I was pretty chuffed when I was recently approached by Annika Lundkvist to become one of the Friday feature artists on her website, Pedestrian Space. Obviously I checked out the other artists and they are fabulous, so I feel very honoured to be sitting online amongst...
"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...
I began drawing Brunswick Street at the corner of Victoria Parade in January 2019, starting with the three storey building once known as the Belvidere Hotel. It doesn’t seem to have changed much since 1864,, at least on the outside, although I do wonder what those men with top hats were up to! Old news articles suggest scandalous behaviour and it is where union members started their fight for the 8 hour working day.
Brunswick Street Fitzroy: sketches and urban history is an exhibition of sketches, illustrations, vintage photographs and clippings from old newspapers that share my long term passion for the architecture, history and community of Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. All of my artwork was drawn on location over the last couple of years, with watercolour added to the longer streetscapes in my studio.
This week we should have been exhibiting another year of Brunswick Street sketches at the Black Cat. But, alas, due to Melbourne’s coronavirus lockdowns it is now on the back burner ?. The Black Cat in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, is a Melbourne icon. It is Cool, with a capital C. It’s retro. It’s quirky. They have a DJ. They support local artists. Like us.