Travel Sketching Workshop in Heidelberg

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I could not have asked for better weather for my full day Travel Sketching Workshop on Saturday (especially after the last two heavily overcast classes and a week of cold weather).

An enthusiastic group  of six  – Lily  Beryl, Don, Bernadette. Denise and Trishia joined me at Arts on Burgundy in Heidelberg, Melbourne. 

See the end of this blog for links to my blog pages on practical sketching and watercolour pencil hints and list of sketching books I had today in class.

Today I followed the same format as my previous Workshop in January, but spent more time before we went out  explaining and using watercolour pencils. 

“Scribble hard on the page, HARD , HARDER.” This is because the more colour (pigment) you have on the paper, the more intense the colours will be and the more you can use them on the page. If you add water to a faint line it can disappear. I wanted everyone to understand this concept before we started out. 

I used the example (above) which I sketched on the bus on the way to the Workshop, to show how I use the ink, then the watercolour pencil and then the waterbrush on the page to achieve different effects,  

We then walked out of the studio to put theory into practice. We walked up a block , stopping for 15 minutes at Heidelberg Primary School to sketch, then walked a few blocks to the beautiful Heidelberg Park, doing two 15 minutes sketches.

 

Back to Arts on Burgundy for lunch in the studio and talk of travel and drawing. After lunch I gave a short talk on things to think about when composing a page, before a 30 minute sketch at St Johns Church. There was a wedding on, with people gathering before the service. They went into the church and the bride arrived and she didn’t stay long at all outside.

Then back to the studio for final talk and coffees and sweets provided by Sarah !

Links to other blog posts

In a  previous blog posts I talked about the practical part of my art .

I have written them under four headings

  •  Watercolour pencils, pen and sketchbook
  • Thoughts and processes 
  • travel sketching
  • Step by Step examples

Travel sketching classes

I have vacancies in my upcoming two hour Travel Sketching classes with two levels of charge – purchase a sketchkit or bring your own watercolour sketchkit. See more details here.

Contact Sarah at Arts on Burgundy to ask about more full day Workshops.

Books

Below are some books that I had on display (as well as my own travel sketchbooks). 

They are not’ how to draw’ books, but rather show different people’s sketches and styles. I’ve put links if you are interested, I will often borrow a book from my local library before deciding to purchase it.

An Illustrated LIfe by Danny Gregory

Reportage and Documentary Drawing by Veronica Lawlor

London You’re Beautiful by David Gentleman 

Taking a Line for a Walk by Christopher Lambert

Drawing Paris by David George Holm

Manchester Sketchbook by Manchester Sketchers

An Eye on the Hebrides by Marie Hedderwick 

A great book to start drawing is Danny Gregory’s book  Creative License .   It will open your eyes to creativity and drawing. I return to it regularly to refocus and relearn.

 

Urban Sketchers

Anyone interested in sketching on location with  Melbourne Urban sketchers, (facebook page) see their next events and see what other people are sketching in Melbourne. 

Happy sketching everyone. Contact me if you have any questions about my watercolour pencil sketching  or anything I mention on my blog.

Weekend sketching extremes

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This weekend was full of variety, in both experiences and sketching subjects.

Saturday

Yesterday I held my second 2018 Travel Sketching class with Melbourne Library Service. 

Last Saturday I took my own group out on a Travel Sketching walk through East Melbourne in perfect weather and we sat on nature strips in in the centre of the road to sketch. This weekend I woke early to the following rain radar (below) over Melbourne and the heavy clouds in the sky.

Thankfully, by 1pm the steady rain cleared, although the class of nine started the walk from under the East Melbourne Library entrance, sheltered from a bit of rain.

After 20 minutes we walked up the block to the next shelter of East Melbourne Cellars for another 20 minute stop to sketch whatever attracted each person.

I spend the first 20 minutes of the class introducing everyone to watercolour pencils, the waterbrush and paper. From then we walk three blocks and back again, arriving back for coffee, biscuits and discussion. Once again everyone grasped and enjoyed the concept of travel sketching and capturing the essence of what they see in just a short amount of time.

I can say that I had my youngest class attendee, at nine days old ! He was there with his dad carrying this little bundle and his mum sketching, as well as visiting sketching grandparents from Canada. Everyone who comes along is keen on learning.

Sunday 

On Sunday I had extremes of subject matter in my drawings. I worked on two fun commissions – a gothic theme – this is inspired by the raven from Edgar Allan Poe. This page is a draft version. 

I alternated between the black page of the raven on A3 paper to the prettiness of a lacy pink parasol drawn in a paperback book. 

Happy sketching everyone!

Travel Sketchwalk in East Melbourne

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Today I ran my own Travel Sketching session for East Melbourne residents. For the first time, I organised the room, bought the sketch kits and emailed potential interested locals. 

The day was the same format as the sessions I have with my Melbourne Library Service Travel Sketching classes. But this time people purchased the sketch kits to keep.

  • Faber Castell “Red Range” Watercolour pencils 12 pack 
  • Pentel Aquash Medium Waterbrush 
  • Draw and Wash Pad 210 gsm A5 sketchbook
  • Micron waterproof ink pen 04
  • Travel Sketching Hints and Tips sheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was beautiful as we walked a few blocks, stopping for 20 minutes at three places to sketch whatever attracted each person. Sometime it was the feature of a building such as a lamp or window, or the whole building or the phone lines.

Everyone ‘got’ the concept of Travel Sketching and captured some amazing lines and colour on the page in just two hours. I was so inspired by their enthusiasm.

 

We hope to meet up again to sketch.  I also plan to continue to grow the Travel Sketching sessions in East Melbourne and broader Melbourne. Today was a great positive experience and the comments from everyone who was there were so positive, They all had fun and were so happy to be introduced to the potential of travel sketching and using watercolour pencils. !!

Email me through the website if you would like to be on the mailing list for future Travel Sketching sessions. 

Lost Trades Fair 2018

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It is the weekend of the Lost Trades Fair at Kyneton, an hour or so from Melbourne.

Lost Trades “celebrates the art of skilled manual work,ancient crafts and rare trades,..These trades and the incredible artisans and real makers who continue to pursue these trades as a career deserve a platform to showcase their skills, incredible craftsmanship and share their knowledge.”   

Lost Trades was founded in 2011 and has over 15000 visitors through the gates over two days . There are over 120 stall of fascinating trades and amazing artisan, all passionate about their skill and happy to share it.

I stopped and sketched at a few stalls and listened to the demonstrations and the audience questions.

After the first warm up sketch, I decided to sketch with my Lamy Safari ink pen and then add colour to the tools or craft or sometimes the maker. All done on location. I also decided not to continue the sketch when I got home. I am interested in capturing what I did on the spot.

 

I will however, look up the details of the person and their trade and add that information to the page. I am interested in knowing what I sketched. 

 

This is my third (or fourth) visit and I will be back !. 

Next year I will stay overnight in Kyneton and go to the Lost Trades Fair on the two days.  

2016 part 2 

2016 Part 1

My burger at Lost Trades Fair

Lost Trades Fair 2015 Part 1

Lost Trades Fair 2015 Part 2

 

Local house sketch – commission

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I am very happy to be able to reveal a recent drawing commission that I have just completed. It was given as a birthday gift and now that the birthday has passed I am excited to share the final drawing and my ‘work in progress’ photographs.

It is a local East Melbourne house built in 1890. East Melbourne has a long history and a wide variety of architectural styles, all with great character.  

It was completed over three weeks in the evenings and on weekends. I took about 50 photos and visited three times to take those photos. The last visit was to photograph some details and get colours right. Although it was on portrait size paper, I drew in a square as the house fitted in that shape , I decided early on not to include a sky .

The watercolour pencil drawing was done on A3 watercolour paper (about 210 gsm weight).

This blog post shows it as a work in progress. I remembered to take photographs on my ipad and phone along the way. I wish that I had decided to purchase an A3 (instead of A4) photocopier/scanner when I purchased a new one only a few months ago. 

The first few sketches were on A3 photocopy paper. I was trying to figure out how big to draw the house on the page and what to include.

 

          I started with the outline and then built up the easiest blocks of colour. 

   

 

 

 

 

The owner suggested to add the crab apple tree in flower and nastursiums peaking through the white fence. These additions really give it a lot of a balance and interest, They are also a true reflection of the house in its many seasons.

It was wonderful challenge. I have only done a few drawing commissions and this was slightly larger than my usual drawing in my sketchbook. The larger drawing allowed me to focus in on some interesting detail and character of the house. 

Travel Sketching – Melbourne Library Service

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On Saturday I held the first of three Travel Sketching walks in conjunction with Melbourne Library Service at my local library. My previous  Travel Sketching with Melbourne Library Service  was in June last year. The three walks are all booked out. 

After a short introduction inside to watercolour pencils and the idea of travel sketching, we headed out – drawing trees, cars, houses, fences, signs and whatever else attracted each person. They only had 15 minutes at each of the three locations, so it was all about getting marks and an impression down on paper.

Rain was predicted all day on the Bureau of Meteorology website and threatened in the skies throughout the day. There was only one short downpour, which occurred the moment we walked out of the Library door ! So we sketched under the shelter of the building for 15 minutes before moving on .

This short time of rain was a great time to talk about travel sketching and about being flexible, and going with the moment. Great plans go astray but create other opportunities. The fact that we have to sketch under cover and that people got big splotches of rain on their page is part of the story of the page and of their day.  

 

We headed back to  East Melbourne Library for biscuits, coffee and to chat, share and look through some other examples of sketchbooks (my own and published books) that I had brought in.  The sketchers had lots of questions and it was exciting for me to be able to share my experience with them. Some questions were about the techniques of using watercolour  pencils, and other were about the practicalities of travel sketching. 

Below are some books that I had on display (as well as my own travel sketchbooks). 

They are not’ how to draw’ books, but rather show different people’s sketches and styles. I’ve put links if you are interested, I will often borrow a book from my local library before deciding to purchase it.

An Illustrated LIfe by Danny Gregory

Reportage and Documentary Drawing by Veronica Lawlor

London You’re Beautiful by David Gentleman 

Taking a Line for a Walk by Christopher Lambert

Drawing Paris by David George Holm

Manchester Sketchbook by Manchester Sketchers

An Eye on the Hebrides by Marie Hedderwick 

A great book to start drawing is Danny Gregory’s book  Creative License .   It will open your eyes to creativity and drawing. I return to it regularly to refocus and relearn.

 

Any questions about travel sketching or watercolour pencils ? Just ask !

 

Church Fair book sale sketches

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 I cannot walk past a Book Fair or second hand book shop without going in. It is not as though I need any more books in my shelves. I am also a member of two wonderful libraries: my local public library through Melbourne Library Service and Melbourne Athenaeum Library (Victoria’s oldest subscription library, operating since 1839). 

 
This weekend my local church was having a Book Fair. I had a wonderful time browsing the wide variety of books and walked away with an armful for $30. I had eight non-fiction and four fiction books.
I then sat out on the nature strip under a tree and sketched the church.

Later that day I drew my stack of books. This time I remembered to take a few photos along the way. This drawing was done in one evening in my daily sketchbook, so it is not as detailed or realistic as it would have been if I had worked on it over a few days.

 
I love books. I work in a magnificent library and am surrounded by them. I have done detailed drawings of them which are available for purchase on my ETSY online store.


  But this drawing was all about drawing the books I bought that day . It is a record in my sketchbook. Below are a series of sketches of today’s as a work in progress.

 

Now that I have bought them and sketched them, I just have to read them !

 

Update Sunday pm. I went back today and bought another 20 books ! I saw about a dozen local friends and each one recommended books they found in boxes. It created lots of discussion. I was there two hours.

I don’t think I will be drawing them. I might actually just read this afternoon…

a break this week

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I am taking a break from my blog this week. Please enjoy these chocolates…

I am working on two commissions, but I can’t reveal the details.

One is drawing of a house and the other is a project that involves three drawings.

They are both exciting and keeping me challenged.

Have a great week. 

a weekend in the country sketching

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A relaxing weekend in the countryside outside of Melbourne with friends.

I wanted to try and capture part of my experience there.

 

Wonderful food fresh from the garden or produced locally. 

The property has wombats, koalas and echidnas – which we did not see…

and cows.. which we did see.

There were lots of birds coming up to the bird feeder and close to the house in the early morning and evening. King Parrots. Rosellas, Kookaburras, Blue wrens, Thorn Bills, Wood Ducks… the list goes on…

 


And part of the weekend was the traffic jam on the highway when I left work on Friday. However that was quickly forgotten once I arrived and was greeted by my friends.