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MYER Melbourne Christmas windows

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MYER is Australia’s largest department store with the flagship store in Bourke Street Mall, Mellbourne. Each year, like many other stores, they feature Christmas displays, often animated, telling a story. This year is the 60th year and I specifically visited the frantic Christmas gift department on Level 6 on hot Saturday 3 weeks before Christmas.

Why ?

This year’s Christmas window story is based on a children’s book written by Corinne Fenton, an author friend of my sketching friend Juliet Sampson. The reason I was so interested were the illustrations by Robin Cowcher. Robin also had the opportunity to sketch behind the scenes during the making of the windows. They were doing a book signing for an hour at MYER. This was all too interesting for me to resist!

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I bought my copy of the book, had it signed by both author and illustrator and mentioned to them my vague connection. I then tried to find a space out of the shopping crowds (as best I could) and sketched them signing books for other people.

I only stayed half a hour as the crowds were a bit overwhelming.

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Outside there was long controlled queue of adults, children and prams lined up to see the windows. In this way, people walk past the windows that are telling the story without having to stand in a five-deep crowd. I stood up on a bench to sketch this. The colour was added at home.

I plan to return during the week, on the way to work when there are no crowds. I will enjoy the story and the windows and sketch more then.

Here is the story in the window:

Little Dog and Jonathan are best friends. They do everything together but on Christmas Eve Little Dog finds himself lost and alone in a busy city. How will he find his way home? Set in the 1950s and featuring some of Melbourne well known landmarks, this charming and nostalgic Christmas story by Corinne Fenton is perfectly complemented by delightful ink and watercolour illustrations by Robin Cowcher. (source http://www.myer.com.au/shop/mystore/kids-books/walker-books-little-dog-and-the-christmas-wish-by-cornne-fenton-and-robin-cowcher-(hardback))

There is an indepth behind the scenes article in The Age newspaper if you want to know more about it all.

My Supreme Court Library exhibition

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I have an exhibition of drawings of the books and shelves OF the Supreme Court Library of Victoria IN the Supreme Court Library.

I have been working at the Library since last September and have spent some of my lunch hours drawing amongst the shelves. At first I drew in my sketchbook and then when I realised they were really quite good, I drew on loose sheets of paper. This means that there are about six earlier drawings in one sketchbook, which is a lovely record, but not very good for displaying, as only one page can be opened at a time.

My colleagues became aware of my sketches and are very supportive.The Director and Supreme Court Librarian at Supreme Court of Victoria encouraged me to have an exhibition.

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I am slightly overwhelmed and in awe as they are surrounded by traditional (and modern) portraits of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Victoria over the past 175 years painted by great Australian artists, many of them Archibald Prize winners since the 1920’s.

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There is no photography in the court precinct so I will have to sketch the exhibition!

I also added some whimsy to the display with sketches on paper coffee cups.

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Earlier this year  I had greeting cards printed with some of these images – available for sale on my ETSY shop

If you are in Melbourne. Please come and visit  my exhibition which is on display until 22 January 2016 . The Supreme Court Library is open to the public  as well as the legal profession and is a working library, You just need to go through the security (like at an airport).

Please note that no photography is allowed in the courts precinct , including the Library.

Supreme Court Library

210 William Street, Melbourne

8.30 – 6.00 Mon – Thurs,  8.30-5.00 Fri

 

On Saturday about 36 Urban Sketchers in Melbourne met at South Melbourne Markets for a few hours of sketching.

photos by Evelyn Yee

I stayed all day and completed 8 pages. I am experimenting with adding colour highlights to the page . I would like some of my drawings of crowds to have bit more interest . (Thanks Kaz for your advice !!)

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Who are Urban Sketchers ???

We are an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to fostering a global community of artists who practice on-location drawing.

Our mission is to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel.

1.We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
2.Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
3.Our drawings are a record of time and place.
4.We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
5.We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
6.We support each other and draw together.
7.We share our drawings online.
8.We show the world, one drawing at a time.

My Christmas cards are available

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Christmas is coming. The countdown is on. I have four Christmas cards for sale in my Etsy online shop!

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This card is not Christmas specific and could be given at any time of the year

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I chose four watercolour pencil drawings which I drew over the past few years. In the past I have photocopied and printed these drawings and given these to friends and family. This year I decided to have them professionally printed by my Melbourne printer and add them to my growing range of cards.

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This card is not Christmas specific and could be given at any time of the year

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Of course you could give the gift of cards and purchase a selection of my other cards of feathers ,nests, books and library shelves !

All of my Greeting cards are printed on 300 gsm Cream card

Size 130mm x 180mm (5 1/4 x 7 1/4 inch)

and come with an envelope in a sealed clear cellophane bag.

The card is blank inside, so you can write a long, inspired message or a simple, short note.

 

 

Halloween

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When my coffee came in a black takeaway cup on Friday  I knew I wanted to draw on it for Halloween.

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The white gel pen I was planning to use did not like the cardboard  that the cup was made out, so I ended up drawing with a coloured pencil (Faber Castell Polychromos) and using an image available on a copyright free online site. It is a cat on a pumpkin.

A few years ago I drew a few Halloween themed pictures.  (Watercolour pencil in my Moleskine Watercolour sketchbook)

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I hope everyone enjoys their Halloween  parties and costumes !

 

my first markets

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This weekend was my first time of selling my greeting cards at markets.

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It was a very low key entry as it was a fundraiser for a local church’s Community Pop Up Preloved Markets. A neighbour offered some space at the end of her table and I helped sell her jewellery as well. We were one of more than 30 stalls in the church hall and around the grounds. There was a steady stream of people from the moment we started to set up at about 9.00am ‘til about 3.30pm.

I had no expectations, so was pleased to sell 15 cards.

More importantly were the conversations I had and the people I met.

It was a chance to meet other locals (I have been in Melbourne for a year) and to get to put names to some familiar faces.

I met:

  • someone who lived in my apartment block in the 1960’s and whose daughter has just moved to my home town in Queensland
  • a barrister who uses the library (Supreme Court Library of Victoria) which features in my drawings. It was lovely and surreal to meet someone who has actually been there, and probably knows it better than I do
  • someone who would like to commission me to draw a car
  • a lady whose son studies birds and may help me to identify the birds nests I have been drawing
  • a few people who said ‘you’re the lady with the library display’. So nice they saw the display I have in our local library this month of my sketchbooks (and in August of my drawings and cards)  and connected me with that

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I learnt a lot about having a market stall. I had about a week to organise this and had great display ideas which I did not have the time to put together. It  was a good experience for a future craft/artisan market I hope to have a stall at early next year.

A wonderful but tiring day and I slept well last night !

 

 

 

New Greeting cards for sale!

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I have just collected my new set of Greeting cards from the printers. The four new cards feature drawings of books and a scene from the Supreme Court Library of Victoria (In Melbourne) where I work.
They are for sale on my online Etsy shop

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These four new designs join the 16 cards and 5 envelopes that are already there. They feature books, libraries, nests. feathers and snails !

They are all drawn in watercolour pencil.

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Once again Print Together has done  amazing scans of my drawings, replicating the original colours and have printed them on beautiful cream card. I have the envelopes and cello bags purchased and ready for a night of packaging !
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chocolate cake birthday card

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Today I drew a birthday card for my brother . Happy Birthday Keith for the 14th October !

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I thought that you might like to see it as a “work in progress” and I made a point of taking photos along the way. Usually I have great plans to do this but always forget once I get caught up in the moment of drawing.

Ingredients :

Watercolour pencils  (Faber Castell) Burnt Umber, Walnut Brown and Burnt Sienna on Fabriano Hot Press 300 gsm paper.

Time: about an hour

Method : draw outline in Walnut Brown

Add layer upon layer upon layer, adding water as you go

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Two strange ironies

  • I am printing and selling greeting cards and would love other people to buy them from my Etsy shop , but I have not purchased a card for years, as I always draw them.
  • I don’t have a sweet tooth and don’t eat sweets and cakes, but love to draw them ! see more of my drawings of them on flickr

New exhibition of my sketchbooks

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In August this year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to hold my first exhibition at my local East Melbourne Library. At the time, I also booked the space for my second exhibition for this month of October. Today I set it up with my friend and curator extraordinaire, Louise. This exhibition features 24 of my sketchbooks open at pages displaying a variety of themes. I hope to show people the wide variety of things that can be sketched and open their eyes to the concept of sketchbook journalingL1100103a.
The themes on the opened pages include people, travel, food, drink, Melbourne, tools, everyday things and medical – as you can see, a wide variety. Anything is sketchable! Some are quick sketches and others are studied drawings. I carry my Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook, watercolour pencils and Ink pen with me every where, and draw everyday.

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It was difficult, but fun to choose 24 pages from 55 books with sketches capturing the last 8 years of my life. I had help and advice to choose pages that had strong images in landscape format so that they would be interesting to look at in the glass display cabinets in the library. So many choices !

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My exhibition is on for the month of October. If you are in Melbourne, I hope that you get the opportunity to come and visit.

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drawing on a coffee cup

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I had not decided what to write about in this weeks blogpost.

Until I drew on a coffee cup and posted it online on Instagram and Facebook.

I was overwhelmed with number of ‘Likes’ . 500 plus in only a few hours.  I have never had so many Comments and Likes.

That made my decision to share it with everyone. I drew on this paper coffee cup today to put in my sketching exhibition NEXT WEEK (that will be next weeks blogpost).

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Melbourne. Flinders Street Station drawn on my coffee cup.

I did some other coffee cup sketches today. And I have done it in the past too.

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another coffee cup – close up sketch of features

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St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne and my Lamy Safari Joy ink pen

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Sydney. Erin’s sketch class at lunch

Sydney. Crane on Cockatoo Island

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Sydney. Cockatoo Island serviette and wooden takeaway cutlery (I drew the Sydney Harbour Bridge on it).