I have sketched this pin oak in watercolour pencil in the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne this year, documenting the changing seasons. This past weekend I sketched it “in use” with people having a picnic underneath its broad branches.
Sunday was the first official Urban Sketching event in Melbourne since lockdown restrictions have eased. It was a very well organised .
There were multiple groups at different locations simultaneously. Each group will be led by a Group Leader. In line with the government’s restrictions, each group could have up to 10 people.The locations were Williamstown, Fitzroy, Box Hill and Black Rock. The weather was a bit challenging in some of the locations as we each found ways to avoid the rain. In Fitzroy we just crossed the street to sketch from under a shop awning.
I started my day with a travel sketch .
I walked there as I am not comfortable in catching public transport yet. It was a lovely morning and was a walkable distance thorough the parks.
It took me years to figure out that my sketching style is ‘the unfinished look”.sometimes with “the impression of detail” This works perfectly with my travel sketching and urban sketching, which are all about sketching on location and capturing the moment.
Sometimes “the moment” moves on you. I often have just a scribble mark on the page. I either rub them out (you can sort of rub out watercolour pencil if your lines are not too heavy) or draw over them.
This week I revisited two sets of Australian Wood Duck baby ducklings over a few days, so I could continue to sketch them. They let me get very close (I stayed about a meter away) and sometimes they came up so close to me, at my feet. When this happened I just had to stop sketching and watch them.
Lots of half finished sketches below and I am happy with all of them
I am posting two sketches that I did in the last week. They are examples of two of my sketching styles – minimal and maximal (yes, it is a word and is the opposite of minimal).
Both pages have a story to tell, documenting part of my life.
The first was a very quick sketch.
The second was a slower drawing
Happy sketching !!!
This weeks blog post is a review of the sketches I have done over the past two weeks (I did not do a blog post last week) . The styles of sketches in my sketchbook reflect my various styles or themes of sketches.
Since lockdown restrictions have relaxed in Melbourne, I have been able to spend more time outside and also ventured into the city.
sitting in the park sketching and watching new little ducklings.
and then some studied drawings at home
There is always something to draw.
Below is my current work in progress. They are some old (but new to me) books that I was given for my “drawing in books” project. Some of them will eventually be on my ETSY website, with a page illustrated by me in watercolour pencil.
