It has never been my aim to have the entire range of 120 Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils.

I have always been happy with the 26 or so that I have in my sketch kit, which I carry with me every day. I know them so very well, the colours they make on the page, and what happens to that colour when water is added to the page. It can sometimes change ! I wrote a blog post in 2018 about my pencils an the colours I used then.

However, I was recently given a voucher at an art shop and decide to spend it on purchasing the entire set. In the last few weeks, I have received some exciting packages in the mail from Deans Art. They are my local Melbourne art supply store, where I bulk buy all of sketchbooks, watercolour pencils, waterbrushes for my watercolor pencil classes. Not every art store sells individual pencils. Deans had sold out, so I completed my set from Larry Post in Sydney.

And now they are all here on my desk. It is slightly overwhelming. One day, I will do a swatch for each to discover what they do. There appear to be a lot in the orange/red range.

I was able to test some of them in an online art catchup last night with Anna at Shiny Happy Art. She usually runs classes, but at the moment she has a Drink and Draw social session on Saturday night. She had a reference photo of a bunch of colourful poppies, and presented a number of art materials and techniques. I in the session. I Just used my watercolour pencils and drew them all in red with my new pencils. This seemed appropriate on Anzac Day.

I have found one new pencil that will go into my sketchkit, replacing another that wasn”t quite red enough for me .

Stay safe, happy and creative !

There are so many ways at the moment to be social online and so many groups to become involved with. On Saturday I “met” with three sketching friends: Angela, Helen, and Jodi. We have been working on a project together and had originally planned a weekend of on-location sketching in Port Fairy, ( 4 hours from Melbourne) that would culminate later in the year in an exhibition at Blarney Books & Art. These plans are on hold til next year.

Today decided to “meet” with a Zoom meeting (on one screen) and all “sit” in the same place using Google street map (on another screen) and sketch. Below is my desk set up. The only change is that I did not use the long sheet of paper, but single pieces instead.

We were online for about two hours. There was a fair bit of catching up to do and chatting, but we are all very good at talking while we sketch. Below is our first sketching stop. It is in the middle of the crossroads of James and Bank Street, Port Fairy. We each choose a slightly different viewpoint, but we all sketched in our usual style and with our usual sketch gear. Of course, mine is watercolour pencils, and Jodi, Helen and Angela all use watercolour paints, but each of them will have a different range of brands and colour that make up their paint palette,

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We sketched for about 45 minutes before “moving on” to our next stop.

We then “visited” our favourite shop in Port Fairy, Blarney Books & Art. As Google maps do not go inside buildings, we chose some Instagram images. We have a wonderful relationship with Jo at Blarney. We have each (except Helen) had exhibitions there and been involved with the annual BiblioArt Prize. AND it is the best secondhand and new bookshop AND is so involved with the community of Port Fairy, hosting amazing literary, music and arts events.

Here are my blogposts about my exhibition “You Can’t Draw in Books” in 2017 , and my BiblioArt entries in 2018 and 2019

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Sketching from photos and Google maps is a very different experience from sketching on location. When on location there is a sense of immediacy, being in and interacting with your surroundings. This includes the weather, where you sit /stand/squat or lean. The people you meet. Sketching becomes part of your life experience. Looking back at the page, months or years later brings back memories of that particular time and place.

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons.
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns

This is a traditional English rhyme from the eighteenth century. Its origin is not really known. I grew up with it in Australia and now it is part of my tradition to draw my hot cross bun every Easter. This is perfect for me as I don’t really like chocolate (but I am happy to draw it), but love hot cross buns, I bought a pack of six, which will last me for days and I get to sketch them too.

So here it is as a work in progress.

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I actually planned this. I usually dive straight in and start sketching. I do have a format that I use, usually placing the sketch to the side so that I can write on the other side of the page and in the white spaces on the page.

I usually put the rhyme in and this time I wanted to out the words in first and design the page around it. I put the writing down first, deciding where I wanted on the page and how big I wanted it to be. I then decided how I wanted to place the hot cross bun. Open or closed, buttered or not.

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I looked on the internet and found a font that suited the look and feel of what I wanted. One day I will learn calligraphy, but it is not one of my projects for this lockdown. I kept using my watercolour pencils, even though I have some interesting calligraphy ink pens that may have worked, but I thought that they may have been too intense and overpower the drawing. I can honestly say that I spent more time on the writing than I did on the drawing. (Burnt Ochre, Nougat watercolour pencil, and black coloured pencil).

You can see that I still had not decided on where to place those last three words “Hot Cross Buns” I wanted to balance the page. I am very happy with it, although the writing is probably a little big.

See more of my Easter drawings in my Flickr album.

Have a safe, happy and creative Easter long weekend and the coming time in staying home.

I have missed posting my weekly blog for a few weeks I now hope to return to routine. I have been drawing everyday and posting them all on Flickr and daily on Instagram at alissaduke1

I am now working from home. I live in Melbourne, where we are only allowed out for four reasons: essential shopping, medical visits/caregiving , going to work/education or exercise.

My exercise is a walk in my lunch hour. In a strange twist I am actually taking the full hour. I would usually have a quick break to eat or eat lunch at my desk.

in that hour of lunch, I walk to a local park. I am very fortunate to live near Fitzroy Gardens and Treasury Gardens, two beautiful spaces.

I spend most of the time walking but stop for a quick sketch with my watercolour pencils along the way. I have also collected some natural objects and sketched them at home in the evening. These are moments of pure joy and relaxation for me.

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My local cafe is doing takeaway and I am exploring their menu. I usually only go there on weekends for coffee or brunch. I have sketched the George Street Cafe while waiting.

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Stay safe and happy sketching