Hello from Sydney!

Hi Everyone!
Lets start posting to the blog.... We all want to find out about everyone that is coming this year.

Well, for those of you that don't know, I am Liz from Sydney Australia(architect and obsessive tea drinker)…. and although it is very corny I just can't walk past the Sydney Opera House without sketching it (this was from last week)

After last years symposium in Santo Domingo, I really felt the desire to mix it up - and looking back on the year it is quite amazing the change that has occurred in my work - what a journey it has been! It is making me wonder what will BCN do to me??


Immediately after last years symposium, I went to NYC for a week and sketched non stop including trying to capture Times Square on a Friday night in the rain!
I was so inspired by Eduardo's markers workshop last year, that I was determined to use them. So once back home I decided that an intensive programme of using markers was needed to really get the hang of them so I replaced my watercolour kit with a selection of 15 or so markers (leaving my watercolour kit at home was very radical). Each morning before work I would do a morning walk and sketch. It was a lot of fun to see how quickly my own style developed using a total different media.

Over the Christmas / New Year summer holiday I visited the amazing USK group in Singapore and had lots and lots of fun trying new things - including splashing and scraping paint and using a Hero Pen - I can assure all those that are doing Tia and Paul's workshop that it will be a lot of fun.

As I am having a 6 month sabbatical this year I was able to have another relaxing break at the beach. Here, remarkably, not only did I manage to slow myself right down but somehow I lost my ink-lines. Being an architect I am an addicted to lines and I am also in love with my Lamy Joy pen… so I was incredibly surprised that this happened!

And then last month I went to Melbourne for a week -  to have a period of non stop sketching and meet all the sketchers down there. This trip I was using a lot of water soluble tools which I found made me be able to attempt sketches in crazy limited time frames (5 minutes or so) while waiting for trains/trams...and I also became addicted to sketching on of Melbournes icon - Flinders St Station. I remember a discussion in SD at lunch time about how USKers like to sketch the real city not the touristy things... but well, sometimes I just can't ignore the icons in a city!

Now, it is time to start reading up on Gaudi,Josep Maria Jujol, Lluís Domènech i Montaner,  Josep Puig i Cadafalch etc etc BUT I am pleased to report that I have already found a good looking tearoom to hang out it!

Finally….I am VERY excited that this year I will be not the only Australian!?! I am aware of 3 others that have registered (might be more) ..and also excited that my friend 'Eza' from Edinburgh is coming - she is the one that introduced me to watercolour in Dec 2006. BTW She is an honorary Australia -  her real name is Esther but she was given a corny Aussie nick name(by me) when she was living down under for a year.


Ok- enough from me- want to hear about you now!