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.