Sketching with Angela and Helen in Melbourne city. It was another sunny but chilly Winter’s day in Melbourne. We followed the sun to try and find a sketching spot that did not have the shadows of the buildings. It also had to be out of the way of busy city people.

We inevitably ended up at the iconic Flinders Street Station. On the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, three of the corners have a great historic buildings to sketch, St Mary’s Catherdral, Young & Jackson pub, and Flinders Street Station. Federation Square is currently under reconstruction and has big boards up (not as interesting).

There are now square concrete bollards up, which were perfect to lean on and use as a table. They separated us from the road and the busy passing pedestrians. It is a major crossroad in Melbourne city.

Below are photos of the same sketch in 15-minute intervals. (from the St Mary’s corner).

You can see how much you can capture on the page with watercolour pencils in the first 15 minutes. They are great for quick and loose sketches. I have sketched this building before, so already have a sketch memory, and am not approaching it with brand new eyes. Even then. I had to measure and remeasure so that the different bits of the building joined up together!

In the second 15 minutes I have decided to extend it over the next page in my 13 x 19 cm Moleskine watercolour sketchbook. The extended lines are just outlines, They are in the colours of the parts of the building. I could have made other decisions about what to do in the second 15 minutes.

In the final 15 minutes, I focused on including some detail on the first page. Once a page is dry you can add more watercolour pencil on top of the painted page. (as it is watercolour, you can’t add light on top of the dark) I used this time to use a sharpened watercolour pencil to add a sharp line. It is how I add ‘pop’ to a page.

and then another sketch on the day. A 5-minute sketch of all the people crossing the street. Busy. Busy. Busy.

another fun time in city sketching again.

On Sunday I had an impromptu meetup with some Melbourne Urban Sketchers. It was being held on Sunday morning, just one block from me. The weather was glorious. Blue sky and sunshine after a week of chilly weather in Melbourne (and more to come)

There were only a few of us. Three I had sketched with over the years and one visitor from interstate. We set up next to each other and within talking distance. I was really there to catch up, as well as sketch. I have been missing these Urban Sketching catch-ups so much.

We first set up and I really wanted to sketch this tree. I did a double page spread in my 13 x 19 cm Moleskine watercolour sketchbook. It turned out a little bigger than I thought, as I originally planned to put the old government buildings in the background.

Annie J and Anait started sketching there, then Leianne sat there, so I added her. The only person missing is Evelyn, who was standing next to me chatting.

I love these Moreton Bay Fig trees. There are a lot in the next gardens (Treasury gardens), but none have the hanging roots of the branches like the ones in New Farm Park, Brisbane. I was not a sketcher when I lived there, but can’t wait to sketch them on a future visit.

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We then stopped for lunch and moved to sketch from near Cook’s Cottage but we all set up looking in different directions.

And I got distracted by sketching the sketchers.

It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

Last week I sketched at Melbourne Rare Book Fair.

I often sketch at events. below is a recent exmple.

Usually, it is a talk or presentation that goes for about one hour I will sit at the back of the room, often choosing my seat for its view of potential sketching. I am capturing the event on location at the time it happened. I usually have a known time to sketch. In general, no one in the audience is going to move. although the presenters may change. But sometimes people take off their jackets, and others arrive late, changing or blocking my view.

I am not good at faces, but I do try to include the presenter/s at the lectern or podium.

I can listen to a talk and sketch at the same time, In fact, sometimes it helps me focus on the talk, as the sketching relaxes me.

This week’s blog is about the choices I make when sketching. what to sketch and when and where to add colour.

It all depends on the place and space, When I walk into the room where the talk is being held, I immediately scan it for where to sit for the best sketching potential.

Sometimes it is in a beautiful, historic, or interesting space and I know that I will want to try and include or feature that in my sketch.

I am always sketching the ‘backs of heads’ in the audience. They are almost always seated for these events but sometimes standing.

I am using a sketch from Melbourne Rare Book Fair to show the different decisions I could make. I did not have long on location to sketch this. 10 i=or 15 minutes, I was standing up nearby, leaning against a wall. I was out of the way of people walking by, but it was not a space to stand for a long time.

Firstly I do a quick sketch of the people and their stances. On this occasion, they moved away quickly, so I had to get stances down quickly. Then some dot points and lines to show where the bookshelves are in relation to the people. This gives context and proportion.

I add extra detail to the people and what they are wearing.

In this case, I took a photo ( I never usually do this). I added the books at home and their colour, This was important to make the sketch specific to one specific booth and their shelves.

So when I finished I had this version;

I could choose to feature the people

or I could choose to feature the books. This is what I did in the version on my sketchbook

or I could choose both books and people

I also coulfd have chosen a bit of both -people and books.

Each different decision has a different impact on the viewer. As I am usually sketching and colouring on location, I tend to do a bit of both. Which version do you prefer?

Last week saw the return of the Melbourne Rare Book Fair after a two-year absence. It is a three-day event and usually includes a Melbourne Rare Book Week talk. This year it was a relief and joy to have the Fair go ahead, after the past few years.

I usually sketch at as many talks as possible, documenting the events, This year I was very happy to arrange to sketch at the event. It was lovely to see many familiar faces among the buyers and sellers. It felt like a return to some sort of normality.

I was there for two hours and completed the following sketches. There were stalls set up through Wilson Hall and you could walk up and down the corridors. I found a few places where I would sit on a chair or stand against a wall to observe people browsing, chatting, and looking through displays, and shelves.

All of the sketches were done on location, capturing the stances and people. I added lines for bookshelves and outlines of where some books were. I use a Lamy Safari Joy ink pen in a Moleskine 13cm x 19cm watercolour sketchbook. I added colour at home with my FaberCastell watercolour pencils.

I don’t think that I will add any more colour or detail, as I have added them all to Instagram (alissaduke1). I have shared them with the organisers. I had spoken to them before the event to let them know I was back (they know me) and I would be documenting their event. I will now move on to the next page in my sketchbook.

Next week I will write about the different decisions I can make on when and where to add colour to one of these pages.

This is just a short blog this week.

I often sketch food. It is there, I am used to drawing it and enjoy it.

Most of the time it is the meal I am eating. or perhaps not eating, as it goes cold in front of me. Sometimes these are more studied, depending on the time I have and how hungry I am.

Other food sketches are when I am out with friends. They are often a quick sketch and are all about capturing the moment and occasion on the page. It doesn’t matter how detailed, it is more about being there. I can look back at the page in years to come and it will bring back memories of the occasion.

This is a drawing after an event. I brought home a few of the leftover quiche slices I took to a lunch on Sunday. I could write a very long philosophical and contemplative page about how important these lunches are. But not today.

And if you are interested, here are the colours:

FaberCastell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils

• Ivory – I use this all the time
• Creme – a newish discovery that I am using more
• Light yellow glaze – I could have used one of a few yellows from the range here
• Orange glaze – in my kit!
• Burnt ochre – I use this a lot
• Brown ochre – useful colour, not too yellow
• Walnut brown – in my kit
• Pine green – I used this for the bit of green in the quiche
• Payne’s grey – shadows
• Caput mortuum – a red-y brown – very useful for all sorts of things. This was for the pepper in the quiche