On Sunday I joined fellow Urban Sketchers
from Brisbane on a sketch crawl. We met at the Woolloongabba Antique Centre & Cafe. It is an Aladdin's cave of wonderful antiques and
collectibles.
There were so many things just begging to
be sketched it was hard to choose. The Barber Shop was wonderful. The colourful
decor coupled with a comfortable seat made it a perfect sketching spot. One of
the barbers was happy to pose for us. I didn't do him justice but we had a good
time.
After spending an hour or so drawing inside,
we walked up the road and spent some time in the pedestrian precinct near The
Gabba Stadium. I loved the corner building housing Absolutely Fabulous - it's famous for gifts.
Absolutely Fabulous - water soluble ink & watercolour ©2014 Carol Lee Beckx
In spite of packing carefully, I managed
to forget two important pieces of sketching equipment - my favourite Lamy
Safari and my little bottle of water for painting. Sketchers are a resourceful
lot so I used a water soluble Pilot pen and a black ball point pen. The Pilot
was quite good used with some watercolours and a water brush, although I do
prefer using my travel sable brush.
The old Moreton Rubber Building has been
around since 1890. My recent sketch of the Bonded Stores in Margaret Street has
spurred my interest in old buildings. This article from 2008 in the Courier
Mail tells the story of this building.
Moreton Rubber Building, Logan Road Brisbane ink, gouache and watercolour
©2014 Carol Lee Beckx
A page pre-prepared with grey gesso that
echoed the aged building seemed to be the right choice. However, there are drawbacks to using
gesso. A good pen can be ruined by the rough surface and both the Pilot and
the ballpoint weren't tough enough for the job. A traditional nib pen would
most likely be best for this surface. On my return home, I added gouache and
more pen lines with a fine liner. The toned paper is enjoyable to work on but I
think in future I will keep to a watercolour wash or invest in some proper
toned paper. My plan is to return to this grand old building to do another painting.
I had left my car near the Antique Centre
so after lunch I returned and completed a couple more drawings inside. For
these I used the Bic ballpoint and was rather pleased with the results.
Blue Willow - ballpoint pen ©2014 Carol Lee Beckx
Giant Fork & Spoon ©2014 Carol Lee Beckx
Old Telephone & Coffee Grinder ©2014 Carol Lee Beckx
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