Sketching Architecture - Weeks 3 and 4

 

Week 3 of Liz Steel's Sketching Architecture course was on perspective. I took a page full of notes and great tips during the theory session which were all things I'd like to recall easily when I'm sketching on site. Depicted above is The Union Bond Store. A single bay sandstone warehouse at 47 George St, The Rocks, Sydney. Constructed in 1841. It still features its gantry beam and paired warehouse doors on each floor. To the left is the “First Impressions” Sandstone relief sculpture symbolising the origins and settlement of the colony.

 

 

Our final class was on developing contrast and textures. As the sun was having a hard time shining there was little in the way of cast shadow. We focussed on textures using a variety of methods such as wet on wet watercolour, splashing, using watercolour pencils under and over the watercolour washes, as well as scraping pencil lead over sandpaper to create fine specks of colour.

 

The last sketch session was at Susannah Place - a terrace of four small brick houses built in 1844. It’s remained largely unchanged from its original layout and features through to the 21st century and so shows us how some of the working families of this area have lived for many generations. It’s another of those places that always catches my attention when I’m walking through the Rocks (always tempted to take the little laneways instead of noisy George St).

 

I've been grateful for the opportunity to attend Liz's classes in Sydney this year. It's been rewarding to learn from her and see her demonstrate first hand so much that I have never managed to learn elsewhere. I have great hopes that she'll run more architecture course in 2014 and that I'll be in the position to take them.