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Another thing to note is that if you wish to see detail etc is the factor of training. Whether you do that training in Sydney or out the back of Birdsville you still need it. The viewing will be better from back of Birdsville regardless but if you have not practiced and gained experience you may not maximise the time you do get at a wonderfully dark site with perfect seeing.
Deep Sky Objects are called faint fuzzies and there is a reason for it: they are faint and they are fuzzy. Not to be flippant but that is the way of it.
The sketchers that sketch and have them published have been observing for many years and sketching also for a long time, they know what they can and can not see and how to bring that out. They also know that their sketches are often composites (as are photographs) that are built up over time spent observing the object at the eyepiece, adding this detail here, another there. Many sketches are labours that range from a quick scribble through to a number of hours of effort. When you spend considerable time on an object you begin to learn its character and what subtlties you can then see. Go to any sketch artists web site and most will tell you it takes time, patience, practice and training to begin to see more than a distant ball of gray wispy cotton wool for many of the DSOs. They will also tell you to not give up.
There is something rewarding about beginning to see some detail and then comparing to sketches or photographs and checking what you saw. Or maybe I need to book an appoint with a physc to see how well adjusted I am ;-)
There is no substitute for time at the eyepiece and good on you for getting out and doing so. Regarding detail, you'll get there.
Regarding the Orion Nebula, if you concentrate around the Trap you'll see detail associated with the fish-mouth (dark structure near the trap) and some of the fainter variable stars that are embedded in the nebula as they struggle to get their light out. There is also the extent to which the nebulae goes, try determining its boundary and the nature of its shape. Can you see any colour at all - some folk report blue-green (faint) around the brighter parts. I have seen it with an 8" when I was younger. My daughter claims to see it with my 70mm refractor (I can't but then my eyes are older) when I asked can she see any colour or is it all gray (with no other prompting than that) her response I see bluey-green, <sigh> to have young eyes again. View is from northern suburbs of Adelaide.
You can also try your hand at the Eta Carina Nebula which is beginning to make an appearance again and NGC2070, the Tarantula has detail worth a look. NGC 253, an almost edge on galaxy in the sculptor region is also rewarding for a bit of time viewing. There is also nearby NGC 55 and perhaps NGC 300. M77 might be worth a crack too.
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