Drawing an Orchestra

I made arrangements to sketch at a Wellington Chamber Orchestra rehearsal. They were preparing for an upcoming concert, and played Rachmaninoff
 — Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Tchaikovsky
 — Romeo and Juliet Overture–Fantasia. They were excellent and we all enjoyed listening and drawing. The music certainly added extra energy to my drawing. Some results are below:



Beautiful drawings with a Bic Biro From Cory

 

MrBlack took his usual approach, with varying line widths and a few patches of coloured pencil and watercolour.


Anne produced this great wide concertina page with drawing on top of pre-prepared washes and splashes of watercolour

And here's my effort.

I'm hoping to have some more events like this in the future, so if you have any ideas, please let me know. Andrew

Sketching weekend in wellington

Here I am, finally posting a few of my drawings from the weekend back in March. Time flies. It was great seeing everyone and really hoping we can do it again next year.

 A couple of old houses on Aro Street.

 Back door to Hotel Bristol.

Even though it was extremely cold, the owner of the van insisted on giving me an icecream. Funnily enough, I drew a Mr Whippy truck last year too.

Iko Iko

This funky building reminds me of a novelty crayon - I got a train-shaped set when I was about 10.

As well as looking cool, they sell lots of funky things - bags, mugs, jewellery, cards, posters, books.

I'll be drawing this building again at the Urban Sketchers NZ meet up next weekend. I'll also be talking about how I approach drawings, and I'm happy to take questions.

Majestic Centre

I love buildings, and there are some real stunners in Wellington - St Mary of the Angels, the Public Trust and the law school are amazing achitechtual achievements in my eyes. Pretty much every unreinforced masonary building on Cuba Street is gorgeous, even if they are going to fall down in the next decent earthquake.

But the Majestic Centre, the tallest building in the city and a Wellington icon, wouldn't make my list of stunners. Its ugly crown protudes above all else. It's interesting and I am glad it's there, but I don't think it's much of a looker.

The building in front was the home of the Dominion Post for 50 years and is now mainly Athfield-designed appartments. Built in the late 1920's, it is now heritage listed. The facade is made from Caen stone but has since been painted. Thankfully the marble foyer has escaped that fate. Here's a cool old photo of it for people who like that sort of thing.

Just couple of years ago this view would have been blocked by the overbridge between the library and council buildings - that was removed in the post-Christchurch-quake legislation change early this decade, around the same time the Majestic Centre was reinforced at a cost of $83million. Natural disasters have a much wider impact than those which are immediately obvious.

Southward Car Museum

MrBlack and I thought it would be a good idea to draw inside during the winter. There are lots of great cars to draw at Southward Car Museum, but no one has worked out how to heat an enormous concrete warehouse, so it was still a bit cold.

Southward Car Museum from Andrew James on Vimeo.

New Plymouth Sketch Weekend

What a great couple of days! Thanks so much for all the organisation.

Len Lye and Pukekura Park on Saturday

 Joes Garage, Saturday Evening

 Ice Cream Truck at the Seaside Market, and the view out our dining room window after I got home.

Brooklyn

The suburb on the hill just south of the CBD of Wellington was the site of our last SketchCrawl. Here's the house on the corner of Cleveland and Jefferson Streets. It appears to be built in the 1910s, after the electric tram was installed - it's not on this 1908 photo. Here is a present day photo from the same spot, the house is in the center of the shot.

Many of the streets are, for reasons I am unable to find, named after Presidents of the United States. Grover Cleveland was president from 1885-1889 and Thomas Jefferson from 1801-1809. Nearby, Harrison, Garfield, Lincoln, McKinley, Taft, Coolidge and Washington all lend their names to streets. Aside from the name of the suburb, another New York connection is the presence of another Central Park, which is neither as large nor as flat as Central Park, New York. From 1942-1944 Central Park, Wellington was home to US troops.

Around the corner on Ohiro Road I drew this double bay villa, which is probably built in the 1900s. My sister used to live in the flat across the road and, having spotted this villa from her window, I have wanted to draw it for a couple of years.

It was a great SketchCrawl on a beautiful day. I'm looking forward to the next one this weekend.

Harbour Board Offices

Mr Black organised a great sketchcrawl on Saturday, in and around Wellington Museum. The weather was a bit rubbish so most headed "in", but not me - I'm tough so I braved the "around" and numbed my fingers drawing the Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building next door. It was designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere in 1892, who later designed the Church of St Mary of the Angels.

Once I had finished, and guessed the colour of Dave's trousers incorrectly, I chickened out and took shelter indoors.I guess I'm not that tough.