This work responds to the sandstone buildings and the interesting passages between that framed my student experience at National Art School and my current role as a tutor. The brutal origins of this campus as the Darlinghurst Gaol belies the creative sanctuary that it became. This contrast is reflected in its imposing structures and their soft earthy curves. I used washes of walnut and Indian ink to build up the grimy density of stone and bitumen and to lay gentle gradients that connect the architectonic subject with the white void of the paper. I enjoy the reductive discipline of tonal sketching en-plein air and in the studio where fluid tone compliments line and the act of omission is as important as the marks applied. The challenge is to transcend the rendering of forms and to make evident the magic of atmosphere and light.