Last week I had another visit to Cockatoo Island with a sketcher from California.

This time, I was with Laurie Wigham, who looked after me so well during my visits to San Francisco in 2017 and 2018 (including a very special sketching adventure in a Frank Lloyd Wright building).

We had a fabulous day of sketching and had all kinds of interesting art conversations.

And I started using a new art supply (one that has been on my list to start using for a number of years!)

The first sketch on the island was one of the big cranes.

Then, while Laurie did a second version of the crane, I started sketching the view in the opposite direction. We were having a great conversation about teaching and trying new things, so I wasn’t concentrating too much on what I was doing.

At lunch, we sketched the view from the cafe. These are the same blue sheds that I did last time (see here) from a different angle.

I had SO much fun layering colour in this!

We then went to the top of the island and spent time at the same shady spot where I sat  the week before. And I sketched the same sandstone building – but this time with different colours.

We got talking about drawing with thick posca pens and the work of James Hobbs (I’ve been a fan of his work for years!).

Laurie was drawing with a grey Posca, and then I decided I would try it, too. It was really strange to draw with a thick bullet-tip pen when I’m used to the expressive marks of a fude nib.

I initially found it hard to control the perspective and work out how to make nice lines, but then I really enjoyed the challenge. Drawing with a thick line was super fun! You have to be more strategic about what lines you draw, and I found myself experimenting with the way I made my marks so I could create some variation in line.

Once we got to Circular Quay, I took Laurie to Parker’s Art and bought a few Poscas. So stay tuned for some experiments with them in the coming weeks.

Thanks Laurie for a really inspirational day!