I have been asked by some local sketchers to run a Sketching Architecture workshop (which I naturally agreed to do!)  and today went into the CBD (downtown) to confirm the location and case the joint a little. I know the Macquarie St / Hyde Park Precinct very well but it was good to revisit it from the point of view of a workshop… and in a word I am excited!

But I started my day by visiting a new cafe (BTW I am working my way through the 2014 Good Cafe Guide – Sydney) and this time it was Klink. I sat directly opposite where it was all happening. Crazy busy staff serving the customers who came into the cafe and also those that ordered through the window.

Once again, I just went for it with ink -my Hero 578 pen with Super 5 Frankfurt ink – I am so addicted to this combo! Here is a WIP photo (while there was still some coffee – which was very good!) showing my starting lines. This was the most challenging of all my recent ‘complex scenes’ as the staff were constantly moving and swapping places – there were 5 staff but I only managed to draw 3 of them. Apart from not drawing the ceiling high enough (a little distortion to fit it on my page) I am fairly happy with the accuracy of this sketch considering the speed in which I drew it. It is funny that removing all thoughts about painting from the sketching process is helping my linework SO MUCH!

I then roamed the workshop area – here are a few buildings in the area. If you are interested in the workshop, don’t be freaked out… chances are that these are the buildings that will be chosen be the participants for ME to draw as a demo! What am I getting myself into????

There are a good range of buildings in the area from simple to very complex and a range of styles as well. Perfect!

And then, after the above sketch from Hyde Park of St Marys Cathedral, it was time for morning tea at the Hyde Park Barracks Cafe. The Hyde Park Barracks designed by Sir Francis Greenway is the first example of ‘architecture’ in the British Colony. The first grand building … and it is a masterpiece! I am completely in awe of its precise proportions and details… and just a touch afraid to sketch it (due to my respect for its precision).

In the end, I didn’t want to try to be too exact so after a setup of ‘7 lines’, I just went for it with paint. As an architect I could list at least 10 things that are ‘wrong’ with this sketch… but ultimately it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I understood the building and I hope that despite the looseness of my sketch, you can see this. I didn’t set up formal perspective but I was thinking about it, I was also very conscious of the volumes and details of this building.

In essence, this is what I will be teaching in the 2 day workshop – how to understand the 3 dimensional form of buildings so that they are easy to sketch … however loose or accurate you wish to be.

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