Leonard Cohen, playing with Javier Mas and Dino Soldo in Sydney 2010

Gouache and watercolour pencil
8 x 5 inches on paper

Last week saw the return of Leonard Cohen to Sydney. It has been 18 months since Leonard Cohen & his bands sensational last concerts in Sydney; which were followed by sensational reviews and desperate envy from those who were unable to attend.

Now 76, Leonard only improves with age as his voice keeps maturing like a deep soulful red wine. His energy is amazing, playing well over 3 hours.

The same superbly talented musicians and singers were with Leonard, they all play multiple instruments and one will rarely hear the richness & excitement of music such as this ensemble plays. My particular favourites are the spine chilling openings by Javier Mas in "Who by Fire" and "The Gypsy's Wife" & wonderful to hear the rarely performed "A Singer must Die". A treat to hear a couple of bluesy new songs (The Darkness and Born in Chains) which will appear on his new album to be released next year. Read the Sydney Morning Herald's review at this link

Click on the following images to see the previous drawings & posts of the Sydney concerts in February 2009.

Leonard Cohen Sydney 2009

Javier Mas - Sydney 2009

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Rue Mazarine Paris

My favourite area in Paris is the 6th arrondissement. I just enjoy soaking in its atmosphere. Rue Mazarine is in the heart & runs off the energetic and Rue Buci , running parallel with the colourful Rue de Seine

Oil on Canvas 12 x 10 inches (500x 600mm)
This painting is available with some of my other paintings of Paris at Edmonds and Greer, Oatley, Sydney. click here to enquire or contact me

L'escargot Rue Montorgueil Paris

Rue Montorguil is on the right Bank near Les Halles. It was the subject of a famous painting by Monet who painted it from a balcony in the street depicting it full of flags during the World Fair of June 1878. More info at this link

If you loo closely at my painting you will see the golden snail which is the sign for the famous restaurant L'Escagot.

Rue Montorgueil Paris

Oil on Canvas 12 x 10 inches (500x 600mm)

This painting and some of my other paintings of Paris & Venice are now on display & for sale at Edmonds and Greer, Oatley, Sydney. This painting has now been sold. However prints are now available here at Redbubble.com


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Notre Dam Cathedral Paris

I haven't posted for a while as I have been in France & The Netherlands. A great place to start posting the sketches & paintings is a small watercolour of a classic view of Notre Dam.

Watercolour with Pen 8 x 5 inches (approx 20 x 12cm) on paper.
This painting of Notre Dam is for sale for $100 plus $20 shipping click here to contact me.

Cockatoo Island from Elkington Park Balmain, Sydney

Watercolour, Pen & Pencil on Watercolour Paper

8.5 x 6 inches (21 x 15 cm)

One of the wonderful things about plein aire painting (painting on location) is the discovery of so many great places in Sydney that I have never been to before.
Elkington Park is one of those places & located right next to the Dawn Fraser Baths. It is only a few kilometres from the heart of Sydney & provides a continious view of water traffic moving out of and into Sydney Harbour. That is Cockatoo Island at the top of the painting.
It is meditation to sit with the feel of the sun & only the sound of the birds and the sea, and peacefully focus on drawing what is before me.
This painting is for sale for Aust $100 within Australia or Aust $110 for overseas delivery (approx.US$98) click here to contact me

Painting of Rue De Buci, Paris, France

Rue de Buci, Paris France

Oil on Canvas 12 x 10 inches (500x 600mm)

I am getting in the mood for an upcoming trip to France, & as always I get this urge to paint where I am going before I get there. Last time I was in Paris I stayed in the Hotel de Buci and loved the area, so this is great way to start.

Rue de Buci is in the 6th arrondissement and the area is full of small shops, cafes, and markets selling fresh produce. It is surrounded by narrow streets full of character at one end, and at the other runs into the fashionable Boulevard Saint-Germain-des-Prés near where the Café Les Deux Magots , Café de Flore and the Brasserie Lipp are.

This painting and some of my other paintings of Paris & Venice are now on display & for sale at Edmonds and Greer, Oatley, Sydney.

This painting has now been sold.

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Sydney Harbour Bridge from Observatory Hill

Sydney Harbour Bridge from Observatory Hill

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper

8 x 6 inches (210 x 148mm)

After leaving the Nicholas Harding exhibition see previous post, I stopped to sketch the harbour bridge from Observatory Hill. I have drawn the harbour a few times from here and there is usually beautiful light in the late afternoon. However this is the first time that I have included the harbour bridge. I like the view from here with just a hint of the streets in the Rocks area below it

This painting is for sale for Aust $95 within Australia or Aust $105 for overseas delivery (approx.US$95) click here to contact me or buy via the Paypal button below.

Delivery options

delivery to Australia $95.00 delivery elsewhere $105.00

Minnie Waters, Coincidence and Nicholas Harding

Click on Image for a larger version

Oil on Canvas 12 x 10 inches (500x 600mm)

Before a recent painting session with my friend Steve we were discussing coincidences and instances of chance that had happened recently. As a topic for the days painting Steve picked a photo of Minnie Waters that I had taken on a recent trip to the north coast.

The next day we went to the Nicholas Harding exhibition entitled "Drawn to Paint" at the National Trusts SH Ervin Gallery, and coincidentally Minnie Waters makes more appearances in this exhibition.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition which covers the last 25 years of Nicholas practice. We see a wide range of subjects encompassing still lifes, beachscapes, portraits and urban scenes executed in his trademark thick oils and wonderful drawings in ink , charcoal etc. His composition skills are exceptional, & the drawings which don't play second fiddle to the paintings are exceptional. In them we see how he breaks through the surface to add new dimensions to the tonal qualities of the surface.

Magnolias - Nicholas Harding

It was interesting to see the evolution of his work from a murkier colour seemingly painted straight from the tube in "strings", to the current energetic light flooded works with large planes of thick luscious colour applied with a large palette knife. Well worth while visiting to see the large painting of the concourse at Central Station alone. More Nicholas Harding paintings at his website here

My painting of Minnie Waters is for sale click here to contact me , or click below to buy it unframed for Aust$295 (approx US $265) plus shipping and insurance (A$20 in Australia or A$40 (approx US35) overseas).

Inc shipping & insurance -Aust $

Within Australia or NZ $315.00 All other countries $335.00