On Sunday night, some good fiends took me to the first night of the Australlian Open.
I have never been to the tennis before , so to go to the biggest Australian event was s wonderful opportunity . And of course, a wonderful sketching opportunity.
I had sketched at the cricket at the Boxing Day test (another big event). This gave me the experience of how to approach sketching a large stadium and the crowd.
At Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Open 18 January 2026
The first sketch is in watercolour pencils. I started before people started to arrive. Yes the seats and the courts are blue.
I stayed in the same seat LL from 5:30pm to 11.05 pm. People don’t move around as much as they do at the Test Cricket.
I also learnt, at the cricket, that the players were difficult to sketch as they more all the time. But the ball boys and girls stayed still and returned to the same spot. I think that if I practiced and became familiar with the different stances.
I have lots of art plans and projects in place for 2026.
I will, of course, continue to sketch everyday. I have also booked in some exciting events.
Yesterday I set up a display of my sketchbooks in my local East Melbourne Library. The theme is travel sketching and the pages are open at some relevant sketches.
This is associated with my Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencil classes that I will be running from the library rooms over the next few months. It had been a long time since I held this class and I have missed sharing my passion for travel sketching. It is a two hour class in person and is repeated in February & March. There is an option to BYO gear or purchase a sketchkit. No experience necessary, just curiosity and enthusiasm,
The Johnston Collection is an exhibition house of exquisite British and European fine and decorative arts in a historic East Melbourne townhouse. They have guided tours, amazing lectures, and events. I have presented a number Watercolour Pencil sketching classes in 2024 and continued in 2025.
This is a unique opportunity to learn to sketch ‘on location’ at The Johnston Collection. Become familiar with watercolour pencils and how to use them. Then test your new skills as you explore the ground floor rooms of The Johnston Collection’s exhibition house, Fairhall. Have a look at their Special Events to book and see what else is on offer. Anyone can book for my event, you don’t have to be a Member.
On Christmas Eve I received an email that I had been accepted as a stallholder at the Annual Clunes Booktown Festival. It was the best Christmas present !
Mark 21 & 22 March in your calendar and read more about the Festival here. I have shelves of books ready to be drawn in that I have been collecting from opshops throughout the year. These books were under $5 or about to be discarded. I will also bring also any that are currently on my ETSY site.
Australian Seashores: a guide for the beach-lover, the naturalist, the shore fisherman, and the student by William J Dakin published by Angus and Robertson (1953) 372p
Melbourne Rare Book Week
I will continue to be the official sketcher on location at Melbourne Rare Book Week and Rare Book Fair this year. I have been involved with this amazing event since 2015 and my involvement and friendships have grown each year. The date has not yet been announced. It is usually the last half of July.
Commission
I have been working on a private commission over the past few weekend and adding the final touches today, to be delivered next week.
There are many other exciting plans in the pipeline that I will share if they eventuate.
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 2025. This year once again was a little different.
Sketchbooks
Below is a photograph of my sketchbooks from this year. There are eight 13cm x 19 cm landscape format Moleskine watercolor pencil sketchbooks. I sketch everyday and carry my sketchkit which includes watercolour pencils, waterbrush, ink pen 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 put sketches daily on social media Instagram and on Facebook. Facebook at Alissa Duke Art. I post daily on Instagram alissaduke1
On Instagram I have 3566 posts and 2242 followers. It is interesting, but I am not really interested in numbers. I post to show everyone watercolour pencils, what they can do, and also that everything is sketchable and that an unfinished sketch is ok.
Weekly Art Blog
I have maintained this, my weekly art blog most weeks since 2018, published on a Sunday. Thank you to the 227 followers. I hope that you find it enjoyable and interesting to read and full of information. Some of you also follow me on social media and there are others, including friends and family who keep up to date with what I am doing by following these posts.
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 share a bit of my passion for drawing and watercolour pencils.
I managed to film four videos of sketching – a technical miracle for me!
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like me to explain anything I do. If you would like to receive this weekly email you can Subscribe here.
Newsletter
I had to give up my newsletter as I had technical issues with Mailchimp not talking to WordPress.
in 2025
Melbourne Rare Book Week
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. It is a honour to be involved in this very special event.
This year, some of my sketches were used in promotional posters, bookmarks and bookbag tape for Melbourne Rare Book Fair.
You Can’t Draw in Books
I was invited by Melbourne Athenaeum Library to present my talk “You Can’t Draw in Books”. I have given this talk as part of Melbourne Rare Book Week and at Dromkeen homestead. In the talk, I provide an insight into the reason and process of drawing old books that were about to be discarded.
Watercolour pencil classes in 2025
I have run a number of classes in 2025. I did not run my own private classes as in previous years, but through relationships with other organisations. I have been a member of these organisations and was approached by them to hold classes.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
I have been teaching one class for each Season. Read my blog posts about one of my four classes at :
I held three classes at The Johnston Collection, which 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. The Collection is displayed in a constantly changing domestic setting, in his former residence, Fairhall, 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.
This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust”
A Food sketching class with Melbourne Library Service at East Melbourne LIbrary as a Community Engagement Activity.
East Melbourne Community Seedbank
I continue to contribute to the establishment of a free seed library at East Melbourne Library by drawing images of the plant that will grow from the seeds in the packets. Read more about it here. https://alissaduke.com/2024/04/seed-bank-drawings.html
This year I was asked to draw Rainbow Silverbeet, Silverbeet, Cos Lettuce, Garlic Chives , Rocket, Capsicum, Chilli and Sage.
I was invited to display my sketchbooks in the East Melbourne Library display cabinets and hold a sketching class.
Clunes Booktown Festival
A highlight. I feel like this event was made for me. I have a stall with my “Drawn in Books” in Clunes for the Annual Booktown Festival. A whole weekend of books at Clunes Booktown Festival. Read about my time there https://alissaduke.com/2025/03/clunes-booktown-festival-4.html
Private commissions x 3
Greeting Cards
My printed greeting cards with my drawings of the Supreme Court and the Library books and shelves were on sale to the legal community in Melbourne. at Law Books at Law Institute of Victoria and Ludlows Legal Regalia.
ETSY online sales
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.
Local Markets
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!
East Melbourne Library Community BBQ
Bishopscourt East Melbourn Group Picnic
and a Christmas sketching esession at the local East Melbourne Library after the BBQ
