Author: Amanda

The carpark belonging to the new commercial centre on the corner of Beach Rd and Alexander Drive was enticing because there are a couple of trees. It replaces the old WA Salvage. Huge earthworks. The developers are to be credited for leaving the trees. Saturday morning was hot even though we are less than a month shy of the shortest day and it should be cold and rainy. Not complaining, just explaining why I was looking for somewhere shady to park. That’s how my vistas are chosen: comfort. Then look around and see what’s to be seen.
I do actually like carparks…

Watercolour, graphite and Uniball Eye Micro in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon 8.5″ x 5.5″ sketchbook (which was propped against the steering wheel of a Beetle).

 

Things are pretty quiet in this light industrial area, just up the road from the office, on a Saturday morning. Most places are closed but the service station, post office and bottle shop are open. From one spot in the carpark I can see all of them well enough to sketch. The bottle shop appears to be getting the most customers…
I started out trying Hydrus, the liquid watercolour made by Dr PH Martin. Not impressed. The colours are kinda “muddy” compared to the Daniel Smith tube colour I have been using so I returned to the tubes to finish them off. I guess I was hoping the Hydrus would be almost as bright and clear as the Radiant range made by the same company after seeing them in a video by Danny Gregory. The Radiants are brilliant but, sadly, not lightfast. That probably doesn’t matter so much in a sketchbook – but my sketchbook is practice, test ground and studies for paintings that are not in a sketchbook – so it does matter. Sigh.

Amazing how a cool video with a catchy tune can sell paint. 🙂

All pages are watercolour, Uniball Eye Micro and graphite in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon 8.5″ x 5.5″ sketchbook (which was balanced on the steering wheel of a VW Beetle).

 

 

Bike rack in front of the new Governor Stirling High School, Western Australia. That does away with any shenanigans behind the bike shed. No bike shed…

Watercolour and grapite in Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook.

Tiny shopping centre carpark in Bullsbrook, a country town in Western Australia. Behind the cars is the chemist and the Chinese restaurant. There’s also a bakery, post office, hairdresser and a small supermarket. The vehicles are often big…

Watercolour, Uniball Eye Micro and pencil in a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook.

Friday afternoon coffee and a (very late) lunch at Ellenbrook shops on the way home from work. Perfect fix for one of those days is a sketch break. Uniball Eye Micro pen in a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook  – watercolour added later.

A couple of views in the carpark.

 

“I believe keeping a sketchbook is the single most important thing you can do as an artist, not only for developing drawing skills but also for developing a point of view.” Everett Peck quoted in An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory

 Govo tanks. Again. Watercolour in a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook.

 

I only popped down to Bullsbrook to pick up a book from the library… but it wasn’t open yet. Honest.
Both watercolour in an A5 Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook.

The library. Looks good with the recent landscaping.

And right next door: the new primary school (which looks more like a prison…).

 

Bullsbrook, Western Australia. The hardware store with it’s corrugated iron roof, a hulking, but practical vehicle, and the ubiquitous pine pole railing. A typical Australian country town. This one is Bullsbrook. Is it the same elsewhere in the world?

Watercolour and Pitt pen in A5 Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook.

 

Colour pencil and watercolour in a sketchbook.

Crazy sketchbook experiment in mixed media while waiting for the offspring attending a music lesson. (That’s something they don’t mention in the parenting classes: you will spend a large portion of your life waiting…)

First go with watercolour in a Stillman & Birn Alpha – which is rated for light washes. I guess this counts as a light wash – the paper soaked up the wash making it patchy. Hence, the colour pencil additions. If I put more water on to get a smooth wash is it still a light wash? Or does the paper cockle and spoil the paint on the next page too?

 

Malaga, Western Australia, not Malaga, Spain. (Though I did visit there very briefly a long time ago.) Watercolour in a very cheap A5 landscape hardbound sketchbook. The paper is surprisingly good – with light washes it doesn’t ruin the next page. It’s a Mont Marte brand – odd that this seller says 110gsm – mine definitely said 150gsm on the sticker. Buckles a little but mostly fixes if allowed to dry with a weight on top…

 

Same place in the other direction. Sea containers everywhere behind this office block.