This week was Melbourne Rare Book Week.

There were events on everyday.  It provided a chance to listen to  individuals talk about their book passions and share their knowledge. It also provides the opportunity for me to sketch ! (You may notice – there are no actual sketches of books in this blogpost).

I attended six events and sketched at four of them. I sketched using a graphite pencil or my Lamy Sarafi Joy ink pen.

before the talk on The Joy of Books. A few of the audience looking at books on display and talking to the presenter

I deliberately chose a seat at the back and to the side of the room. This way, I can look over the audience and practice sketching crowds. The people stay still as they listen and I have a captive audience. In this time I can practice sketching the subtleties of slumped shoulders and tilted heads of people as they listened, entranced by the speakers. I really enjoy sketching groups of people and sketch instances like this often (and am therefore comfortable with it).

talk on Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary

The other opportunity the Rare Book Week talks provided was time to practice drawing the faces of the presenters. This is more of a challenge for me. I find that capturing the personality of a person is a skill that will take me a lot of practice – which is why this was a great opportunity.

Reading letters from 84 Charing Cross Road

While I am sketching I am also listening to the presenters. Drawing does not distract me, rather it helps me focus. This is hard to explain. The presentations were all talks, and not pictures or visuals on slides, so I did not need to look up all the time. My sketches do not look like the actual person but it was good fun.