Flynn's Beach Rocks from Liz

Our postcard project this year seems to be spluttering along a bit erratically, but to see a colourful rectangle in the postbox is always a thrill. This time it was one of Liz's wonderful  rock-and-beach scenes from her recent holiday at Port Macquarie (fairly recent, as I've taken a while to get to posting this!) I had been thoroughly enjoying seeing her expressive - and different for her - posts from the beach and to have one for my collection is very special. I can just picture Liz sitting here on the sand and concentrating on capturing the wild sea and sky. I love that it is signed with her personal name-stamp that was given to her in Singapore too!

Liz sketches in Sydney

I can only apologise to Liz for the late posting here of her card. I received it ages ago but must have popped it in a sketchbook for safe keeping. It was only recently I used the book to find, with great relief, the card inside.

If you're a follower of Liz's Blog I think you might detect a change in her work, a freer, looser use of the watercolour medium.

 I love the direction she's going in and it's great to see the sheer joy she's experiencing coming through in her sketches.

Liz says this card, showing St Thomas, North Sydney, shows her experimenting with distorted perspective and loose brushstrokes.

And I should mention that the sketch was to be completed in under 15 minutes

It's wonderful to have a real Liz Steel in my possession.

http://www.lizsteel.com/

The Art Gallery of New South Wales x Two

It's always interesting seeing the same subject created in different ways. For an artist it's probably one of the best ways of exploring different mediums. 

 

Liz is well know for her wonderful ink and watercolour sketches. Here though she has tried out watercolour alone, followed by what she terms her 'latest craze' marker pens.  I've not tried pens like this but i can imagine they open up a new world in terms of speed.  No hanging around for washes to dry. 

 

Thank you so much for the two sketches Liz!  Both different but both definitely Liz!  I love the stamps too - aren't those fur seals great :o)

 

 

The T2 Tea House in North Ryde, Sydney

This is the famous T2 Tea House in Sydney - scene of many a pen and ink and watercolour sketch by Liz and Borromini

Liz knows how I love drawing interiors - particularly ones where eating and drinking are involved and I was tickled pink to get a sketch of the interior of her favourite tea house in Sydney.

Liz has impeccable perspective as always - even when it comes to shelves of tea and a counter of other goodies. I am so impressed by the writing on the blackboard and I'm hoping there was a little trick involved there with resist maybe?

The T2 Teahouse, North Ryde, Sydney

It was raining when Liz did her sketch so on the reverse I got another of my favourite Liz sketches - what she was eating and drinking.  It looks to me as if Liz was sharing a virtual cream tea with me! :)

I have to apologise to Liz for being extremely late in posting this - it dates from before her recent trips to the Dominican Republic and the USA.  I've got very behind with posting cards received and getting cards sent and am in the middle of a big catch up!

Where to find the T2 Teahouse: Macquarie Shopping Centre, Level 4, Shop 440, Cnr Herring Rd & Waterloo Rd, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW 2113 Australia

Tea and Victorian Filigree from Australia

I apologise for being so late to show this beautiful final card that I received from Liz Steel already at the beginning of February. The stylish building fits very well to the scent of the High Mountain Oolong tea from Taiwan, served in the most precious cup you can imagine, a real Shelley. It is worth while to check out the Victorian filigree in Sidney, which I never heard of before.

 Thank you Liz for this stylish card!

Azure Seas off Australia

When I saw this sparkling card from Alison, I thought, Wow, do they have such turquoise seas in England?... but reading the other side I found that she'd done it from a sketch on her recent holiday on Lizard Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef!

It sounds quite idyllic, fringed by coral and with shallow waters so the colour of the sea changes constantly, not surprising that Alison sat and watched it for hours. I love the way she's allowed the watercolours to blend freely, suggesting so subtly 'things' under the surface and the movement and breaking of the waves.

Its a lovely, uplifting card that reminds me of a few perfect holidays at the coast where I've been lucky enough to occasionally experience such gorgeous sea colours.

I loved the Roald Dahl stamp too, in spite of the P.O. smudging their stamp of officialdom rather carelessly.

Five things which are important to Liz Steel

Architecture, her religious belief and a cup of tea!

I love this card because it tells me it's been painted by Liz Steel - even if I didn't recognise her very characteristic sketching.

There are three things which are important to Liz Steel.

Liz loves sketching architecture (see Sketching Architecture).  This is the church of St Francis of Assisi in the Paddington area of Sydney.  (The link in the name tells the interesting story of the architecture of this church - just in case Liz doesn't already know it.)

Not a very Australian subject...  Most parish churches in Sydney are simplified English Gothic...so of course the dramatic morning shadow of the main arch caught my eye.

Liz's religious belief is very important to her - and I regard the church as symbolic of that

Liz also believes in the vital importance of a cup of tea - I do love the fact that her cups of tea appear all the time in her sketches and now I've got one of my own!

Finished the card off with a cup of tea - Taylors of Harrogate Earl Grey in a Royal Albert Regency Blue cup + using a surprise gift teapot from Cris in Malaga Spain who I met in Lisbon

Actually - make that four things most important to Liz Steel.  Sketching with friends is also high on her list of very important activities - and it's nice to see this also reflected in her card.  Lisbon was the venue for the 2nd Urban Sketchers Symposium and the link goes to all Liz' posts about sketching in that city.

Borromini looks after this sketch - as per usual

I also loved the Borromini Bear stamp on the rear!  As if any sketch by Liz could be produced without his presence! :)

Duh!  Make that five things which are important to Liz Steel - architecture, her religious belief, a cup of tea, sketching with friends and little Borromini - who's a very well travelled little bear!

PS  Now I've got it I want to know what Liz used for her postcard.  It looks like the ideal surface and weight for painting postcards.

The October card from Down Under safely arrived

Today I received one of those beautiful postcards from Liz.
I love them because they are drawn in such a spontaneous way and I like the combination of lines and watercolours. At the front of the card there are three terrace houses in Globe. Liz thinks their colour combinations are sometimes rather odd but Liz made the best of it! At the back of the card there is an extra image of a tarte she had bought in a suburb of Petersham. She enjoyed it at home with a nice cup of Earl Grey. Both, the cup and the tarte look extremely three-dimensional. And here again Liz has put some lovely stamps on it. Great! Thanks a lot Liz!

Towers and Tea From Sydney

My turn to receive a card from Liz Steel. Another super combination of architecture and afternoon tea!
I particularly like this side with the Sydney Town Hall tower on it. The unfinished towers in the rear, which i guess are office buildings, give a great insight as to how Liz works.  Basically no hesitancy and no fuss!  I need to try and instill that into my own pen work.

The rear as ever has beautiful stamps and the special one of Borromini.  I met up with Liz while she was in London a few weeks back and we had tea and scones then too. Sadly our tea didn't come in such a brilliant tea pot.  This colour red is lovely!!

Thanks Liz, it's a super card and a wonderful reminder for me too of our afternoon.  I hope you'll make it back to London soon! 

From Liz in Australia to Pat in USA

I received Liz and Borromini Bear's postcard a few days ago and have been trying to figure out the best way of posting the image.  My camera just hasn't done it justice so I am posting it anyway with a disclaimer that...In real life it is much much better.  You will have to come to my house for tea and a rest in the garden to see the real thing though.  It felt so special when my husband handed me the mail saying you will be happy about the mail today.  Sure enough Liz's postcard has put a smile on my face for days.




Having a Cuppa in Nanna's China

Watercolor, ink postcard



  

I love the back of the card with all the wonderful
stamps and of course Liz's perfect handwriting. 





These areas were so wonderful I wanted to highlight them.
Especially the tea cozy keeping Liz's
 tea warm and ready for the second cuppa.



I want to thank you, Liz, for this wonderful addition to my growing collection of precious art from around the world.

Oolong Berry Tea and BB's Stamp!

How wonderful it is to receive a "real card" from an artist whose work you've admired but only seen online. Photos can't make up for actually being able to hold her card and of seeing up close how Liz uses pen and watercolour in her own personal style to record her much loved tea and scones. I am full of admiration for her drawing skills, her vibrant colours and the way she composes her sketches and makes the whole tea drinking experience one I wish I was participating in. One day please Liz - if I ever go to Sydney !!

Liz has seemingly tried 57 T2 teas and has only 89 to go!! This one is a new tea Oolong Berry described as "Raspberries combined with green oolong and intense yet delicately flavoured". Who could resist that - especially served in these beautiful teacups - shared with her friend after a rainy day's sketching in a Tearoom called Cockatoo Island.

And I'm now the proud owner of one of BB's stamps.

A crazy day in Sydney

I’ve received this incredible annotated map of a day in the life of Liz Steel. It makes me feel like a complete slacker, but I love this postcard! Here’s her numbered guide to the whole extravaganza:

1. walk south along/across the Sydney Harbour bridge

2. visit Tara Tearoom with sketching buddy Alissa

3. walk past the building I intend to draw and take photo as the sun is in the right location, then walk through the city to get to the gardens for Sketchabout Week I – after great time sketching and afternoon tea with 8 fellow sketchers, leave garden

4. walk around circular quay, dodge tourists

5. sketch for you (that would be me!) looking into the sun

6. too late for Parker’s Art Store this week

7. back across the bridge, including sketch

Liz describes it as an unusually crazy day, but if you follow her blog, you will know she does this sort of thing ALL THE TIME!

A pelican from Australia!

It was a wonderful surprise to find that my postcard this month came from Bridget but even more so since she painted and sent this beautiful card whilst on vacation in Australia! The colours are so soft and subtle and the subject matter is perfect - pelicans are one of my favourite birds! Thank you so much Bridget!

Here's what Bridget says about it -

'A pelican from Kingscote Harbour, Kangeroo Island, South Australia. Pelicans are fed daily at 5pm - so congregate eagerly from 4pm! I find them strange to draw - almost cartoonish - but very appealing. The eyes are large blackish pupils set in ovals of yellow. This particular bird sat and stared at me as I stared back at him! I was able to capture his image in watercolour before he got bored and turned his back to me.'

Sidney Harbour Bridge - my February postcard from Liz Steel

Sidney Harbour Bridge and Borromini Bear stamps, postcard from Liz Steel

The postcard from Liz dropped through the letterbox and it's absolutely delightful - Borromini's cheerful face peers out from the stamp - what a fantastic idea!

There is a lovely loose but beautifully observed view of the bridge and opera house - an iconic Australian scene :>)

Such beautiful writing too.

And of course there is talk of cosy cafes and Earl Grey :>)

Gorgeous - and thank you Liz.