DISCOVERING ART THROUGH EXPLORATION
In February I was given the exciting opportunity to travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to play with TaikOz. A huge honour, considering I'm not one of their more dedicated students. It was a unique advenutre and a bit of an insight into the life of a professional touring musician, and it... Continue Reading →
Visited the Australian Museum today to see the touring Alexander the Great exhibition. The collection comes from the State Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia which is on my art bucket list. One thing I will say about the incredibly rich and powerful, they got a lotta booty and they like to show it off. So thank you,... Continue Reading →
On Monday I sent off my completed Sketchbook Project - a whole month before it's due!! Huge feat and huge relief! But if I'm completely honest with you, I did cut out the last two pages, hee hee. But I had good reason for it which I will explain. Sadly, I didn't enjoy working on... Continue Reading →
It was a much needed day out of sketching for me, and although Sydney was thrown into 40˚ heat leading up to our first Urban Sketchers Australia meet up, the gods were fairly decent towards us on the day. The gardens are a lovely refuge in the inner city and even though there was a... Continue Reading →
The Historic Houses Trust of NSW ran a "long" weekend event called Sydney Open. With the co-operation of several private and public buildings in the city centre they opened their doors to the general public for a look round. It was a drawing opportunity I could not miss, so went along Friday night with the Sydney Sketch... Continue Reading →
As several of you know I am a student of Japanese taiko drumming, and over the last month Australia's TaikOz and Japan's very own Kodo have been touring the country together. To explain how exciting a prospect that is, it would be like the Avengers teaming up with the X-Men. I did promise myself not to... Continue Reading →
I dont know what it is about cemeteries that I enjoy drawing so much but Rookwood has always been on my checklist of places to draw, so when the Sydney Sketch Club headed out for its Open Day I thought it was a great opportunity. Rookwood Cemetery is the largest neocropolis in Sydney. It was... Continue Reading →
I'm doing a personal project using colour pencils and thought I'd share my process. I'm no expert with colour pencils and hardly use them, in fact these are the same ones I've had since I was twelve. But there are a few things you might find interesting or handy to know. And as always, I would love to hear... Continue Reading →
I'm a big fan of winter but even I'm over the cold season this year. And without fail on the 1st September (for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere) it was a warm, sunny spring day. Work has been very manageable this week so it allowed me some free time to sit in my... Continue Reading →
One of my pleasures these last few years has been learning taiko. It is a Japanese drumming practice which spans thousands of years. Not only are the taiko, or drums, beautifully crafted generation after generation in Japan, this style of drumming is an art. It not only requires great technique but an insight into Japanese... Continue Reading →