I flew to Sydney (just over 1 hour) for the Australia Day long weekend. I lived in Sydney for 10 years and have not visited since 2019.
I organised to meet a few good sketching friends and also a small informal urban sketching catchup. Below are all of my sketches. I have only got around to scanning and posting. Here they are!
Today I had the pleasure of teaching a “Sketching with Watercolour Pencil” class at The Johnston Collection in Melbourne.
The Johnston Collection is a museum that re-interprets the Collection through a regular program of re-installation and interventions of the permanent collection by members of the artistic and creative community. The current theme is ” A Home of One’s Own.”
“The museum has a superb collection of English Georgian, Regency, and Louis XV fine and decorative arts, and objet d’art which was a gift from William Robert Johnston (1911-1986) to the people of Victoria. Johnston was a prominent Melbourne-born antique dealer, real estate investor and collector. The Collection is displayed in a constantly changing domestic setting, in his former residence, Fairhall, a historic East Melbourne townhouse”.
The museum also offers special exhibitions, study days, lectures and workshops throughout the year, sharing stories and inspiring communities.
This was a special event as you usually can book guided tours of this amazing collection, but you can’t stop and sketch along the way.
Today a small group arrived and were shown into the Kent Room, where after a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits, were given a short talk about the collection by Rebecca, one of the guides.
After introductions, I explained about watercolour pencils, the waterbrush (everyone loves these), and sketchbooks in their Sketchkit. After some experiments with the pencils on the page, we were guided into the Green Drawing Room. There were so many decorative objects for inspiration.
It was an opportunity to sit amongst this very visual collection and observe an object for 15 minutes while you drew it. How often do you spend 15 minutes observing one object? Rebecca was also able to tell us about the Rooms and objects in them.
Everyone quickly chose an object that attracted them and had 15 minutes to sketch. We then moved into the White and Blue Rooms and then the kitchen,
There are plans for another one or two of these in the future. They are open to Friends of The Johnston Collection and other members of the public. They also have a fascinating series of talks on art, fashion, design and history! There are so many that I would love to attend. See their website.
This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.
I am very excited to be invited by the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Friends group to lead two Nature Sketching sessions. The first one is Sat, 3 Feb 2024 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Book here
Below is the promotional material from the RBGV website.
If you have always wanted to sketch in nature, either to keep a nature journal or make sketches of trees and flowers you come across, join Alissa Duke in this inspirational class. Learn to use watercolour pencils to record your experience as we sketch in the Gardens. Pick up some sketching tips and techniques along the way.A sketch kit with all you need can be purchased separately and added to your order when you book.
On Saturday I spent a few hours in the Gardens, sketching to get familiar with the area and sketch a few pages of what I found on the day. I did not realise how big the gardens are! Melbourne Gardens extends over 38 hectares and houses a collection of more than 8,500 species of plants from around the world. I wandered around one small area, exploring paths.
I had my watercolour pencils, Moleskine 13cm x 19cm watercolour sketchbook and waterbrush, There was so much to sketch, I chose objects that I was attracted to, Each person will choose a different object to sketch and will sketch it differently. There is no right or wrong.
This class is all about observation and quick sketching. When you sit and sketch, you stop and see more. I usually give students 15 -20 minutes to sketch an object or scene. This is a good amount of time as it stops you from overthinking,
Many of the plants in the Gardens have their plant names attached to them Just not the ones I chose to sketch!
There will be another class in their Autumn Calendar, Le them know if you are interested in more.
Happy sketching !
I am very excited to be the 2024 Artist in Residence at Melbourne Athenaeum Library.
Melbourne Athenaeum Library
Our 2024 artist-in-residence has been locked in – Melbourne artist Alissa Duke.
Alissa Duke is a law librarian who loves books: to read, to draw and, sometimes, to draw in. She sketches daily, documenting everyday events, objects and travels. Alissa carries her sketchbook, watercolour pencils and pen with her everywhere, saying there is always something to draw. Her art captures the character of the objects that she draws, connecting them with the viewer. Alissa will be sketching events and library features for the next 12 months, leading up to our 185th birthday next November. You may have already spotted her at our Friday night events sketching our wonderful musicians in the moment.
Of Collins Street’s many iconic buildings, the Melbourne Athenaeum is alone in housing the same institution and serving the same purpose for the entirety of the almost 200 years it has existed. It was originally named the Mechanics’ Institution when formed in 1839.
The beautiful first floor Library and Reading Room offers over 30,000 print, digital, and audio books, a range of magazine and newspaper subscriptions, and film and TV on DVD for borrowing and use in the library, and hosts regular music performances, talks, book and screen clubs, and other cultural events. The library is open six days per week, and late on Wednesdays. Athenaeum members and visitors enjoy the historic atmosphere and quiet haven in a bustling city.
Have an explore inside with their video
I have been a member of this subscription library since I moved to Melbourne in 2014. I am a regular book borrower. They usually have all titles in a series. This is great, as it means when I discover a new author I can read all in the series from Book 1! I also attend many of their Music concerts, usually the string quartets. You may have seen some of my sketches from their evenings. I will be attending more this year ! There is so much to sketch. The Library also hosts events in Melbourne Rare Book Week, which I am involved with.
As a librarian (in another historic Melbourne library) I have wonderful library chats with the librarians and volunteers when I visit.
An artist-in-residence is a phrase that covers a wide variety of circumstances. It can be short or long term, full time or part time, You can travel across the city, the country or the world. You usually need to produce something from your time there, sometimes in response to the environment. These are all agreed to at the beginning of the contract. This is my first. I am continuing in my full time job and work on these at nights and weekends. But it really can’t be called work, as it will be so much fun.
As described, I will be sketching over the next twelve months. I have already spent time exploring the library and archives and have a series of drawings that I plan on doing, I was inspired immediately and after initial excited discussions with the staff, I identified some unique items and features that are part of the Melbourne Athenaeum’s history and current life. There is so much to draw and the objects have so many stories to tell.
Books and pencils…I am so happy.
I hope to be able to share these with you along the way,
I posted this on my Facebook page and Instagram and received SO many congratulatory messages from friends near and far. It is a great start to the year.
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.
Below are my art projects and commercial activities in 2023. (they pay for my pencils) This year once again was a little different. Classes began slowly again and there were more special projects.
Below is a photograph of my sketchbooks from this year. There are ten 12cm x 19 cm Moleskine watercolor pencil sketchbooks. Some are in landscape format and some are portrait. I sketch every day and carry my sketchkit which includes watercolour pencils and sketchbook with me everywhere.
The numbers on the spine are the sketchbook numbers since I began my daily sketches in these Moleskine sketchbooks in December 2008. Can you tell that I am a librarian?
.I scan every page of my sketchbook and put them all on Flickr (an image-sharing website). I add tags and group them into Albums of events Holidays or Projects.
I put sketches daily on Instagram and some on Facebook. but these are social media sites, not searchable repositories. I use Flickr for example to locate sketches I have done of coffee if I am giving a class on food and drink. However, I have sketches from the holidays that still need to be uploaded, A holiday project…
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 209 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 can 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.
I sent three newsletters this year to the 153 people who subscribe to my newsletter, in February, July and September. 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.
I sketched at Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) when I first moved to Melbourne in 2015 and since 2016 I have been the official sketcher on location for the week of talks, culminating in the Melbourne Rare Book Fair on the final weekend. I have met so many interesting people and made lots of friends through this event.
Melbourne Rare Book Week days 1-3
Melbourne Rare Book Week days 4-7
You Can’t Draw in Books? by ME – I gave a one-hour talk about the books at MRBW – the books that no one wants. I draw on the pages of books that are about to be discarded. I had a good audience of 44 people and it went well. This was a talk where people could come up and handle the books and ask questions. 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 was with ABC Victoria with David Astle. I have learnt that he has a wide audience and is famous for crosswords. Tim Finn was on his show later that night !!
I attended the Annual Urban Sketchers Symposium in Auckland, New Zealand in April. It is three days of Workshops with 600 attendees. I stayed for 10 days holiday and sketched all the way.
I started to run my “Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencil” classes. I had 12 classes at East Melbourne Library. They are a two-hour class and involve a local walk to sketch. The people attending have the option of purchasing a sketchkit.
Other classes were at Dromkeen homestead, outside of Melbourne. At Dromkeen I also Offered a Nature Sketching and two High tea Sketching
A highlight. I feel like this was made for me. A whole weekend of books at Clunes Booktown Festival. Read about my time there here.
I was there last year and hope to be there next.
and an extra from Clunes. Two of my “drawn in” books were purchased by Libraries Tasmania for their Book Art collection and have been catalogued with my name in the catalogue field notes
I was invited to be the official sketcher on location at the Prahran Mechanics Institute (PMI) Victorian History Showcase in Melbourne. This was an all-day event. I sketched the various local history groups at their table and visitors chatting to them.
I enter each year, not to win, but to be involved and support Jo at Blarney
Books and Art, which is in Port Fairy, a few hours from Melbourne, This is the
14th year, You pay the entry fee and receive a random book title of a recently published Australian book. You then creatively interpret the book in any format.
People knit, make installation art, weave or paint. Of course, I draw in my book. My book was The Sitter by Angela O’Keeffe. My book was chosen to go on display at Blarney until the end of February 2024.
http://alissaduke.com/2023/10/blarney-books-and-art-biblio-prize-2.html
In 2023 I was approached and completed four private commissions. They were all of the buildings. I had to look at my invoices to remind me of this. It has been such a long year. I also declined a few commissions that I was approached to do as they were all outside of the scope of what I do. However, it was lovely to have been considered and asked.
It was exciting to have my “You Can’t Draw in Books” exhibition at Dromkeen over September and October and give a presentation
I had a similar display and talk as part of Melbourne Rare Book Week at East Melbourne Library. I even gave
I have been told that there was a lot of interest in both the local communities and visitors.
I have a variety of greeting cards printed from my watercolour pencil drawings on my ETSY online store. I also have my “drawn-in books” available for purchase there.
I was happy to have a market stall with my cards and books at two local Christmas events. It was so lovely to catch up with local friends and meet some more!
I have plans.
I have two local Artist in Residency commissions, Melbourne Rare Book Week, watercolour pencil sketching classes will begin again, hopefully a stall at Clunes Booktown Festival and a long planned holiday (was supposed to be in 2020) in the UK.
I hope that you have had a creative year and continue into 2024. Thank you for your support and questions.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2024.
I will be back next Sunday with my annual Year in Review.
It is the week before the week before Christmas. There seems to be a red and green theme emerging… and a little bit of food.
I practiced sketching some sweets for the following weekend’s class at Dromkeen.
Saturday was my last watercolour pencil sketching class for the year, It was a Christmas High Tea at Dromkeen homestead, just outside of Melbourne. Once again. I forgot to take photos. Bernadette and Denise had prepared a beautiful festive table. It was even more impressive when the food was brought out!
And a final sketch today. I occasionally arrange a sketching session for East Melbourne locals to get together and bring along any art gear they have and chat and sketch or paint.
I wonder what I will blog about next weekend, the day before Christmas?
Happy sketching and creativity everyone.
It is that time of the year when many people are baking special treats or meals.
Those of you who know me know that I do not enjoy cooking (I can cook!). However, I love to draw food. Instead of drawing food that has already been prepared, sometimes I have drawn the ingredients of a meal or a recipe for baking.
All with watercolour pencil , of course.
I use the word “drawing” instead of “sketching”. This is a self-imposed description I have. A drawing is more studied and a sketch is more impression of a moment. However, they are interchangeable!
The drawing does not have to be done when the cooking is actually taking place. Perhaps when preparing or gathering ingredients on the bench. I sometimes sketch ingredients while my host is cooking and we chat. Or you could give the recipe with the baked treat as a present.
Things to think about:
I hope this inspires you to pick up a pencil and sketch a recipe. Let me know how you go !
USK is Urban Sketchers. Today the Melbourne Group had a very special final end of year catch-up. They usually meet once a month at place oragnised by one of the wonderful Admin team. We chat sketch, have a throw down (ie lay our sketchbooks out on the ground to see what everyone has done) a group photo and then go. I usually can’t attend as I have other events on the weekends,
I put this one in my diary when it was announced. About 60 people registered. a few sent apologies. In the end, there were 43 (?) .
Helen organised an AMAZING day. We thankfully had great weather, avoided protests, and everyone had a great time.
Met at 10:00 at St Pauls. The challenge – we were given a list of 30 things to sketch on the route down Swanston Street to meet at GPO at 12:00pm. There was no right or wrong, they did not have to be in order and open to interpretation.
The more sketching, the more raffle tickets you got for a draw at the end. It was quantity not quality. As you can see from my sketches below.
The only two I did not get were “someone reading”, a protester
When we met at 12 we tallied up sketches, handed out tickets, and then had a break for lunch.
On re-meeting back on the stairs at the GPO we had a new afternoon challenge.
Sketch a portrait of as many of the 24 people in the group that came back after lunch.
We had one hour.
Two rules
It must be a continuous line for each sketch. That means when you put your pen down and make the first mark on the page you can’t take it off the page until you finish that one. AND you must ask their name. This, of course, led to lots of conversations. People gathered in a few groups moving slightly and staring at each other for a short amount of time.
You got more raffle tickets depending on how many people you sketched.
Then we had the group photo and the raffle was drawn. Lots of prizes as many people had donated their unwanted art supplies.
It was such a fun day of quick silly and fun sketching. I got to catchup with friends and meet some people who I had only seen as names online in Melbourne Urban Sketchers facebooks group.
On a quick four-day visit interstate to my hometown, I sketched a lot. Today’s page is all about a two-hour sketching catch-up with an art friend Anna from Shiny Happy Art. I have only known Anna for a few years, but we talk art for ages when we catch up. Our meeting place is the delicious ParisiAnn where we eat and sketch Ann’s amazing creations.
We have very different styles with our art. I sketch in my spare time with my watercolour pencils for fun and journalling. Anna is a full-time artist, art teacher and always has many creative projects on the go. But we both agree that anyone can sketch and anything is sketchable!
We chose our pastry treats from the counter display and have a great coffee.
Thankfully Anna took lots of photos along the way so I can share our creations in progress. The table started off tidy and then we took over.
Below is a video that shows the sweets off! I(I couldn’t figure out how to reduce it in size)
Below are my final pages.
At one stage Ann bought out a colourful cake for a client to collect (Andrew’s wife’s birthday). We had to sketch it quickly! it was not out long as the weather was so warm.
We gave ourselves 10 minutes. Then agreed on another two minutes at the end!
and then it was time to go…