I’ve just returned from a wonderful holiday to Australia, travelling to Melbourne and Sydney. I managed to produce a few sketches as we journeyed round…

Melbourne

A fantastic city, with free travel in the CBD. We stayed in a modern flat on the 26th floor. So the view had to be sketched. Unfortunately the window frame was at eye level so there was a lot of hopping around to get the detail in.

The river flowing through the city is the Yarra. Melbourne is known for its sports and the ARF final was on when we were there, so loads of added atmosphere. Lots of building work in the city so the view had to include another skyscraper being built.

The iconic view of the city is Flinders St Station. I had 45 mins sketching the entrance from the main square – Federation Sq.

I met up with a work colleague, Brett and he took us on a tour of the South Bank and Botanic Gardens. Thanks for the tour Brett! I drew this at an Aussie restaurant called Pure South. Great burgers and views of the South Banks

Sydney

We flew to Sydney and stayed in a small house in the suburbs. Staying there gave a very different vibe to Melbourne. The iconic view of Sydney Harbour was the highlight.

We visited the maritime museum and found a replica of the Endeavour that Cook sailed on his first journey round the world. This jarred with the modern city and other boats in the museum. By this time I had a streaming cold and sat and sketched this whilst the others toured the sailing boat James Craig.

Hyde Park is right in the center of Sydney and I found a moment to sketch the Cathedral, St Mary’s , whilst the others went round the Australian Museum. It felt a little odd to see this Gothic style building in such a modern setting, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Out from the city we walked the famous coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee beaches. This was the first really sunny weekend of the spring and the beaches and coastal walk were very busy.

The next day we hired a car and drove to the Blue Mountains. There is a massive canyon with several scenic points in the center and we walked to half a dozen. There was time to sketch from Echo Point, just as the sun was setting. Really tricky to get the colours and scale but I did get the Three Sisters in the picture.

On the final day I managed to return to the Botanic Gardens and that view while the others went shopping. We had fantastic weather when we were in Australia but it did rain on the final evening and I drew this sketch under a tree as the sun was going down.