COCKATOO ISLAND SKETCH TRIP – MAY 21 ,22, 23, 2012
- The girls sketching on the hill
This is a little bit back to front, as I’ve shown the Wednesday sketching first. But I like it. And the girls were deeply engrossed. Let me introduce you. Meet Therese, Karen, Elaine and Jenny.
We arrived on Monday morning, left bags at the office, and met at the only cafe for a warm up sketch and coffee.
Absolutely great weather, and what’s more it got bluer every day. Decided to do a tour of our island home and become familiar with how to get about. Well that took a while I must say. We all got so excited at the discoveries we made as we meandered along.
The convict cells and where the 500 or so were locked up at night had our imaginations working overtime. There was the exercise yard and mess hall where they were fed, the guard house where the Red Coats were stationed. You can feel it in the stone.
Down and along tracks and pathways we clambered where the girls’ reform school was, and looking way down to the dockyards below and all the old cranes and abandoned buildings. Passing the grain silos cut in the bowels of sandstone,
Inside massive planning buildings with floors to lay out plans, through buildings where pattern makers worked, fitting and turning was done, timber stored, metal was poured, propellors lifted, more cranes….it’s living history.
4pm was time for tea on the lawn, finishing off sketches and seeing what everyone had achieved.
Relaxation, wine & cheese, dinner, conversation and a few yawns and it was time for good nights.
After breakfast (and a run 3x round the island) – I’m giving the impression we all did this! – was a gathering of people, starting their new day’s sketching round the dining table.
And so we enjoyed a lovely routine of total immersion in our own sketching worlds. Recording, and making notes. Getting the essence of this place. Coming to grips with perspective, angles, wheels, cranes, pipes and buildings. An unending supply of things to sketch.
Tuesday brought 3 more sketchers, Jo, Barbie and Lydia and we showed them some of the big cranes at one end and the convict area at the other. These were great for sketching spots if one has only a few hours.
Wednesday was a brilliant blue day, so we chose to do our afternoon sketches in the sun on the hill overlooking the harbour towards Sydney. So quiet and away from the world here on the Island. Over there was the place of we would return to.
The ferry was there, a hurried good bye and off we went, back to our other lives. It was wonderful.
Now for the pictures. Enjoy.
- On our way
- Looking from the cafe to the Industrial precinct
- Selected sketches-Jenny, our house, Elaine, inside staircase, Karen, Guardhouse, Therese, far view with foreground tents.
- Our 5 Star home
- 5 Star camping below
- Milton, our Butler arrives
- 4pm Cuppa
- Afternoon Glow
- 5pm Sun setting
- Look I got that sunset
- Watching the Sunset
- Sketch and Eat!
- Milton taking breakfast on the lawn
- View to freedom
- Tuesday morning warm up sketch
- The Red Coats Guard House
- Layers of brick and stone, the convict’s guard house
- Pipes in the sandstone
- Rock wire rust
- Cogs & wheels
- Firing up the restored steam crane
- Closed to the public but not us
- The Powerhouse
- To the manager’s office
- Pumps and turbines
- Water metre
- Pipes & Taps
- Who took the soap?
- Time to take our leave
©ErinHill2012B
erinhillmyblog.wordpress.com 
April 8, 2012 at 6:57 pm | edit
oh Erin- thiis sounds idyllic! and the photographs and sketches capture so much . You will have a long waiting list for your next sketch trip. I plan to be on one one day