Urban Sketchers Sydney – Cockatoo Island

Today was an Urban Sketchers Sydney event. We went back to Cockatoo Island , n Sydney Harbour, as the last time it was cold and rainy. Today had beautiful blue skies throughout the morning. There were about 20 sketchers. We all went off in our different  directions alone or in groups and met up at lunch time to show and discuss our drawings and paintings. There are so many styles and mediums and it is such an motivation and inspiration to be involved in days like today. Sketching can be as sociable or solitary as you wish. Most of my friends in Sydney are sketchers.

 
 
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But first I sketched a boat at the ferry terminal as I had arrived early (on purpose – to sketch a boat or scene)

 Once on the island it was hard to know where to begin. This is the usual problem at Cockatoo Island as there is so much to see.  I had decided to sketch in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook (13 x 20 cm) as I just did not feel  like drawing  “big” today.

 
The old industrial cranes and the sandstone cliffs of the island have such wonderful colours – stains of age and time. I have become familiar with the colours of my watercolour pencils and the marks they make on the paper and the way their colours change when a little or a lot of water is added. These two drawings are a combination of :
pencil directly on the page, with water added after
colour off the tip of the pencil added with the water
pecil only on the page – great for fine lines and details
 
They were all sketched in ink first .

The colours I used for rust and stains are :

Faber Castell
Light Yellow Ochre
Burnet Ochre (turns very orange when water added)
Burnt Umbre
Cool Grey IV