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Here are my sketches from Saturday... a great day!!!



Sketching this folly was quite a challenge...

A good number of the sketchers stayed for lunch and we had a great time sharing sketchbooks. It is always so inspirational to see the works of others.

My Sketchabout Sketchbook in Full

Open publication - Free publishing - More australia

So here it is - a sketchbook full of garden sketches! Considering how much chatting I did during the sketchabout I am quite pleased that I managed to do so much sketching!

Architects are normally much more comfortable sketching buildings than plants so this sketchbook contains quite a different range of subjects from my usual. I did manage to fit in one sketch of a cup of tea and a palette sketch right at the end so that it became a true 'Liz-sketchbook'!



Looking forward to seeing all the great works in the exhibition!

Sketchabout 6- Liz's sketches

Here are my sketches from the tropical centre.... a great place to sketch on a wet day - except for the occasional drop that came out of nowhere!



It was a great day and lovely to close 6 weeks of sketching with an afternoon... I just had to do one more sketch on the way out- despite the rain. Next time it is a wet day, I intend to bring a bigger umbrella!

Thanks to Kerry for organizing the sketchabouts, Wendy, Annie and Alissa and all the people that joined in to make it such a great success!!!

Sketchabout 5 - Liz's Sketches

Another WONDERFUL sketchabout...and the most perfect day weather wise as well! Was a little exhausted in the morning but somehow picked up once the event started!


I am really enjoying sketching tree trunks these days

Funny that I always seem drawn to the buildings in the gardens....

Now for the sketches that I did during the sketchabout in the herb garden....

Such a beautiful day- so relaxing sitting in the shade sketching and chatting!

A final sketch...I am trying to fill up my sketchbook so feeling pressure to sketch as much as I can! I wrote banana leaves...but I think they might be palms?

Sketchabout 4 - Liz's Sketches

This week I tried to get to the garden early for some focussed sketching before the excitement of the sketchabout – but the weather and the Con open day had other plans for me...

Just before I reached the garden it started raining and blowing a gale – but of course I still sketched with the threat of rain - this is a wonderful art installation made of building fragments. I have wanted to sketch since I discovered it but it has either been rainy or way too hot to sketch in the sun...so at least I have the first sketch now...but of course I want to go back some day!

Next- a lovely surprise in the Vista Pavilion - an open day at the nearby Conservatorium of Music with some events in the garden - so I had to sketch it! A Clarinet Quartet was playing a very mixed medley which finished with Gershwin’s Lady Be good – so no guess what lyrics were rattling in my head for the rest of the day!

Another great group today and thankfully it did not rain! About 25 people - really getting to know some of the regulars and lovely meeting new people each week!!

I started by sketching the Ikebana scuplture which was a little challenging - had a lovely chat to fellow sketchers in the middle.

Then time to actually draw a detail of some leaves and an another Moreton Bay Fig – I love these trees. More chatting to new sketchabout attendees - it is such a lovely social event. I do find it sometimes hard to sketch and talk at the same time but have worked out that I can manage to get them to a 80% stage while chatting away...but I leave that last 20% to complete in calmness at home. Therefore, what others see at the end of the day is sometimes a lot different from the final version.

I went in search of Sadami and found her sketching musicans back up at the Vista Pavilion and then I joined in sketching- just as a jazz performance started- it was WONDERFUL!!!


Another great day- see you all next time!!!

Sketchabout 3 - Liz's Sketches

Sketchabout 3 - another wonderful afternoon despite the rain and windy conditions.

over 20 sketchers... a few of them are missing in this group photo.

I knew we were planning to go to Government House so I decided to sketch another
a building as warmup while waiting for 1pm to arrive- this is the old part of the restaurant.

Hard to believe that I have never been to Government House before and now that I know that you can freely wander around the gorgeous grounds I am sure that I will go back. Being an architect I was rather excited at the prospect of sketching an overall view...so John and I set up under a tree to sketch the grand vista that you enjoy on the approach to the building

I then went back to the gardens for another view but shortly after starting the rain started... I was really in the groove so didn't want to stop. Up came the umbrella and I kept going.

This was so much fun and I loved the out of control nature of having rain on my page as despite the umbrella the wind driven rain just kept landing on the page! Thanks to Rod for these photos.

See you all next week...please do come along even if rain is forecast! It is a pity to miss out on all the fun just because of a few drops of water!

Sketchabout 2 - Liz's Sketches

Another great day - despite the rain!!! If there is a desire to sketch, the weather might be a challenge but where there is a will there is a way!

Warmup sketch before the start of the sketchabout - this is the wonderful brand new sculpture and very fun to draw. What was not so fun was the rain and the wind. I did manage to get the linework done sitting on my stool holding onto my umbrella - but the painting side was a bit too hard...so I added it later.


Great turnout for a very wet day - 23 approx sketchers. We were given access to Rathbourne lodge and were able to sit under the verandah and sketch the courtyard.



Not quite the options that we had last week but it was really nice to have most of the group together.

Look forward to seeing everyone next week ....Even if it is raining - there is so much to see and sketch in this wonderful garden!!!!

Liz's sketches from Sketchabout 1

Well today was the first of six Garden Sketchabout ...and can I just say up front that it was WONDERFUL!!!!!

Alissa and I got to the gardens before 11.30 and shortly after arriving we found a sketcher already in action! She joined us in a 'warmup' sketch at the lotus pond.

In true Liz-style I managed to sneak in a second warm up sketch before we went to meet up with all the sketchers at 1pm. What a great turn up - over 40 sketchers I think! This page also contains a quick sketch of a chinese lantern that I did while talking to a sketcher from England! I also love drawing maps of where I go each week and a business card of the restaurant from the afternoon tea which didn't fit on the upcoming page (too many cakes- but more of that later!)

After an initial welcome the sketchers scattered all over the garden. I was doing too much talking (so out of character?!? NOT!) and found it hard to concentrate on sketching. It is occasions like these that training your hand to 'reflex sketch' comes in handy.

Another sketch from the same spot - funny I am always drawn to the built structures visible in the garden!


We then had a wonderful session at the band lawn - meeting more sketchers, swapping sketchbooks and a group photo.

9 of us from the Sydney Sketch Club finished the afternoon with a special Sketchabout afternoon tea at the Restaurant. Do I need to say that we had a great time in many ways!

Finally, for me, I walked back across the Harbour Bridge and sketched the gardens in context. Although not drawn as part of the sketchabout I am including this so overseas visitors to the blog can get an idea of how important the garden is to the city of Sydney!

What a wonderful wonderful day - I am one hyped up but somewhat exhausted little sketcher now! And we do it all again next Saturday!

An afternoon in the gardens

On Saturday I was in the gardens from 1pm...only 2 weeks till I will be there as part of the sketchabout - I can't wait. Anyway, I had a productive afternoon - here are the sketches I did in my sketchbook.

First stop was my favourite tree. There are lots of Moreton Bay figs (or similar) in the Royal Botanic Gardens but this one is the best!!! Love all those aerial roots.

I was feeling a little exhausted (as I had been walking around town and sketching in the morning as well!) so I went to lie down on the grass in the shade for a bit. It was such a beautiful afternoon and there were lots of groups of people sun baking or resting in the shade so I was in good company. My rest didn't last long as I felt the urge to sketch. This Greek monument I have sketched before and was recently label a coffee plunger here by a Dutch flickr friend. I have always drawn this looking towards the Harbour Bridge but today sitting under the shade of a frangipani tree on a very warm summers day I was facing the opposite direction. No disrespect intended to the monument... I do really love it as a fine piece of Corinthian Greek architecture!

After the coffee plunger analogy surely it was time for a coffee - so I drew a grouping of palm trees while sipping a takeaway skinny latte. It is quite fun to be drawing more trees and landscaping...something that as an architect I used to really be unsure about doing...

And finally - I caught up with Alissa at 4.30 and we did a sketch in the herb garden.

My Photo Shoot sketches

Following on from alissa's sketch here are mine


These are the sketches I did while 'pretending' to sketch! Of course I can't PRETEND to sketch... I am used to asking someone to photograph me while I am doing a sketch...so for the photography to be more important than what was happening on the page was rather different. Also strange was the need to be reminded to smile (normally I have that intensely serious concentrating look!) It was a lot of fun... but I am more and more convinced that it is often easier to sketch than to take a good photo!
And just as an aside - I am SOOO looking forward to sketching the afternoon tea as well as sketching in the garden. Nothing beats having a good cup of tea and cake after some serious sketching... and it is a lot of fun to sketch as well. I will certainly be booking a spot!

Macquarie Wall

Spent a few lovely hours in the garden again on Saturday. It is amazing the things you discover when you actually start looking around! I have been conscious of walking through this wall many times but never stopped to see if it had any significance! But of course it does... built by Governor Macquarie. Was such a lovely afternoon to sit in the shade and sketch- chatting to a number of passers by as I was sketching or painting away.

Earlier in the day I did a quick sketch from the table I was sitting at in the cafe...view looking towards the shop. There is just SO much to sketch in the garden - everytime I go I see more things that I want to sketch!

A Greek Monument

To introduce myself.... my name is Liz Steel and I am an architect. I have been drawing in some way or other all my life, but when I discovered watercolours in 2007, I started sketching regularly... and haven’t stopped since then. I fill sketchbook after sketchbook with a visual record of my life which I share on my blog Liz and Borromini. One of the things that I love about sketching is the fact that it slows you down, making you stop to look and appreciate the world around you.

I have lived in Sydney all my life and love it so much. Since becoming the Sydney Correspondent for the international group of Urban Sketchers, I have made a determined effort to get out on a regular basis to sketch my wonderful hometown in order to share it online with people all around the world. The Royal Botanic Gardens has such a pivotal role in our city – it is essential to the classic view that the world sees as ‘Sydney’ and also is involved in many of the big social events during the year. It has held a special place in my life as well – when I wander its grounds I am always reminded of events in the past such as visits with overseas friends, weddings, concerts, picnics and school excursions.


I am very excited to be a part of the Great Garden Sketchabout and look forward to sharing my sketches and adventures with you all on this blog – there is so much to explore, not just the plants, but also the buildings, the views, the sculptures, the animals... The list goes on.

Here is a sketch I did a few weeks ago when I was in the garden for a few hours -it is a sketch of the Choragic monument of Lysicrates replica (copy of something in Athens... don't worry I had to take a photo of the plaque and google it myself!)
Notice the Harbour Bridge in the background.

Liz's sketch of Woollie Gate at the Royal Botanic Gardens

This beautiful sketch of the Woolloomooloo Gate was done by Liz Steel on Christmas Eve when she and Wendy Shortland came sketching in the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. To see more of Liz's sketches, visit

http://www.lizsteel.com/