The gardens cover 30 hectares in a spectacular setting in Sydney, right next to the CBD. It was established n 1816 and has a huge variety of plants and trees. Our little bit if nature in the middle of the city!!!
Sketchabout is happening each Satuday afternoon for the next six weeks as part of their Autumn of the Arts festival. We are encouraging people who attended to upload their drawings to the blog
We had over 40 people turn out on a beautiful sunny afternoon. After an welcome by Kerry from the RBG , Liz Steel gave an introduction and then we spread out through the Gardens, meeting up at 3pm to share sketchbooks and experiences. This is the first time that this has been held and we were very unsure as to how it would go. But the day was fantastic . It was especially wonderful to see the sketchers all chatting amongst themselves and members of the public at the end. Everyone found different parts and things in the Gardens to draw and explore - and that was what the Gardens wanted to achieve.
As I was involved in the event, I spent a lot of the time chatting to sketchers, but managed to draw a Moreton Bay Fig and also the fruits of the same tree. These were on the ground around me. They are eaten (half eaten) by the fruit bats that live in the gardens .
Moreton Bag Fig: Ficus macrophylla. Large spreading tree, epiphytic and strangling in early stages, trunks becoming massive with large buttresses. Distribution and occurrence: In coastal rainforest of all types,NSW Qld Vic
Looking forward to next week !!
Would love to be part of such an effort! I'll have to check to see of such a activity is planned for my area in Portland, Oregon. Might have to wait a month for the spring flowers to be out, although daffodils are nearly blooming.
ReplyDelete