A Trip to Soweto

Soweto has been a place on Joburg Sketchers bucket list for years, but somehow we hadn't got it together to find out exactly how to get there, where to park or walk or sketch - it's a vast sprawling area of many suburbs, full of houses and streets that look very similar to the passing eye as you whizz by on the highway.

But when visiting Swedish sketcher Holger and his wife Susanne, and my friend Jane from Cape Town, said they'd like to go, we decided the time had come to venture forth. As it turned out, it was pretty easy - five of us in my car on a Friday morning, past Johannesburg city centre, onto the N1 Western Bypass, turn right and there in front of us were the iconic Orlando Towers, originally cooling towers for a coal power station, now an adventure destination where you can bungee jump, abseil, zip-line and swing from those heights (um, no thanks very much!)

Wiggling through a maze of very sketchable streets full of children playing, neighbours chatting and general community activity, we found our way to the famous Vilakazi Street, and had immediate, copious offers to help us park, watch/wash our car, sing/dance/guide for us, as well as countless shops, vendors, and restaurants vying for business  - we had to explain that we were just there to sit and draw which caused some puzzlement and then fascination -  I wished we'd brought a stack of blank exercise books so that everyone who stopped to watch could have joined in, and I wish I'd had more time and energy to sketch more of the colourful busyness of the street.

We decided not to partake of the rather touristy-priced lunches on offer and headed back, stopping to sketch the towers on the way out - in blazing midday sun we squeezed into the only little strip of shade we could find with a view, outside Bara Mall. Fast sketching as even the South Africans were expiring from the heat, let alone our Swedish visitors!

The Randburg Shuffle

Not my finest sketching five hours, standing up mostly and in a soft-cover sketchbook, but I was very glad to have it with me to help pass the interminable wait in the queue to get my driver's licence renewed at Randburg Licencing Centre last week. It was my fourth trip there, having been turned away on previous mornings as only 200 people per day are accepted into the line, making sure there's no chance that anyone might have to work a minute over the 3 o'clock closing time. 

 This time I made sure I got there early, was relieved to have No.146 scribbled onto my application form, resigned myself to a long wait and pulled out my sketchbook. I noted times as I sketched in the upper left corners...
8:45 - outside the magical doorway to legal driving.
9:30 - just inside the entrance and peering through the window at the expectant faces outside

10:15 - we'd inched around the corner and a fortunate few grabbed a seat on the windowsill
10:45 - shuffled round to the back of the reception desk, where there was a bit of a show to watch. First a group who had successfully completed their applications or collections were locked into the building while a cash-in-transit vehicle collected the previous day's takings; then a series of hopefuls came to ask at the desk if they could have an application form and upon hearing the answer, responded in various outraged/desperate/crestfallen ways. [Note to self: Never throw a hissy wobbly wailing fit before this desk, it provides huge entertainment to the bored audience in the dingy background and has no effect.]

11:00 Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, I reached the bottom of the stairway, a mere 10 metres (I would think) from the front door
11:30 Halfway up. What would we do without our phones?

11:45 Up on the first floor and looking down...
12:30 At last a row of seats that we had to shift up on every few minutes...within tantalising sight of the final stage - the queue for the Cashiers. After this seat-shifting came The Room, the utopia of activity, technology and red tape, where we submitted our many documents, had eye tests, biometrics and fingerprints (of which I have none, apparently) taken - where I paid close attention and stopped sketching for fear I got sent to the back of the queue for some misdemeanor.
By 1:45 pm I was out, blinking in the sunshine, good for another five years before I have to do it all over again.

Playing with Inks

Urban Sketchers Johannesburg (yes, we're now an official chapter!) was invited by Assemblage, a local visual arts community organisation to join a challenge to use only Lamy products to produce artworks or in our case, sketches. Lamy provided a range of their pens and inks to share among the participating artists. I have my own much-used Lamy safari pen plus a spare for just-in-case, so filled those and took a few extra colour cartridges...a cool pinky red, a viridian-ish green, another luminous yellow-green, purple, and a few drops of a dark prussian blue and turquoise in containers.

A shed at 1Fox - old industrial warehouses now restaurants, bars and event spaces... note the chandelier!

Most of my sketches ended up looking purply-green and I discovered that the luminous green was the only warm shade I had, and mixed with the pink had to serve to make skin tones and browns. With a high pigment load the intensity of the inks is amazing though, a little went a very long way.

Sketching friend Leonora and I sat on a busy street corner in the city and I sketched the traders. The guy selling cosmetics, combs and sundries in the "two Rand shop" never let up his call for a minute of "pondopondotworandi", interspersed every now and then by his neighbour yelling "Walalawasaba" which, I believe, means "you snooze, you lose!"

The same corner, slightly different experiment with the pens and ink. I tried swapping cartridges in the pens to see if they would show a progression from, say, green to purple, but as the pigments are so powerful, I would've had to put in a few km's of line to show the complete changeover.

Dismal attempt at the lovely old building on the opposite corner... need some architectural drawing workshops!

My Blog List has disappeared from my sidebar... I have no idea how - I reported it to Blogger Help and someone(?) said they were aware of the problem but so far nothing has been restored. Anyone else had this happen?

Spring in Black & White

 We were down in Franschhoek again last week, mon mari (a little French to suit the location) very busy with meetings, so I had plenty of time to chill - and there is no better place to do that - reading books, drawing and just gazing at the amazing scenery. The house we stayed in has a number of beautiful old black and white drawings and prints of trees in it and I was inspired to try using just pen and ink (my Lamy pen with a fine nib, and Noodlers black ink) to sketch in spite of the seductive brilliant greens just beginning to sprout from every dry branch and vine.

A pair of Egyptian geese had produced a family on the pond outside the house - last time my husband was here there were seven goslings, now reduced to three with a sighting of a rooikat (caracul or lynx) with a little feathered body clamped in its jaws reported! I sketched the survivors grazing on the lawn - their ruthless parents were now dive-bombing them to chase them off the premises - oh to be a bird!

I did try one little watercolour sketch of some indigenous watsonias against the fields, trees and mountains but my sketchbook paper and clumsy waterbrush conspired against the beauty I was trying to portray (well that's my excuse anyway).

Greek Day at Rotary Arts Festival

 I cannot believe it's almost July! I have so much I should be doing but finding it hard to knuckle down and do any of it, including updating my blog (doggedly keeping it going though, as proof that I actually DO do something every now and then).

These sketches from a few weeks ago at the annual Rotary Arts Festival... I see this time last year I was thinking of having an Urban Sketchers display or stand there next time, which never happened.
We had fun though on the Greek-themed day, sketching the kids from the Saheti School playing bouzoukis, singing and dancing, as well as catching other scenes from around the shopping centre - over coffee in the bookshop, a life drawing session from the Figures & Form group, and a lone pianist who I hope realised his beautiful playing was appreciated even if he didn't draw the crowds. I stuck to simple contour line drawing after a brief attempt to take my watercolours out in a shifting, shuffling situation!

Basket Sellers

I popped out to collect my contact lenses from my optometrist and got a parking place right in front of the basket ladies on the pavement outside her rooms. Too good an opportunity to miss sketching them unaware!

Killarney Style

 A lovely day to go sketching, in the lovely suburb of Killarney on Saturday. Although it's known as 'flatland' because it consists almost entirely of blocks of flats or apartments, many of them are historic Art Deco buildings, the streets are well lined with lush green trees and the rich variety of locals strolling the streets are friendly and welcoming.
I sat at the gate of the park where we sketched the suburb's Spring Day back in 2014 with Whitehall Court across the road and tried to capture the shady elegance of its pillars and balconies. There was a constant coming and going of visitors and residents, all infused with an easy-going, relaxed rhythm. So many stopped to chat, a real vibe of a vibrant and interactive community where everyone seemed to know each other.

The venue was suggested by Fiver Löcker, visiting South Africa again and staying this time in Killarney. She invited us all up to her flat for tea and cake, and of course to sketch the view from her balcony - a huge expanse of sky (watching lightning storms there must be spectacular!) with a broad flat vista of the Northern suburbs. I drew a small section, leaving out the big beautiful sky - I need lessons in cloud painting as well as much better paper - and picked out the ever present cranes, you wouldn't think we were in a recession with the constant building operations going on.
Every now and then I threw down my cityscape for my other sketchbook as people walked past to try and snatch impressions of the colour and movement below. They do all seem to be women, but they are the most interesting, colourful and varied to sketch aren't they!?

Newtown Fridays

I've re-instated the 'First Friday in Newtown' sketch date for our Joburg Sketchers group after it fizzled out rather apathetically last year. I admit to feeling a little apprehensive before these gatherings as we stick out like strange pale objects in the bustling, noisy, lively African space - even though we've only been ignored at worst (apart from one vendor once, upset at me drawing his stall) and joyfully welcomed at best. This time we had some new faces join the regulars - a few followers of our Facebook page and newsletter who at last took the plunge into the city, visiting sketcher Fiver from Brighton, and a whole fresh bunch of young men and women from a nearby architect's studio who made me feel optimistic about the future of urban sketching in Joburg, if they only keep on coming!

I started sketching the lovely Museum Africa building, sadly deteriorating again after a new lease of life a few years ago. Apparently it's down to its last curator who is leaving, or has left after trying gamely to keep the collection going and safe with no resources or help. The wooden heads which line the streets of Newtown are also showing signs of neglect and vandalism; a ragged Rasta man scratching in a bag of rubbish for scraps next to me who it felt too intrusive to draw...
But back to happier observations - a truck driver pulled up alongside and asked what I was doing... "But this is great!", other passers by stopped to look, chat and laugh with the sketchers, the young architect's group was enthusiastic and once again we're encouraged to do this again - once you're there, it's always, always worthwhile.

SketchCrawl in Melville

...And crawling to non-existent internet speeds here, so an overdue post about the 50th Worldwide Sketchcrawl on 23 January. We met in Melville, a suburb we've sketched quite often because of its quaint shops and bohemian population. 

I started at the corner clothes shop where some sketchers were doing a bit more catching up than sketching for a while; then popped into the tattoo parlour who surprised me with caricatures by one of the artists in return for my efforts; indulged in a delicious iced coffee at the IT café while sketching the restaurant opposite, with pavement bead artist traders on the corner; then we all ended up at 27 Boxes, which I've sketched before but don't seem to have posted on this blog... it is up on Urban Sketchers here.
We were lucky enough to have our wrap-up meeting coincide with a young jazz band's performance at the little outdoor arena, giving us more sketching fodder as well as a treat for the ears - a very talented group, some of whom were just off to Cape Town to start on their musical studies and careers.

Even though a few of our regular Joburg Sketchers couldn't make it, so great to have a good turnout of ten! Yay!

Back to the Zoo

Our first Joburg Sketchers date of the year, to the zoo - not very original, but always lots to draw. Seeing the animals in restricted spaces like this is sad, but at the rate some of them are being taken out it may be the only place we'll be able to. 

 I hung around near the gate and the flamingos with Wendy to see if any other sketchers would arrive, not knowing that there were two other temporary entrances while the main one is being worked on. I loved these funny pink birds but the fence around them is high so you have to stand up the whole time... felt a bit flamingo-ish myself standing on one leg then the other, and capturing their endlessly coiling and uncoiling necks impossible.

We eventually found Leonora and John and joined them at the rhino pen. I sketched the sketchers and quickies of the rhinos - no, they weren't all on the same side of the fence - a bit of artistic licence to fit everybody in.

There was a long line of interesting back views (people) at the lion enclosure, which drifted off as I started sketching them, so I tried the lionesses, including some beautiful rare white ones - the males were hiding. Some rather weird and scribbly renditions but they didn't keep still, not for a moment! Again, there is a fence - a faulty electric one that clicked incessantly which must surely have miffed the animals and made them so restless. I'd like to go back on a quiet week day, take proper watercolour paper and brushes and try the birds and lions again.

Last stop the restaurant where we found a last stray sketcher, Lisa, who had been communing with the apes. I discovered I was missing my brand new dagger brush (see previous post) so trudged back to the lions, eyes fixed on the ground. It was there, under the tree where I'd been sitting - whew! A last quick sketch - some children who once again moved off before I'd got the little sister in, a chicken who fancied our pizza, some odd buildings - lunch, a chat and home!

Lunar Ladies

My daughter is the designer for Lunar clothing store in a shopping centre not too far from where I live. Behind the scenes of the elegant, uncluttered showroom is a hive of activity where these seamstresses cut, measure, pin and whirr away on their machines to bring the designs into being.
I popped in a few weeks ago with the problem of an urgent hem for a 60th birthday party (mine!!) to be taken up and no working sewing machine to do it myself - quickly and efficiently taken care of by the ladies - but not before I had the chance to tuck myself in between rolls of fabric and hanging garments and sketch them hard at work.

Apologies once again for being so scarce... turning this large sounding age was one thing I've been getting my head around, along with some wonderful surprises that came along with it (my sister who was supposed to be at home in Texas popping up at my birthday party!) - and other projects, pleasures and possibilities have been claiming my limited attention, time and concentration. Drawing (apart from a big illustration job that arrived in the middle of this flurry of activity) and painting have taken a back seat, but things are quietening down and I think I'm feeling that urge to put pen and brush to paper again!

Three days at the Mall

 I spent three days last week actually being paid to sketch - on a chalkboard - for a promotion in Sandton City shopping centre. I had to draw background themes for people to come and sit in front of and have their photos taken so it would look as if they had, for example, angel wings or a chef's hat grasping a wooden spoon and cake, or blowing seeds from a chalk dandelion. It was really effective and fun when people took part, though most in the centre were rushing to get where they were going or too shy, so we didn't get as many takers as I was expecting.
In the long waits between customers I sketched anyone who hung around for a few minutes - it's a long time since I've done such a lot of people watching and sketching, I think the practice did me good. Read the script if you want to know more :-)

Scenes from an Exhibition

Not proud of myself that I completely baled out of my commitment to draw Every Day in May last month, but you'll be pleased to know (I hope) that it succeeded in making me realise what it was I really wanted to be doing. So I've spent the last couple of weeks with canvases, brushes and paint, and though I don't really want to talk about it yet, I am happy that the ball is kind of bumpily rolling in that direction - I'll show you when there's something finished and worth showing. 

In the meantime, the sketchers were invited to the Rotary Art Festival at the upmarket shopping centre of Hyde Park over three of the ten days that it was on for. Loads of artists exhibiting over three floors, life drawing, painting and printmaking demos, restaurants and viewing public, there was plenty to sketch. I think next time, if there is one, we should have an Urban Sketching display with explanations of what we try to do, as we attracted some quizzical and suspicious looks.

This was a group of exhibiting artists having what looked like a very entertaining lunch

 And some unsuspecting patrons at the same restaurant

where some very busy waiters were the next victims

We sat up on the top floor looking down at more restaurants and some of the people milling around the exhibition. Then an attempt to catch in colour people as they stood on the escalator coming up. Those things go much faster than you think, and everyone looks up startled to see eyes fixed upon them, so it was short-lived!