I have spent a lot of time this week preparing for an upcoming display of my sketchbooks at the local East Melbourne Library. I have had four displays of my sketchbooks there previously, but nothing since 2020, when we went into a long lockdown in Melbourne. Now that life is back to the new normal, I was invited to install a display in February.

Firstly, I needed to decide on the theme. I chose “my East Melbourne sketches”.

I habve lived in East Melbourne since 2014 and sketch daily everywhere I go. I decided to feature East Melbourne scenes that local residents will be familiar with.

I looked through my sketchbooks for East Melbourne pages and while doing this I formed the themes of the pages to have open in the four cabinets (each has four glass shelves). Decisions have to be made as only one page can be opened at a time in one book. You can see my dilemma. While every page is a sketch and journal page, not all of them are visually interesting enough to been understood through a glass caninet in a display.

I have learned from my previous displays about what I can fit in these cabinets. I know that viewing the sketchbooks on the bottom shelf is obscured by the sketchbooks on the other shelves. No matter how much planning I do in advance, there will always be tweaks on the day.

I PLAN to set up the display on January 31 and it will be in place through February.

Please drop by if you are a local or a visitor. While you are there explore our wonderful local library while you are there. It is a great place and they are very involved in the local community. I am fortunate to be able to connect with the community by having my sketchbooks on display there. In the past, I have used the rooms for my travel sketching classes and may do it again.

See you there!

my breakfast in timelapse. In real-time it took 36 minutes.

I have previously filmed sketching coffee, sketching toast, and sketching fruit. You can see a pattern here – food and drink. Today is another food-based sketch. I will go further afield object-wise and physically in the next video post.

This time it is my breakfast – Weetbix, banana and milk. On this page, I will write commentary which I would speak out loud if I was describing it as I went, or what is going through my head.

In advance I chose the watercolour pencils I will use, put them aside and sharpened them. I know my pencils and what colours they produce on the page and also what happens when I add water to them, as this can change the colour. It’s great to know your tools! Most pencils I have used are from my everyday sketch kit of FaberCastell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils. It is sketched on the first page of my 116th Moleskine watercolour sketchbook (13cm x 19cm) since December 2008. I sketch everyday. They are:

• Ivory
• Cream
• Burnt Umbre
• Brown Ochre
• Black
• Cool Grey III
• Paynes Grey

In my mind, I decide what I want to include on the page and how big I want it to be. Do I include the bowl and any background? How close up? and what do I feature?

I decide what to include and exclude, It is my page. I have decided, like many of my pages, is going to have the unfinished look. This means I don’t have to sketch all of the bowl outline. As a viewer, your mind fills in what you don’t see. It also means I do not have to worry about having a perfect line for the ellipsis of the bowl outline.

I start with the main content and block out the basic shapes – weetbix, banana slices, spoon and bowl. I did not “sketch” the milk, but left the page blank. I sketch the objects in the colour that they are. I do not sketch with a graphite (HB or 2B) pencil first. This approach comes from my travel sketching experiences, where you have to get lines and colour down quickly as you may not have much time. It also stops using an eraser to make the” perfect” sketch.

and a slower version

You will see that I move all over the place and often swap pencils. This allows one area to dry while I work on another. I can “step back” every now and again to look at the page and decide where to add more colour or detail. I use watercolour pencils to build up area, colour and detail. It is not just “colouring in “the page. Once an area has dried I can add more of the same colour to intensify the colour.

Note: individual Weetbix are all different. I enjoy adding the the finer details. Also there is no “right or wrong” Weetbix or banana.

I added a bit to the bowl after the filming as I noticed it was slightly lopsided. I did this by turning the page upside down to “see” how to makes both sides of the page the same curve. Does that make sense?

I hope you have enjoyed this page. Let me know if you have any watercolour pencil questions. Next time it will be a different sort of object. To film outside will require a higher level of technical ability.

Have a happy, safe and creative week.

I write a blog post at this time each year looking back at what I have done during the previous year with my art.  I have found this is a very useful way of realising how much I have accomplished in a year, as I usually forget about some events or do not realise how productive I have been. It is a good reality check for me.

This past year of course was different, as with everyone. 2022 did not quite roll out as we all thought. The return to normal was not quite normal. This new way of life did not stop me from sketching and achieving other art-related goals. I have listed them below and put links to separate blog posts if there is one about the event.

• Daily sketching. This year again I filled ten Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks (13 x19 cm) of everyday sketching. I sketch everyday and carry my sketchkit which includes watercolour pencils and sketchbook with me everywhere. I scan every page of my sketchbook and put them all on Flickr (an image-sharing website) Some go onto Facebook at Alissa Duke Art . I post daily on Instagram alissaduke1

• I have maintained this, my weekly art blog. Thank you to the 192 followers of this weekly art blog. I hope that you find it enjoyable and interesting to read and full of information. Sometimes I write about hints and tips when using watercolour pencils, other times the blog will be about art events I am involved in and the rest are usually my sketches from the previous week. I hope that I am able to share a bit of my passion for drawing and watercolour pencils. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to explain anything I do. If you would like to receive a weekly email you can Subscribe here.

• purchase of Uniqu lighting set I produced three videos captured on my in time-lapse on my camera with this new set-up. I have been wanting to do this for a few years and am very proud to have mastered the technology. If you would like to see me “in action” you can view these three. sketching toast sketching a coffee cup, sketching Christmas food.

• Etsy – Etsy Sales – I have an Etsy online store selling my Greeting cards and ‘drawn in books’. This year was very quiet for card and book sales.
• Newsletter Newsletter. I sent two newsletters this year to the 136 people who subscribe to my newsletter, in April and October. The newsletter is for people who are interested in my art and would like to know when major events happen – new card designs, markets, exhibitions, and classes. They may not necessarily be interested in my Weekly Art Blog, but still want to be updated. Obviously a little quiet this year. This will be one of the places I announce any classes when they begin

• Instagram. I now have 1713 followers on Instagram alissaduke1. I post a sketch daily on Instagram. They are examples of my art and often are my “everyday” sketching hopefully this inspire some sketchers that anything is sketchable and you don’t have to ‘finish’ a sketch. Every now and and then i feature some of my ETSY art.

2022– Below are my art projects and commercial activities in 2022. (paying for my pencils) This year once again was a little different. I had no classes. I did have a few very special one-off art events.

• Clunes Booktown Festival was held in May. I had a stall there and it was truly a highlight as my love of books and drawing on old books came together in one place. I felt like it was made for me. I had forgotten that was only in this past year.http://alissaduke.com/2022/05/clunes-booktown-festival-2.html

• Blarney Books & Art Biblio Art Prize. This annual Port Fairy (Victoria, Australia) event was held. When you enter the competition you get given a book title to interpret artistically. This year the books were by recently published Australian Authors. I entered and was given The creativity and skill of the other entries were amazing and it is worth spending time looking through them on the website. Here is my blogpost about my entry. There were over 200 entries (you can view online) and 100 were chosen for display at the exhibition. I later found out that it was shortlisted in the Top eight! (see the presentation video .

• Melbourne Rare Book Week has been postponed for the past few years. I usually sketch on location at the talks and events. However, we were so very fortunate the Melbourne Rare Book Fair went ahead. This is where the rare book traders have stands for the purchase of books. I was invited to sketch there this year, It felt so good to see familiar faces and I could see that everyone else was enjoying the in-person interactions again.

• East Melbourne Community day and Christmas picnic stalls. These were two lovely local events where I was invited to have a stall to sell my greeting cards. It was a wonderful time to catch up with local friends and meet new ones. People know me as ‘you’re the one who sketches’ or ‘I bought your cards last year and will have to get some more”

• one private commission. It was a beautiful old stone building, so I was very happy.

2023 – I wonder what will happen

• Attending the International Urban Sketching Symposium in Auckland, New Zealand in April. Hundreds of people register to attend workshops ( I am excited to have got into three I really wanted to), absorb techniques by viewing demos, and hear about different concepts, from a range of experienced presenters. It is also a great opportunity to connect with Sketchers from around the world. Meet old friends and make new ones. I am excited!

• I have a commission for another old building due in March
• I have just been asked if I would like to put my sketchbooks in the local library. I have done this in the past and have received very positive feedback. I just have to think of a theme.
• a potential BIG event – watch this space
• I would love to return to giving classes on Saturdays. Before Covid, I gave one-off Saturday morning classes on “Travel Sketching with Watercolour pencils” . I really enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion for watercolour pencils and have missed this.
• Of course, I will continue to sketch everyday.

Wishing you a creative 2023. Happy sketching!