Introducing Liz Steel

Hi I am Liz from Sydney Australia - also known online by the alias of Borromini Bear. I sketch anywhere, anytime but especially enjoy sketching on location. I thrive on sketching in outdoor conditions that can’t be controlled – hot, cold (not that we have real cold in Australia!) glary sun or rain, wind, insects, curious onlookers or uncomfortable seating arrangements. It is these variables that often lead to a more exciting and dynamic sketch than I would produce in the calm and controlled environment of a studio.



I am happy to sit down anywhere in order to get a sketch... But naturally prefer the comfort of a good café (I do try to walk off my cakes - particularly when I have a high tea!!!)

I don’t care for perfect finished pieces of art, I am more interested in capturing the moment. I sketch compulsively when I am travelling but often find it hard, particularly during the week, to get out and sketch out of doors.

Being part of the online art community world wide is very inspirational but it has the tendency to increase the hours I spend sitting in front of a computer screen. This is very bad for my neck and subsequently increases my also chronic headaches. More consistent exercise is something that I need to maintain in my daily life as it really eases the frequecies of those dreaded headaches. I am a member of a local gym which I often find rather boring and would like to supplement it with more walking which has the advantages of fresh air, interesting things to look at(and sketch) and my own choice of music!



Joining the Sketchercise gang has been a wonderful way to combine these two goals! Realistically I am not sure if I will be able to fit regular serious walking into my busy weekly schedule but the prod to get out of the office at lunch time is a start. On weekends when I go out sketching, I always try to fit in a degree of walking of 2-5 miles during the day (such as walking into the city across the Harbour Bridge rather than driving into the downtown). There are so many spectacular walks in Sydney so my plan is to explore them over the next 12 months. So for me it is more a case of walking during my sketching rather than sketching during my walks.



I mostly work in ink and loose watercolour washes in sketchbooks – it suits the quick spontaneous nature that I am striving after. I carry my sketchbook and sketching kit with me everywhere...this is what is contained in my kit at the moment. (Clicking on this image above will take you to flickr where I have listed all the items.)

Looking forward to this project so much – to receive original works from this very special group will be a real treat...but also a great challenge for myself to get more exercise and start doing work outside of the comfort of my own sketchbook.