Urban Sketching: Bellingen’s historic street facades

We will start by making our own concertina (fold-out) sketchbook which we will then fill with a continuous streetscape, illustrating the wonderful built heritage of Hyde Street.

Through demonstrations and clear explanations, you will be encouraged to develop your own form of graphic expression using whatever media you choose, all the while being encouraged to explore outside your comfort zone.

By the end of the week, you will have discovered new ways of seeing objects and shapes, new techniques for expressing them and confidence in your personal sketching style. The end result will be a two-metre-long sketch of Bellingen and a wonderful record of your Mid North Coast summer break.

We will be outdoors most of the time so be sure to bring a hat and sunscreen.

Please bring the following on your first day of class:

• Watercolour palette: a set of half pans is enough. It is good to work with a limited palette so 12 colours should be plenty. (The colours I use most are Burnt Sienna and French Ultramarine which mix well to form warm and cool greys. In addition Raw Sienna or Yellow Ochre are good for buildings and as a base for mixing greens. Other colours students could include are Burnt Umber, Van Dyke Brown, Paynes Grey, Scarlet Lake, Sap Green.) Good brands are Winsor and Newton, Daniel Smith, Schmincke and Maimeri available from most art suppliers incl https://kadmium.com.au in Coffs Harbour. A good starter kit for the uninitiated is the Winsor & Newton Cotman Half Pan Watercolour Pocket Set (about $98)

• Lead pencils

• Sharpener

• Sable or quality synthetic brushes size 4, 6 and 10

• Water jar

• White hand towel or washer that will get paint on it

• Fineline markers – 0.2, 0.4, 0.8

• UHU stick

• Small snap blade cutter

• Steel rule

• A folding stool or camp chair

• OPTIONAL A5 sketch book for study sketches – min 180 gsm paper such as Moleskine

• OPTIONAL Fountain pen

• OPTIONAL Colour pencils – Faber Castell Aquarelles (water soluble)

This class has an extra materials cost of $25, which is payable directly to the tutor.

Once you book your ticket, the tutor will be in touch to arrange payment.

Cost includes:

• Materials to create an A5 fold-out concertina sketch book, in quality watercolour paper

• Magazines to create cover art

Some drawing experience is preferable.

Experience with watercolour is desirable.

NOTE: THIS IS A PLAN ONLY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

DAY ONE

Design and production of a concertina sketch book plus fundamentals of sketching with watercolour.

Materials will be supplied and instruction given for the making of an A5 fold out concertina sketch book in quality watercolour paper.

The cover art may be supplied by the camper or chosen from a collection of magazines made available by me. The sketch book will then be filled in the course of the following days.

Preliminary exercises of mixing colours and playing with shapes in watercolour.

DAY TWO

Sketching the built environment.

This is the main part of the workshop and will involve morning and afternoon sessions sketching and painting buildings on the Bellingen high street, such as the Federal Hotel, Hammond and Wheatley, etc.

Each session will focus on a particular aspect of urban sketching with detailed explanations and demonstrations:

• understanding what you see

• simplifying the scene composition

• creating shapes

• perspective

• tonal values – light and shade

• different media

Each day ends with a “throw down” where sketchers show their work and receive constructive criticism in a good natured and non-threatening way, from the tutor and their fellow sketchers.

DAY THREE

The week will be broken on the middle day with morning and afternoon sessions on the outskirts of town exploring the rural landscape.

The Bellinger River, surrounded by green pastures and with the backdrop of the escarpment provides a perfect subject for trying out a different palette and freer expression, all the while reflecting the character of the town so intrinsically tied to the river. This will require car pooling and we will return to the town centre for lunch.

DAY FOUR

Sketching the built environment – as Day 2 but in a different part of the street to progress the streetscape image in the concertina sketch book.

DAY FIVE

Embellishments and annotations to the sketch book.

The final stage will focus on tidying up the sketches – looking at the spread as a whole so that it works as a unified piece. This will include adding titles and notes if desired and possibly adding some thumbnail sketches explaining details.

The end result of the Hyde Street sessions will be a continuous, multipage spread concertina sketchbook illustrating the historic buildings of the Bellingen high street, Hyde Street.

This session will most likely take place at our venue and, providing the organisers can accommodate it, will result in an exhibition of the work for other campers to come and see (to be confirmed).