"Did you see the man feeding the pigeons on the roof?" asked a passer by as I sat sketching in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. I looked up from my drawing and sure enough, there they were in the distance - a frenzied flutter of feathers as pigeons lined up for their feast....
From Hobart we drove to Strahan on the west coast of Tasmania, which took us nearly five hours. We stopped a couple of times, including in Queenstown which was a booming mining town during the early 1900's. The impact of logging and copper mining in Queenstown was...
We had a really comfy Airbnb in Hobart overlooking the Derwent River. The natural consequence of the view was a big hill, so we timed our outings to walk downhill into town and then at the end of the day we caught an uber back up again! This was the view from our...
We unpacked our bags at the little beachside town of Bicheno on the east coast of Tasmania. It was our anniversary night, so priority was getting hold of dinner - of course! It was too late to sit down in a restaurant that night, but we bought the most delicious...
My sketchbook was packed. So was my travel palette. We had a bounty of food tips from Tasmanian friends. Places to see. Things to draw and experience. And we (I should say Stephen) drove to Port Melbourne and on to the ferry to Tasmania for a 12 and a bit day trip.I...
I was caring for my dad when I first started drawing Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. It was late 2018. Dad lived in Bourke Street, right near Parliament House, and our family was taking turns supporting him to stay at home during his last months. When my brother dropped in...
Walking down Brunswick Street from Alexandra Parade (still in my 5km limit), I tried to spot signs specific to Melbourne in 2020. Situations we could never have imagined – such as long postponed acts at the Evelyn Hotel, or closed shops with instructions on click and collect. The Black Lives Matter posters on the walls of the fire brigade credit union stayed long enough for me to capture. A few days later they were gone, showing just how important it is to record these moments in history.
As lockdown 2 started to settle, and we were allowed out of our homes, I headed back to the top end of Brunswick Street. I wanted to illustrate the impact of the pandemic on the local community. I sat under a verandah at the corner of Westgarth Street and drew locals chatting on a mosaic chair wearing masks. Some things don’t change though. The building housed a butcher’s shop back in 1925 and it still does today.
When coronavirus arrived we all bunkered down at home. When we briefly emerged in June our little group decided to play it safe and stay away from crowds. So we moved north, and crossed the great divide of Alexandra Parade. I drew quickly, worried about another lockdown – and of course it happened. The first stop on my way out was at polyester records – closed, but within my 5 km boundary.
There is no end to eateries in Brunswick Street, but not many of them have an open fireplace like the Fitz to tempt cold sketchers on a rainy Melbourne morning. Opposite was, at one stage (sadly now gone) Attaboy Roy. It took us a while to realise we were drawing “Fitz – Roy”. The building that housed Brown and Scott’s Drapery in 1905 is now Polly Bar.