Life beings again for me in Melbourne, as it sadly closes for many people around the world. My world slowly expands and my sketches reflect this.
I took my first tram ride since March. I’ve done it now, but won’t be rushing to do it again. Everyone in masks, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with too many more people getting on it.
I continue my walks in the nearby gardens, revisiting the familiar and always discovering something new. A magpie sang to me. The best way to start my day.
A High Tea Christmas party. We each had a box of high tea goodies delivered to us and had a zoom catchup, with a bit off silliness and chatter. I ate the savouries and sketched the sweets.
Yesterday I had a stall a second community event. (read about last weekend’s here) Our wonderful local library held a free BBQ and food as well as inviting a few locals, including myself to set up a stall. Another lovely day, meeting local friends and new people. Much need to bring a sense of normality and community back. I was too busy chatting to sketch.
and back to the Gardens… for sketches and extra adventures
I thought I had this blog post written and went for a walk in the Treasury Gardens. I did not get much sketching (of the Moor Hen) as I was visited by some baby ducklings. About 10 of them, who were not shy at all, walking all over my shoes, sketchbook, and pencils. Enjoy !
Just deciding whether to keep the duck poo footprint on the page.
Each year, residents of East Melbourne and surrounds come together to celebrate our wonderful community with the Robert Russell Hustle Community Laneway Gathering. There was live music, Tipplers pop up bar, Tippler Kitchen, a sausage sizzle, and a Christmas mini market! (Including my stall with cards). Called Robert Russell Hustle as it is held in Robert Russell Lane. see later in the blog for info about who he was.
A BIG day. It was so good and strange to be normal, after almost a year of lockdown.. When I was asked to be involved in this event back in mid November , we were all wearing masks and there was limited social gatherings. I said yes, but was very anxious But now after over a month of no community spreading, life is returning to a semi normal. (number restrictions and QR codes to sign in to places)
The sun was shining, people were chatting and happy and cards sold. There were 10 stalls and we were provided with gazebos and tables and a chair ! A big day from set up at 11am to close at 7pm, but SO GOOD. I had to remember how to put my display stands together and sort out what went where, I have only done a few markets in the past, but had worked out a system of what goes where.
I chatted to some lovely people, friends came by to say hello. I had a sheet for people to add their details to if they were interested in Watercolour Pencil Sketching Classes when I start them again in the new year.
Who was he ? Robert Russell (1808-1900) came to Sydney in 1832, having trained as an architect and surveyor in London and Edinburgh. He obtained a position in the survey office and in 1836 was sent to the Port Phillip District to survey Port Phillip Bay and its surroundings. At this time, he made the first topographical survey of Melbourne. Hoddle then drew up a detailed plan for Melbourne, still relying on the information contained in Russell’s initial survey. Most of his professional life was spent as a surveyor in private practice. He was a prolific artist across many media and his early sketches of Melbourne are a valuable part of the State Library Collection. His professional and private addresses changed many times but in 1880 he lived at 49 George Street and Robert Russell Lane leads off Simpson Street into the back of that property !
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.
Lamy Safari Ink Pen
quick sketch
a situation which I had no control over ie. the people could change position or get up and go at any time
spur of the moment sketch
minimal lines
gestural, capturing the moment
The second was a slower drawing
watercolour pencils
slower drawing, in an hour or two
a situation I could control. The bananas did not move. I could position the bananas to suit how I wanted to draw them.
it was a spur of the moment idea, not planned. I was about to throw these bananas out, as they are too ripe. I then realised that many people wouldn’t do that and that I wanted to capture this moment as it is part of me and my life. When I posted this online, I had various suggestions on how they could be used and more useful – that I could freeze them!
They are really interesting to draw – so much character and detail !
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.
on locations sketching
slower observational drawings
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.
It is 68 days ’til Christmas. Normally I do not like to mention or think of Christmas until much later in the year. However, as the creator and producer of cards and gifts on my ETSY website, I know that now is the time to start advertising. It is especially important this year as the postal delivery times are taking longer than normal. Please take this into account and order early!
Now is the time to stock up. I have a range of Christmas cards, greeting cards that could be given as gifts, or the unique gift of a “drawn in” book.
I have drawn on a relevant page on a book that was about to be discarded, giving it a new life. There is a wide range of titles and images drawn available for purchase on my ETSY online store.
The postage rate is set for Australia Post in Australia. Please contact me for international postage or for East Melbourne hand delivery or if you have any questions,
I sketch daily in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks and sketch a wide variety of subjects: urban sketching, objects, and nature. Here are some of my nature sketches.
I usually like to include context in my pages. I am curious about what I am drawing I always make notes on the page. I follow a lot of artists on facebook, instagram and blogs and have realised that I am enjoying some of the journalling styles of the nature sketchers. I feel as though my nature sketches don’t have that extra narrative.
I recently discovered the facebook group The Nature Journal Club. “The Nature Journal Club is a diverse community of artists and naturalists, of all levels, who meet together to connect to nature through art. Founded by artist, educator, and author John Muir Laws, our group is centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it is open to anyone around the world with a passion for exploring nature with a journal”.
In “normal times” I take Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil Classes (Melbourne residents are in lockdown) . My classes are about using watercolour pencils (which I love) and observation of nature. I now want to move my observations and notetaking up a bit, but not move onto full-on natural history scientific illustration, AND I still want to be an urban sketcher and draw interesting objects. It has been interesting to see the diverse range nature journaling in the Natural Journal Club, and the realisation that I do not need to become too scientific.
I first discovered two Australians, Bethan Burton, https://www.journalingwithnature.com/podcast, who has interviewed nine nature journalers (including a sketching friend Jules Woolford https://www.drawnintonature.com/) and their wide variety of ages, places, and styles.
and then Amy Kirkbright https://www.amydiana.co/ is based in Melbourne and was running a online workshop (in lockdown Melbourne) which I signed up for .
Here are the results of the two-hour Workshop on Saturday. Amy spent time explaining her approach and concepts and things for us to think about. I took a page of Workshop notes. We then went outside our doors for 45 minutes and returned to our screens to share. That was interesting and fun. Here are my sketches and notes.
I now have a series of prompts to work with to add more information to the page. Sometimes these will be questions that may not have answers. Other questions I will look up online after the event.
I also recently discovered Open Trees.org ” the world’s largest database of municipal street and park trees, produced by harvesting open data from dozens of different sources”
Melbourne Urban Forest Visual The City of Melbourne maintains more than 70,000 trees. Individual tree data for City of Melbourne trees is presented on the map . Pan and Zoom into different areas of Melbourne, click on tree symbols to reveal details, and select between different locations and filters.
I spent my outdoor exercise and recreation time on Saturday and Sunday in the local Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. It is the start of Spring, the weather was glorious, especially on Saturday.
I am remembering to take my sketchkit with me so that I have access to a large range of colours. During the time we could only exercise and not sit down under a tree, for example, I was only taking my sketchbook and one or two watercolour pencils, or just my ink pen.
On Saturday I went for a long walk and then stopped to sketch the following scene. I have sketched this tree though the seasons, but yesterday it felt important to capture the beginning of Spring and the people having picnics, and catching up in small groups.
Today (Sunday) I went for a very long walk around and around the paths of the Fitzroy Gardens. I stopped for four sketches.
The two birds were very quick. Only a few minutes.Standing up. I have sketched them both before, so have to think less about the shape and colours to choose.
I sat down to sketch these two slower sketches. I realised that both have the theme of bursting with life. The first is a tree (trying to find out what it is) that has little shoots bursting from the base and trunk of the tree. The second is a mushroom bursting through the mulch around the base of a tree. It caught my attention as I am always looking up or down as I walk through the Gardens.
I try and mix up my weekly art blog posts with a combination of practical posts about watercolour pencils and my sketchbook or projects from that week. Please let me know if you have any watercolour pencil questions. I am missing sharing my enthusiasm for these with my classes and interaction with people.
