Urban Sketcher - Kathleen Newman – an artist's journey

URBAN SKETCHING

Click on my Blog: Now is My Story In (Sketches) to see more of my sketches and read the stories behind them.

I take my sketchbooks everywhere I go and they are a chronicle of my life.

While all my sketches are done on location, colour and finishing touches are sometimes added later.

Here are some favourite sketches:

2021 Australia

Lunch for 3 birthdays at Massaros Restaurant, Warrandyte, Victoria.

Former Berwick Brickworks has been abandoned. Victoria.

A nice gift from a friend (native plants from her garden).

Harkaway Cemetery established in 1840 is one of Victoria's 2 oldest cemeteries.

Temporary concrete block seating (new Covid normal) next to a Bunya Pine (dates to Mesozoic Period).

A very fancy teapot (which dripped BADLY) and an almond raspberry friand cake. Blackburne Square, Berwick, Victoria.

1st Covid Vaccination! Berwick Healthcare, Victoria.

Cafe Sketch with friends. Primary@Pioneer Cafe, Berwick, Victoria.

A new take on Pioneers Park, Berwick, Victoria.

Christmas lunch spread!

2020 Australia

Looking back to the beach town of Inverloch, Victoria.

Eagles Nest formation near Inverloch, Victoria. Wild south coastline of the state.

A cute forklift in the warehouse of Beacky Fresh Fruit and Veg in Beaconsfield, Victoria. This is the place to buy eggs during Covid restrictions!

Sketch of my dining table during Covid lockdown. looking forward to guests at the table again sometime.

During Covid lockdown a little indulgence is allowed (in my kitchen).

Over our neighbour's backyard on a gloomy winter afternoon, Berwick, Victoria. In the distance is Wilson Hill, site of filming of "On the Beach" in 1959.

Picnickers in Pioneers Park, Victoria when Covid restrictions were eased.

View over a neighbourhood fence. Berwick, Victoria.

Sketching along the Cardinia Creek (Cardinia Nature Reserve). Victoria.

Stories of Covid lockdown in my neighbourhood...then and now.

2018/19 Australia

Historic buildings, Sorrento. Vic, Australia.

Mordialloc Creek. Vic, Australia.

Touch of Dutch Cafe. Berwick, Vic, Australia.

National Museum, Canberra , Australia.

Coffee and cake in tiny concertina sketchbook.

Old Berwick Post Office, Vic, Australia.

Primary at Pioneer Cafe, former Berwick Primary School. Berwick, Vic, Australia.

Neighbourhood. Croydon, NSW, Australia.

Neighbourhood. Croydon, NSW, Australia.

Garden view. Vic, Australia.

Tooradin. Vic, Australia.

Bunjil Place. Vic, Australia.

Inlet at Patterson Lakes. Vic, Australia.

A Dandenong street. Vic, Australia.

In the doctor's surgery. Berwick, Vic, Australia.

Primary at Pioneer Cafe. Twig and ink sketch. Vic, Australia.

2017 New Zealand/Australia

2016 Singapore

2014/15 Canada/UK

2013/14 Singapore/Australia

2012 Taipei

Taiwan is a cultural shock! The main street in my neighbourhood of Wenshan.

Side alley. Drew this from a cafe, sitting on a comfy chair with a nice grass jelly drink.

This empty space opened as a small restaurant soon after (selling roast duck and BBQ pork).

View from my apartment again. A convenient scene to draw on a wet day.

I could have stayed here all day it was so peaceful.

A very busy corner. I went back twice to finish this drawing. Oops! Just noticed I've got the month wrong, time is passing too fast!

Back to the same corner, this time looking down Alley 1 at the corner with Lane 45 (which comes off Zhinan Road). It's these alleys and lanes that are the main charm of Taipei.

I've been wanting to sketch this building from the first time I saw it. It strangely comes to a point.

Sketching on a park bench at the Jingmei River Park. Looking north to the city. The tall building with the spire is the famous Taipei 101 (101 floors!). Done on site, watercolour added at home.

When it rains in Taipei, businesses provide an umbrella rack outside their establishments for customers' umbrellas. These racks can be very varied in shape, sometimes just a bucket.

Above the sink in my Taipei apartment is a draining rack cum electric dish dryer!

The buildings in Wenshan district are mainly old and grimy with interesting facades of differing windows and criss-crossing wires.