with my back to the sea. I may have used a little too much artistic licence in moving them close enough together to fit on my page so don't look too closely. Anyway, I have sketched Po...
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| Day 3 workshop with a bunch of awesome artists |
This April I was in India as a guest of Urban sketchers Thrissur, as a workshop instructor, for the Thrissur Sketchgala. It has taken me a few months to filter through my sketches and photos to get a post together.
My plan to spend a few days on Kochi to acclimatise to the 40C+ temperatures paid off because, if anything, the Thrissur temperature was even hotter.
The event format was much like a full Urban Sketchers symposium: An evening opening ceremony followed by 3 days of morning workshops and afternoon talks and presentations in the afternoon. With casual drink and draws in the evenings.
Many had travelled from across India, a number from Goa and Pune. Other instructors included Reham Ali, Sanjeev Joshi, Ch'ng Kiah Kiean (KK) and Zainab Tambawalla.
There were lot's of highlights, but sticks in mind – watching Farah Irani drawing (pun intended) a massive enthusiastic crowd for her night sketching demonstration sketching the impressive Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours while hundreds of motorbikes and rickshaws rattled through and around the crowd.
Alvin Mark and Manish Pimpley also gave very entertaining talks and demonstrations.
The top picture is my last workshop, again at the Paramekkavu Bhagavathi temple. Attendees were again a very talented bunch! All artists in other mediums with their own style of sketching but trying out something different with opaque media in tinted sketchbooks.
For many, ‘urban sketching’ involves applying watercolour to white paper, so it took a moment for some to get their heads around my concept of ‘sketching backwards’. However most attendees are amazing artists in their own right and could quickly get into it.
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| Day 2 workshop |
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| Day 1 workshop in the Swaraj Round with a very red kiwi. 45C degrees will do that! |
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| My demo sketch of the Parremekkavu Bhagavati temple drawn in stages as students step through the process of sketching backwards |
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