The Plough Inn - South Bank Brisbane

Today was the last sketchout for the Brisbane USkers for 2015.  It was a super morning, and we also met up with Melbourne USker Alissa Duke and her mum for coffee.

I picked a hard angle today, but went with it, as nothing ventured nothing gained :-)

A4 Holcroft 225gsm sketchbook.
Lamy pen and black Noodlers ink.

The Plough Inn is one of Brisbanes oldest pubs. It is heritage listed and  was designed by Alexander Brown Wilson and built in 1885 by contractor Abraham James.  The hotel was constructed for  publican Daniel Costigan. It replaced a previous, less substantial structure on the site, which had functioned as the Plough Inn since 1864.  The hotel, prominently located in central Stanley Street, serviced the commercial heart of South Brisbane. Its proximity to the South Brisbane wharves ensured its popularity amongst those engaged in shipping interests.

Plough Inn is significant historically as a rare surviving remnant of the commercial and shipping heart of South Brisbane in the late 19th century.  There is also said to be two ghosts there.  One story involves a young girl trapped in the cellar during the great floods of 1893; the other the murdered wife of a 1920s publican, who wanders the hallways and the balcony where she met her end.

If you are down at South Bank do go and have a look, have a beer/coffee/meal, and check out the upper levels, they are fabulous!

The hotel doesn't open until 11.00am because it has no pokie license.  yay!  Just old fashioned pub charm!

School of Arts - Brisbane

Brisbane School of Arts is a heritage-listed school of arts at 166 Ann Street, Brisbane City, Australia. It was built from 1865 to 1985. It is also known Brisbane Servants Home, which was built in 1866 to house and train "young women of good character to work as servants." A former patron of this home was Lady Diamantina Bowen, wife of Queensland's first Governor. 

The home had closed in 1870, and it was purchased by the School of Arts in 1873 for £1,000. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

 Holcroft A4 225gsm sketchbook
2B mechanical graphite pencil
Lamy pen
Noodlers black ink

Anne Street Presbyterian Church.

 Standing on land purchased at auction in 1854 from the government of what was then New South Wales, the Ann Street Presbyterian Church has some claim to be considered the oldest surviving church building in continuous use in Queensland. Only the Mary McKillop Chapel in the grounds of St Stephen's Cathedral is known to be older.

Holcroft A4 225 gsm sketchbook - Lamy  and Jinhao fountain pens. Noodlers inks and Sequola Green and Black

Pencil sketching......

The Brisbane USkers met at King George Square for Tuesday mornings sketchout.  I chose to sketch inside the Albert Street Uniting church.

Holcroft A4 sketchbook and 2b mechanical pencil

Sketching in King George Square a a rainy Saturday

King George Square Christmas Tree (totally solar powered)
Holcroft A4 225 gsm Sketchbook. lamy pen and watercolours

 

 

Sketching at the Collectors Cafe - Museum and Sciencentre Brisbane........

......with the Brisbane USkers.
Fun morning, and I got to draw the Tower of Power for the 8th time.  :-)

I was standing on the top level of the Collectors cafe.  They have an outdoor setting up there.

These two sketches were done down on the river after lunch.  Four of us were sitting on the sidewalk behind the Qld State library.

Christmas Party Sketch and Lunch

The Brisbane Urban Sketchers had their Christmas lunch and Sketch today. We met at Parliament House, adjacent to the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens.  It was a super day, twenty sketchers sketching/lunching/gift giving..

Parliament House (part thereof) Brisbane Qld Australia
Holcroft A4 225gsm sketchpad
Bamboo dip pen and w&n black ink
Watercolours

Sitting in a bus stop - Sketching.......

A freind had a procedure today at the PA Hospital, and I went along for moral support.  For three hours though, I had to go find something to do.  Well that is easy. sketching eh.

I sat in a bus stop on Ipswich Road, because it was raining lightly.  I sketched this adorable house across the road.  230 Ipswich Road.

I used my small A5 travel sketchbook.  My travel palette and a Staedtler .03 black pen

This sketch was a challenge, there were buses pulling up every 10 minutes, and the traffic on Ipswich Road is horrendous.  It was fun though, and I whiled away 2 hours.

Sketching at the Ship Inn on the first Day of December

Gosh, where has the year gone?  December  already.  It was a hot but lovely down down on the river today.  We found cool spots to set up and sketch.  Me, I stayed at the meeting place for today, The Ship Inn.  There was a terrific breezeway I was sitting in.

Daler Rowney A4 sketch pad 300gsm cp
Lamy pen and watercolours

Sketching at the Brisbane Sailing Squadron

What a wonderful Saturday morning it was.  It was hot and humid, but the breeze down on the river was fabulous.  We sat on the boundary of the Brisbane Sailing Squadron and Vic Lucas park and sketched.  Super morning out for the Brisbane Urban Sketchers.  They are such a great bunch! :-)

Where we were sitting you can see across the river to  the grand old houses of Hamilton clinging to the hillside, (including the landmark gothic stone mansion that was built as a Bishopsbourne in the late 19th century) and glimpses of the city’s oldest house, Newstead House

Looking over at Newstead Park
Holcroft A4 225gsm Sketchbook
Lamy pen and Watercolours

Sketching in the Rain Forest Boardwalk at South Bank (Qld)

It was incredibly hot today, so after my warm-up sketch while waiting for the rest of the Brisbane USkers to arrive for our Tuesday Sketchout, I headed to the rain Forest Boardwalk, in the heart of South Bank near the Nepalese Peace Pagoda.

It was so cool in there and peaceful.  I could hear the water running over the rocks from the mini waterfall below where i was sketching.  I spent a wonderful two hours in there. 

Warm up sketch at the Nepalese Peace Pagoda.  Mont Marte Black paper A5 Sketchbook.  White Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen

Rain Forest Walk

A4 Holcroft 225 gsm Sketchbook.  Lamy pen and watercolours

Sketching from the Top of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs...........

It was hot, but there was a fabulous breeze up there.  We set up camp in The Cliffs Cafe and had a blast.  (Lovely staff up there)

I tried a new for me watercolour pad. A4  Daler Rowney 140lb cp  I am not sure if I like it ir not for watercolour.  It is very different from my beloved Holcroft sketchbook.  The paint lifts easily enough, but the washes are not that smooth.  I have two of these pads, so will continue using them,  Anyone got any suggestions?

Same Daler Rowney pad with a bamboo dip pen and w&n black ink.  I had a lot of fun doing this sketch.  This paper loves pen and ink.

Mont Marte Black Paper Sketch Pad A5.  White Signo Gel Pen.

Sketching the "TOWER of POWER" again. This building fascinates me.

This time, I was with the Brisbane Urban Sketchers at the Gallery of Modern Art -GOMA- I was sitting by the GOMA Cafe looking across the river..

Fabriano Venezia 9.5" x 6" sketchbook - Lamy pen, noodlers black ink, and watercolours.

Weekend sketching continues...

We were invited to set up at the ART HUB at the Bulimba Festival, with a few artworks for sale, our sketchbooks and advertising to promote ourselves.  It was  a fabulous morning.

We sketched.

In between chatting to people we got to sketch.

This one is unfinished as it was starting to rain so we packed up.

Both are done in my Holcroft A4 225gsm sketchbook pen and ink and watercolour.

Sketching in between rain showers

....more like in between storms.. 

Sketching with the Brisbane USkers at Bulimba.  The Bulimba Festival has been on all week and today was the Art-Walk.  It was wonderful seeing open studios of some of the most amazing local artists.  Very inspiring, despite the rain storm we had.  

After the Art-walk, we went to the Bulimba Golf Club for lunch, then straight across the road to the Brisbane Sailing Squadron to sketch.  We just beat the second major rain storm..

A4 Holcroft 225gsm sketchbook - Dip pen and w&n indian ink - Watercolours.

Sketching in Petrie Terrace Brisbane

Looking down across Roma Street Station and at the "Tower of Power" (Unfinished)
Fabriano Venezia 9'5" x 6" sketchbook Lamy pen and Noodlers ink.

DONDER.
Unknown tan paper pad from the Qld Art gallery- 8.5 x 6"
Pastel pencils

Meet Cirrus the Chook

Cirrus
Unknown tan paper pad from the Qld Art gallery- 8.5 x 6"  The paper is shiny smooth a real challenge with the pastel pencils..

Sketching in Highgate Hill Park - Brisbane

Glorious morning, very hot, around 32 at midday.  We were sketching at Highgate Hill Park.
This gracious pocket park on Highgate Hill’s highest ridge sits 62m above sea level, affording the most striking close-up views of Brisbane city.
Originally a wild reserve, it was taken over by the then South Brisbane Council in 1902 when a tram-line was run along nearby Gladstone Rd and subsequently the ornate white pavilion which still stands today was built for public shelter and entertainment.

 I sat in the lovely pavillion on a bench, and looked away from the city, to the houses behind me.  No 163  caught my eye.   Sketched in my Fabriano Venezia 9.5" sketchbook with my Lamy Safari pen and Noodlers black ink and  Watercolours.

Here is a view of the park

ZAP - The Rooster

ZAP the Rooster
Unknown paper - 8.5 x 6"
Pastel pencils

I am going to try and continue to sketch once a day...

November 1

Hyacinth.

Unknown paper - 8.5 x 6" (A friend and I bought a pad each at the art gallery some time ago)
Assorted no name coloured pencils, and a white Staedtler lumocolor permanent pencil.

Sketching at Dockside - Kangaroo Point. This area has a lot of history..

Before British settlement, Kangaroo Point was occupied by the Turrbal people.  It is one of the earliest suburbs settled in Brisbane and subsequently, is one of Brisbane's oldest suburbs, rich in history and character. It had a reputation for violent and rowdy street gangs around the 1900s, with a number of street riots, even a murder. (Read the Mayne Inheritance)

First stop was the Holman Street ferry to wait for the group to arrive.  It was a beautiful day.

The Holman Street Ferry Terminal was built prior to 1919 for the City of Brisbane, then responsible for the servicing of ferry routes across the Brisbane River.  

Sketched in my A5 Mont Marte black paper sketchpad, and Uniball Signo white gel pen.

During Brisbane's convict era stone was quarried at Kangaroo Point for building works in the town across the river. By 1837 parts of Kangaroo Point were being farmed.  
In 1844 the first of several public houses in Kangaroo Point, the Bush Inn, was licensed.
By the late 1850s it is estimated that Kangaroo Point had about 80 houses, a wharf, a ferry service to north Brisbane, a bone shed, the remains of a derelict boiling-down works dating from the 1840s, a sawmill, a brick-works, and a postal receiving box. The industrial potential of Kangaroo Point, particularly along its shoreline, was becoming evident, and all the land had been sold by 1854.

The group arrived and we walked down to the River Walk.  The Jacarandas are magnificent right now.  

Holcroft 225gsm Premium Sketch & Draw Diary - dip pen and w&n ink - watercolours

Fabriano Venezia 200gsm 9.5" x 5" sketchbook. Lamy pen - Noodlers ink - Watercolours

 

 Fabriano venezia 200gsm Sketchbook and lamy pen. Noodlers Black ink

 Main Street ran from the tip of Kangaroo Point southward to the Woolloongabba Five Ways. It was flanked by sawmills, tradespeople, cottages, a few larger houses, the Kangaroo Point and Pineapple Hotels, an immigration depot at Wharf Street, the primary school and St Mary's church. Slipways and engineering works were large employers.