Our First Sketching Week for 2014

February 8, 2014 by Erin Hill Sketching

THURSDAY 10am Class.  FEBRUARY 6 2014. It’s a new year, it’s a new day, and we’re loving our sketching! Our first group of the day consisted of our loyal returning regulars and the others were ‘brand new out of the box’, excited new sketchers. To get the ball rolling, we started with sketching flowers and leaves, Hibiscus flowers and Callistemon, (I hadn’t known the formal name of the ‘Bottle Brush’ was Callistemon and that there are several species of that […]

Categories: Art, Flower Sketching, Landscapes, Out & About Sketch Classes, Sketching Flowers, Sketching Gardens • Tags: Composition & Colour, Line drawing with Watercolour, Manly, Sketches, Watercolour pencils

Purple Jacarandas and Green Trees

November 2, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31 ’13 Hello’ it’s Christy here. Erin would be joining us a little later this morning, and so to get started I met with the sketchers at the studio before heading to the first sketching point, the Jacaranda tree nestled in a side road across from the studio. We had a cheerful lot today, 9 in total, as we headed for the Jacaranda tree, which we found standing proudly in all it’s purple glory. This particular tree, if […]

Categories: Art, Out & About Sketch Classes, Sketching Cafes, Sketching Flowers, Sketching Gardens, Sketching in Manly, Travel Sketching, Uncategorized • Tags: Color, Jacaranda, Paint, Sketch, Sydney, Watercolor painting

A Most Exotic Bouquet

May 17, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

Venta has set a new standard in flower giving. We’ve been having trouble communicating lately – her computers and phones were off the air waves and I’d wondered if she had given us up. But no, everything is up and working again and as class was starting, in walks Venta with the most glorious bouquet of exotics most of us had not seen before! There were purple rose cabbages, gold and crimson orchids, and some protea leaves – about now […]

Categories: Art, Flower Sketches, Sketching Flowers, Special Occasions, Watercolour Painting • Tags: Composition & Colour, Floristry, Flower bouquet, Quick Watercolours

Gâteau à goûter et géraniums à dessiner

May 13, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

      Things were going a bit pear-shaped today.  Some days are like that! I’d raced to the Studio to set up the tables with a gorgeous potted geranium and another long stemmed one in a glass. Then we started straight into sketching – how high, how wide – my mantra. But this time we’d be pushing things along and doing two sketches within the hour. Oops, realised I hadn’t made the Mariage tea we always start with! Anyway, […]

Categories: Art, Food Sketches, French conversation, Sketch & French Classes, Sketching Flowers • Tags: French language, Shopping list, Sketching, Sydney

Cakes Glorious Cakes

May 1, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

What beautiful 3 tiered cake display stands arrived at our table for our Sketch your Cake High Tea. Here we are at Boronia House, gazing at the table which would be ours, and the colours of the old-fashioned style tea cups, each a different colour. Then the gerberas in small glass jars caught our eye. All side lit as the sun came in through the tall window with a perfect tree outside. Maybe it’s a painting we are about to […]

Categories: Art, Creative food, Food Sketching, Sketch & High Tea, Sketching Flowers, Watercolour Pencils • Tags: Art as food, Baking and Confections, Cake, Chocolate, Composition & Colour, Cooking, Food, Sketches, Travel Sketching

Gardénia blanc et Camelia rose avec du pain de banane

April 29, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

We had our first Sketch&French class for Term 2 today.What a glorious few weeks of perfect weather we are having. Perfect too for starting another S&F class with a few newcomers to welcome. To make it not too frightening for those who are new to sketching, I always find simple flowers are a lovely way to begin. Your lines will always look like the flower in front of you if you take a moment to really look at it’s shape. […]

Categories: Art, Flower Sketches, French conversation, Sketch & French Classes, Sketching Flowers, Traveling & Sketching • Tags: art, France, French language, Sketches

L’art Sauvera le Monde

February 12, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

That is what it said inside the wrapper of our papillotte. Art will save the world. Quote Platon. Who’d have thought you’d find such a truth inside a shiny chocolate wrapper. Here we were at the first of our 5 week SKETCH & FRENCH classes in the Studio with Adeline and myself. Set up on the table is our gardenia still life surrounded by a tempting scattering of wrapped chocolate. Not to be tasted yet! After a tea or coffee […]

Categories: Art, Sketch & French Classes, Sketching Cafes, Sketching Chocolat, Sketching Flowers, Traveling & Sketching • Tags: Adeline, Chocolate, Christmas, Confectionery, French Conversation & Sketching, Lyon, Papillotte

Student Sketches

January 4, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

It’s always very rewarding for me when class members so enjoy their sketching that they send me email and text images of them. Here are some for you to enjoy……… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… August 23 ’14. Two more sketches from Therese in those chilly Arctic regions on her Canadian cruise. I’m sure the 11am champagne loosened up your sketching arm and we are delighted to see these from so far away. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. August 8 ’14. From Therese away on her Canada adventure, […]

Categories: Art, Flower Sketches, Landscapes, Line & Watercolour, Sketching Beaches, Sketching Flowers, Uncategorized • Tags: Beach Views, Line drawing with Watercolour, Sketch, Sketches, Sri Lanka, Travel Sketching, Watercolor painting

It Must be Christmas…..

December 24, 2012 by Erin Hill Sketching

It must be Christmas when….. the yachts and launches moor overnight in the Cove….This is the glorious sight I beheld this morning as I sat out to sketch the soft colour with everything almost in silhouette. Earlier in December a few begin to stay over on weekends. On boxing day there will be dozens and for NY eve you could walk across the bay over them and not touch the sea. It must be Christmas when…. we have the biggest […]

Categories: Art, Boats, Christmas Art, Colour, Flower Sketches, Manly Beach, Sketches, Sketching Flowers • Tags: Christmas, December, Family, Manly, Sketches, Soft colour