Last weekend I was invited to be the official sketcher on location at Prarahn Mechanics Institute (PMI) Victorian History Showcase in Melbourne.
This came about through my connection over the years with PMI Library and Melbourne Rare Book Week.
It was a bit different from my usual sketching on location. I usually sketch at talks. They go for a set time, usually one hour. I sit myself at the back of the room and sketch the people and the room (if it is interesting). I add watercolour pencil on the spot or sometimes at home.
This was an all day event. I arrived when the groups were setting up and left as they closed down.
All sketches were sketched on location, with a hint of colour added. I took photos and the final colour and details added at home over the following weeknights.
I decided to try on experiment on this occasion. My sketches are in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook 13cm x 19 cm. They are usually portrait or landscape format. depending on what books I purchased. I usually purchase 10 at a time, depending on what is in stock.
I usually draw on the backs of pages. Turning the page is a narrative that tells a story. I don’t take pages out.
This time I decided to experiment with drawing over a double page spread that could be removed from the book if I wanted to give/sell the sketch. Because of the way books are put together, these pages only occur a few times in the book.
I took a landscape and portrait format book, alternating between the two, depending on the scene in front of me. Lots of juggling of books!
It took me a little while to settle in. I had a look around to see how the tables were setup and where I could sit or stand to sketch. I had figure out what to include and leave out in each sketch. It was a bit challenging.
I also was using a biro which I had borrowed. My own lovely Lamy Safarari Joy ink pen was having ink issues ! It was a bit unsettling not have the same linework that I usually would, but it worked!
I was happy to see the colourful tableclothes. These provided a bit of interest and contrast in the main room.
I still have not found a way write white on backgrounds.
I chatted to a few of the exhibitors about their group and collections. State LIbrary Victoria was there, Royal Historical Society of Victoria and Michael O’Brien from Library of the Royal United Services.
There were a lot of visitors on the day. Some moved around a bit ,others stayed and chatted to the exhibitors. I took advantage of this to sketch their positions and scribble a colour before they left.
My sketches are meant to capture the impression of the day. They are not portraits and I do not aim for any facial likeness !
As I mentioned I added final detail and colour at home. At some stage I decided to stop and not add anymore. Some figures. objects are left blank. I think it keeps the sketchy feel.
I was going to draw in loose sheets, but decided this was outside my comfort zone for this sitution. I think I would next time.
These sketches will all be scanned and sent to the organisers at PMI and they will distribute them to the groups involoved on the day.
Oh – did I mention they had a book sale. I bought 8 books for $1 or $2 each for drawing in purposes.
Instead of sketches with watercolour pencils, I am featuring my watercolour pencils. Over all of the years (many) that I have been using watercolour pencils, I have not thrown out the pencil stubs when they get too small to fit in my sketchkit.
I have turned a few into brooches and wear them when I am the official sketcher at an event or when I have classes, or when I attend urban sketching events. Not many people use watercolour pencils, whereas they are my medium and I love them. I do not use paints.
I often receive comments when I wear them especially when I explain that they are pencils I have used. They are noticed!
I decided to make a few more into brooches to maybe sell at some Christmas markets or on my ETSY site.
I had to figure out a way to seal the pencil tips as they are watercolour pencils and the pigment dissolves with water. If it is not sealed you will get the pigment on your shirt! After a bit of trial and error, I use Jo Sonja’s Decoupage Varnish.
I also realised that not all of the colours are colourful and I may not use browns or greys. I have seen photos of earrings or necklaces etc. but do not intend to go any further.
I am happy with my bright coloured pencil brooches. I will wear my red and green ones at Christmas events.
This week’s art blog has my sketches from the week. Some of my blogs are practical hints and tips pf using watercolour pencils, or explanations as to how or why I approach my art. Please let me k now if you have any questions.
In the meantime here is my week. I hope that it motivates and inspires you to put pencil to paper.
As promised, today my blog has a timelapse video of sketching my shoes.
I often sketch my shoes while waiting at doctors etc. I am familiar with drawing them and the strange angles of shoes, legs and knees. These are new shoes and I have coloured ribbons that I change. I decided on red ribbons for this.
I have not figured out how to slow down the video. You can do this when you view by Clicking on the three dots at the bottom of the video and change PLAYBACK SPEED to 0.5
I had great plans to have a time-lapse video of drawing my shoes this week. However, technology got the better of me, so I hope to have it on my blog next week! In the meantime here are my sketches from this week.
After a week of sketching on location for Melbourne Rare Book Week events, I returned to my usual life of work and everyday sketching.
These few are quick sketches. A kookaburra on the ground in the Fitzroy Gardens. He let me get a little close, but I know that They fly off without notice and I knew I needed to get lines down on paper quickly. I used a Faber Castell watercolour pencil. I did not add water to activate the pigment. I have sketched these before and so did not have to think as hard about the basics of body shape. Practicing the same object over again is good for this.
Shoes of commuters on the tram. This is an option for when you can’t sketch faces as you sitting/standing too close.
I had some time to spare before a concert and sketched my shoes. I was planning how I would do this with a camera/phone in place. Next Week !
and at the concert at the Melbourne Athenaeum Library for Infiniti Ensemble. Sketching in the shelves while listening to music and having a glass of wine is a wonderful way to spend a Friday night.
In Melbourne city on the way to work. I started on the telegraph pole. I decided to add the background to give it some context This makes it acceptable to post on the “Urban Sketchers” group page. It is context and telling a story, not just an object on its own. I decided not to add colour. Mainly because I had to get to work!
And finally at Kere Kere Cafe in Fitzroy Gardens. I stayed in the cafe and chatted while others went out in the lovely Melbourne Winter’s Day. Firstly the view out the window.
And then some food.
A lovely week with a variety of sketches and opportunities.
This week is part two of my sketches as the official “sketcher on Location” for Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) . Last week’s blog covered the first three days.
The motto for Melbourne Rare Book Week is For the Love of Books. Melbourne Rare Book Week began in 2011 and after a COVID-19-induced hiatus, Rare Book Week returned with a wide range of events. The program has been generously supported by donors who have helped to ensure that all events are free, giving everyone the chance to enjoy the rich collections Melbourne has to offer. MRBW culminates in Melbourne Rare Book Fair which is in its 51st year. It is a major event in the Australian antiquarian book year, with a rich and diverse array of items. with prices to suit all levels of collecting.
I moved to Melbourne in October 2014 and a friend introduced me to the book-collecting community. In 2015 I attended and sketched at four Melbourne Rare Book Week talks. I have been involved with MRBW since 2016 as official “sketcher on location”. Many of the events are held at Libraries, sharing their collections. As a Librarian, who works in Library that was establishd in 1856., I have a great connection with them. That year I sketched at 20 of the 55 events of “the week” (which is actually ten days) and posted on my blog every evening.
This year MRBW returned with 21 events.
Each year I take a week of Annual Leave and sketch at all events where possible. My sketches are done on location in the 45-60 minutes of the talk. They are all about capturing the moment. It is an impression of the event and being there. (there is not a lot of actual likeness to the presenter’s faces). I try and include the space the event is being held in.
I use a Lamy Safari Joy ink pen and FaberCastell Watercolour pencils in a 13 x 19 cm Moleskine watercolour sketchbook. I scan all of my sketches for my own record and put them in Albums on Flickr, a photosharing site. All of my sketches go there. I also share on social media
and send all sketches to MRBW who use them on their social media and also in the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB) newsletter.
Below are the events I attended, It was another fascinating program with a look at amazing collections held here in Melbourne. The speakers provided their specialist knowledge to provide insight into the importance and relevance of each collection.
First Glimpses of the Antarctic
Prior to the 18th and 19th centuries, Antarctica was the great unknown: how could nature survive in temperatures averaging -57 C? And just how large was the continent? Join reference librarian and Antarctic history buff Andrew McConville for this special tour, to discover how Antarctic exploration was recorded, and Melbourne’s role in reviving voyages in the later part of the 19th century. There will be the chance to see documents chronicling the first recorded landing and exploratory expedition on the Antarctic continent.
Collecting Australian Internment Ephemera
Edwin’s collecting interests include the impact of the world wars in Australia. The records of internees are diverse, often not in English, and from all parts of the country. They reflect the skills of the internees as well as their ordinary day to day needs, such as setting up cafés and barber shops. His collection includes rare camp newspapers, postcards, artworks and linguistic aids.
Rare Books from the RHSV collection
The RHSV has had an active collecting policy both in Australia and back ‘home’ in the UK since its start in 1909. In the 1920s, when the Victorian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) closed, their archive and library were absorbed by the RHSV. Whereas the RHSV collection is concentrated on Victoria, the RGS collection is much broader, covering exploration across Australia and the Pacific and, because of this ‘misfit’, their collection was not catalogued until recently. Jillian will speak about two explorers’ journals and the Moll atlas.
Printing the plays of Shakespeare and company in the 17th century
2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio of the Plays of William Shakespeare. This lecture will place this milestone of literary publishing in the broader context of similar folios containing the work of other writers. Dr McInnis is widely published on Shakespeare, is a Fellow of the British Royal Historical Society, and is Australia’s leading authority on the Bard. After the lecture, the audience will be invited to inspect a rare Second Folio of Shakespeare’s plays currently for sale at Kay Craddock’s antiquarian bookshop.
More than Romance: The witty world of Georgette Heyer
First published at just 19, Georgette Heyer went on to become one of the world’s bestselling authors, beloved for her clever, witty historical novels and golden age detective stories. Her Regency novels set the benchmark for the genre that she created. Notoriously private, she did not believe in the need for personal publicity to sell her books, resulting in signed Heyer novels being exceedingly rare. This talk will shed light on the enigmatic writer, her world, her wit and the struggles she faced in both her personal and public life, as well as on the phenomenal success she achieved during her lifetime and beyond.
Into the Archive: Creating Designer Books
The RMIT Design Archives is a unique repository of Melbourne design practice. This session will focus on two publishing collectives, established in the 1970s in Prahran: Backyard Press, a commercial venture and Champion Books, an experimental publishing house. Marius Foley joined Backyard Press shortly after its establishment by Ted Hopkins, Sharon Hill and Paul Greene in 1976. In this session he will share his insights into this collaborative and experimental publishing workplace. There will be the opportunity to view the original publications in the Archives’ collection
Rare Sports Books and Ephemera: Recent Acquisitions
The MCC Librarians will discuss some of the rare items that have entered the collection since their last Melbourne Rare Book Week presentation in 2019, with a highlight being an illustrated scorecard from an international cricket match at the MCG in 1862. A panel of sports writers and historians will discuss trends in rare sports book collecting over the past four years, followed by their now traditional Q&A session with the audience.
The Bounty and Beyond
Paul Brunton OAM, State Library of New South Waleswill launch The Bounty and beyond: A textual and bibliographical investigation of William Bligh’s journals of the first breadfruit expedition, a major new study of Bligh’s Bounty journals by John A Fish. This fully catered event will provide guests with an introduction to this important work as well as the opportunity to discuss this perennial maritime favourite with experts and enthusiasts alike.
Collective City : Photographic Exhibition launch
This exhibition, curated from submissions by contemporary street photographers, features historic images of Melbourne from our state and federal government archives, alongside images representing Victoria today. It looks at ways people connect and work together in Victoria’s urban and suburban environments, and also examines the divisions created by inequity of access to services and public spaces. Join us for a drink to celebrate the launch of the exhibition.
Curators’ tour of World of the Book
Join the curators of World of the Book for a special tour of the rare, sacred, iconic and historically significant books within the Library’s most popular exhibition. Celebrate Rare Book Week and chart the rise and restyling of the beloved book, with medieval manuscripts, Egyptology, 1950s pulp fiction and contemporary works of art and design all on display. Located in the galleries overlooking the magnificent La Trobe Reading Room, this exhibition celebrates the unique place of books in our hearts and minds.
Meet me at the book Fair
For first time visitors, an antiquarian book fair might seem to be a strange and unfamiliar experience. We invite you to join an experienced book collector in a small group visit to some of the exhibitors and an introduction to the joy of collecting books and print on paper.
I did not have the opportunity to sketch at a few events
Female Australian Poets of the First World War Female Australian Poets of the First World War by Major General (Ret’d) Michael O’Brien CSC, MDA, BSc (Mil)
You Can’t Draw in Books? by ME – I gave a one hour talk about the books at the other end of the scale – the books that noone wants. I draw on the pages of books that are about to be discarded. I have a good audience of 44 people and it went well. This was a talk where people could come up and handle the books. They are for sale on my ETSY online store.
I also had a display at my local Library and gave TWO radio interviews !!!!! They were only ten minutes each and I think they went well. One was on Community Radio 3MRD with Jules Vine in her “Classically Saturday” show and the next with ABC Victoria with David Astle. I have learnt that he has a wide audience and is famous for cross words. Tim Finn was on his show later that night !!
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) has begun. It is a Melbourne-wide program of free talks and events that celebrate the importance of books and literature in life. It was been running since 2012 and this is the first MRBW after a three-year break due to Covid. It culminates in the Melbourne Rare Book Fair, which is in its 51st year.
I am the official ‘sketcher on location’ st MRBW. I attend all events and document them in my sketches. I usually sit at the back of the room and capture the moment with my ink pen and watercolour pencils on the page! I have been honoured to be involved and have been doing this for the last few years.
The first event for MRBW was on Friday 21 July 2023
The Fencer’s Manual : The mystery surrounding the first commercially published book in Melbourne
Speaker: Andrew Lemon AM FRHSV
Historian Andrew Lemon revisits his research into the extraordinary story of the very first commercial book, published in 1859 by Clarson, Shallard and Co. (later Clarson, Massina and Co.), successors to the firm Slater, Williams and Hodgins, printers in Melbourne since the end of the La Trobe era. Who was Robert Meikle, the mystery author of the very rare The Fencer’s Manual? And while the Massina name continued in the publishing world, what led to the tragic demise of his one-time business partner and eminent horticulturalist, William Clarson?
The night began with drinks and conversation, before taking our seats.
Saturday 22 July 2023
Charting the Heavens : The Transit of Venus, James Cook and Astronomy
Speaker:Shane Carmody
Found in the archives of State Library Victoria’s collections is a tiny, portable celestial globe. Once owned by Captain James Cook, it is an extraordinary artefact that reminds us of the Endeavour’s initial purpose: the pursuit of scientific discovery. Historian and author Shane Carmody, will talk on the voyage of the Endeavour, how astronomical books and tools were used and their role in the international effort to chart the Transit of Venus and establish accurate longitude. There will be the chance to see rare astronomical books and artefacts from the Collection.
After the talk, we were invited to view this amazing collection and ask questions.
Sunday 23 July 2023
From Folio to Fopdoodle: Exploring some of the curiosities of Samuel Johnson’s famous Dictionary
Speaker: John Byrne
The publication of Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 was a sensation in England and Europe. It heralded the birth of modern lexicography, and it was 150 years before it was superseded by the Oxford English Dictionary. Johnson’s Dictionary first appeared in two majestic folio volumes, which were soon followed by quarto, octavo and miniature editions. John Byrne has assembled one of the finest privately held Johnsonian collections in the world. He will display copies from his collection and discuss why and how this great work is still important to us today.
I am looking forward to a week of talks. It started off slowly with one event a day. During this week there are up to four events a day, including one of my own. I am presenting “You Can’t Draw in Books?” on Monday night. I draw in books that are about to the discarded – the opposite end of the Rare Book scale. I will blog about all of the events next week. You can also follow my daily sketches on Instagram alissaduke1
It was so lovely to get out and sit in the Fitzroy Gardens and sketch this morning. I sat on the grass, listened to the magpies, and connected with nature. I sat on my coat on the wet grass as it gave the view I wanted of this pine tree. It has this great swooping branch down to the ground. The Melbourne CBD buildings and St Patrick’s Cathedral in the background are in pen only.
They are watercolour pencils : FaberCastell- Pine Green, Grass Green and Ultramarine.
When sketching, there are always choices to make about what to include and what to highlight. Today it was all about the tree and its branches. I had to add the blue sky as it was such a beautiful day. If this is Winter in Melbourne, I like it.
It was my first day out and sketching for a week. I had been inside.
I had a cold when away and spent two days in a nice hotel, I tried to do a few sketches from the window, but the focus was obviously on my cold medicines. All better now!
Once back in Melbourne, it was all home sketching as I put my feet up and had a quiet week.
The next two weeks’ blog posts will be about Melbourne Rare Book Week. It is a week of Melbourne-wide programs of free talks and events that celebrate the importance of books and literature in life. I am the official sketcher and will be sketching on location at most of the 20 events and sharing them here and on social media. View the events and book here.
I will also be talking at an event about my “You Can’t Draw in Books” display. This is the opposite of Rare books. They are the books that are about to be discarded. I have drawn on a page, illustrating what is being described on the page.
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) 2023, returns following a break of three years due to Covid-19. This year, MRBW will run from 21st July to 29th July. It will consist of 21 events, culminating in the ANZAAB Melbourne Rare Book Fair which will run from 27th to 29th July.
Our guest speaker for the launch this year was Jane Sullivan, well known in Melbourne as an author and journalist who has written with great skill and passion about books for many years.
I am the official sketcher at all MRBW events again this year and will be attending all events.
I have two events – a display “You Can’t Draw in Books?” and a talk about the display,
You Can’t Draw in Books?
Curated by: Alissa Duke
What happens to the books no one wants? This exhibition demonstrates Alissa’s ability to turn unwanted books into objects of art. Using watercolour pencils, she illustrates these books with a wide variety of subjects, including fiction, travel, food, history and nature.
East Melbourne Library for the month of JULY
Mon-Fri 10:00am-6:00pm, Sat 10:00am-1:00pm. Sun Closed.
No bookings required
This Saturday I set up the display. I have had displays in my wonderful local East Melbourne Library previously for my sketchbooks. I am aware of how my sketchbooks fit in the glass display cabinet sections and could organise a fair bit in advance. But this time, I had no idea of how my oddly shaped “drawn in ” books would fit in, so I brought them all in two large suitcases to experiment with on the day. It took two and a half hours to set up.
ORGANISING AT HOME
SETTING UP AT THE LIBRARY
DISPLAY CASE ONE
DISPLAY CASE TWO
DISPLAY CASE THREE
All books are available for purchase on my ETSY website. They will be posted after the exhibition has finished on 31 July. My ETSY website is set for Australian Postal delivery. If you are overseas please message me here or on ETSY. Prices vary depending on the country and the size of the book.
If you are in Melbourne, you are welcome to visit or come to my talk. Book here for the talk.
You Can’t Draw in Books? Speaker: Alissa Duke
“Inspired by words on the page, and using watercolour pencils, Alissa draws in books that were about to be discarded, giving them a new life and value. She questions some preconceptions about writing and drawing in books, talking about her creative process along the way. The talk will include a tour of the books on display.”
chickens move – all the time, a lot, This group never seemed to return to the same position or place.
However, their feathers do not!
The Faber Castell watercolour pencils used are some of my favourites:
Dark Sepia
Burnt Ochre
Cold Grey IV
I will not be posting a blogpost next week, but watch for the week after when I can show you an exciting new exhibition and details of a talk I am giving at an event!
