Author Archives: alissa

Writing on sketchbook pages

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I was recently asked “why do sketchers feel the need to add writing? I don’t think you need it. Is it a tradition?”

28jan2015 Fed Square

I have thought about this a few times over the last few years in relation to my sketches/drawings and this seems a good opportunity to put my thoughts in order and onto ‘paper’ , so to speak.

My answer to the query was”

“I describe my sketchbooks as sketchbook journals. It is a record of my observances at a particular time and place. It is a record of my life, I have just started my 50th sketchbook journal since Dec 2008. But when it comes down to it I just LOVE TO DRAW, but I like to give it context.”

Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks

Moleskine watercolour sketchbook

 

I have drawn all my life, but only regularly since 2005 (ish), in any sketchbook I could get. I was then using watercolour pencils and ink pens and graphite pencils. I have continued to use these materials, exploring and building on my knowledge of how they work and the effects that can be achieved. Every now and then I splash out and experiment on a large sheet with charcoal or go to a life drawing class, but in general this is my thing!

In December 2008 I bought my first Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook (13 x 19 cm). This was a watershed moment in my drawing path. There have been many discussions on facebook groups about the format of a sketchbook (landscape/portrait) and what is ‘best’ and the effect on a sketch. I love to use this format and fit my sketches to the format

I carry my sketchbooks, watercolour pencils ink pen with me everyday, everywhere. Read about what and how I use my drawing material here  There is always the opportunity to draw! I also draw longer studies of objects at home in the same sketchbooks.

The most important part of the page is the drawing but I also like to provide a short narrative. These are my journals of my life. I can look back to a date and see what I was doing (or drawing) at the time. I have captured everyday matters, travel and serious illness.

10jan2015 Kyneton Farmers Markets - Copy3DEc14 princes bridge

The words are not the focus of the page but provide a context and narrative.

There is an excellent book called Globejotting : how to write extraordinary travel journals (and still have a good time on your trip ) by Dave Fox which provides some ideas about what to write about. But I do not want the words to overtake the page. Although sometimes feel like I have so much to say , that I could write for pages.

  • One of my friends thinks I write too much and prefers my pages with few words.
  • Another tells me that they can hear my voice in the words on the page and that makes it even more personal and special and enjoys when I write a lot!
  • People who do not know me and browse through my sketchbooks often comment on the fact that I write notes and are fascinated by the idea.
  • But in the end I ask myself “who are the journals for” – they are for me !

At one stage I questioned drawing on both sides of the page – (it is a topic that s raised regularly on Artists Journal Workshop facebook forum and others. ) I have considered drawing on one side of the page  because of two issues

  • Colour smudges onto opposite page
  • some drawings I am so pleased with that I don’t want to “ruin them”

But in the end I decided I want to turn the page and tell a story. To overcome these issues I have done the following

  • If I have a particularly special drawing,  or heavily coloured drawing that would smudge I put a piece of Baking paper between the pages to protect them.
  • I have started drawing subject that I know I have become good at and want to start drawing on separate sheet – feathers, nests and now books. I want to draw them a bit larger than my 13 x 19 journal size and also potentially have them framed for an exhibition, sell prints and cards. One day soon..

But I will continue to draw everyday, capturing and documenting moments of my life and enjoying every sketch!

14Nov14 Australian black duck

Australia Day

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It is Australia Day today.

We celebrate everything Australian !

26jan2015 Australia Day

It is a national public holiday today. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships atPort Jackson, New South Wales. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, fireworks, music  and barbecues the day is celebrated everywhere around the nation.

I am having a quiet Australia day long weekend. I thought I would post some drawings that I have done in previous years on Australia Day and also some classic Australian animals and birds I have previously drawn. All in watercolour pencil of course !

26Jan14 Australia Day

Australia Day 2014

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Australia Day 2011 – the free bucket hat given away at the park

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Australia Day 2012

 

I had a great time reminiscing while looking back through my sketches since 2008. I have 49 sketchbooks and all of the drawings have been scanned onto flickr (a photo sharing website) . I can search flickr by keyword. So as long as I have described the drawing when I put it on flickr , I can find my sketches on a particular subject. As a librarian , this level of organisation and functionality appeals to me!

Here are some Australian birds and animals  – drawn from real life, photos or at the museum

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Wombat. Drawn from photos taken in Tasmania. This was the drawing that really set my direction in watercolour pencil sketching. Cathy Johnson included it in her Artist’s Journal Workshop” book and it my viewed drawing on flickr. I discovered I could achieve so much with watercolour pencils

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sketched at Australian Museum, Sydney

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sketched at Taronga Zoo Sydney

 

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sketched at Tarona Zoo, Sydney

 

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lorikeet

sketched at the Art Gallery NSW when the Rainbow Lorikeet sat at our table in the cafe

 

Welcome to 2015

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Welcome to 2015 and my new website.

This new year is full of opportunities and promises many adventures.

Like my dishmop drawing (below) I am having a clean out in the New Year.  2015 has started well as I have successfully moved from a Blogger blog to a WordPress website, which you are looking at now. I still have the same address www.alissaduke.com

A clean out in the new Year. Even the everyday is interesting !

You may notice differences on my blog page formatting and I hope to smooth these out over the next weeks.

As well as a blog,  WordPress provides the options of a Gallery (to display some of my drawings in themed groups such as food, travel, nature) , a Shop and more !

I am spending time looking at the process of getting my drawings from the pages in my sketchbook onto cards and prints.

I have been busy spending time working on my website, but have still been drawing everyday – even through a recent headcold.

17jan2015 quail eggs

16jan2015 a cold

fish in 6 ways and other food sketches

Evelyn’s Birthday lunch.
A table spread with fruits, cheeses, dips and breads and much more.
All the people gathered were sketchers, so the food was a focus for many reasons.
 
breads, dips, meats. cheeses
 
Then Angela arrived with smoked trout. 
I drew the trout once in ink, then again in colour, then again bigger and in colour, then in ink……I experimented with drawing some in a larger A4 Jasart 150gsm sketchbook, and with one of the new Tombow pens that I got for Christmas.
 
 I really enjoyed doing these sketches today and felt very creative and inspired . I am sure it was not just the subject matter(the fish), but being surrounded by creative friends an in the right state of mind..
 
He did get eaten along the way …
 
then I moved onto dessert and the view 
Sunnyboys – you have to be Australian growing up in the 1970/1980’s to know these
 
 
 
.
 
 
 
 

My 2014 art goals

2014 has been a very different year for me, full of challenges and changes which have brought about lots of exciting opportunities.

Note – this is a bit of a long post…….lots of words, not so many pictures…..

 In December 2013  my position at work was made redundant. It became clear in the current market, that I may have time on my hands for a while. I took this as an opportunity to focus and invest time into my art !

I have had in mind for a while that I wanted to “do something” with my art. I draw everyday in my Moleskine Watercolour sketchbooks with my watercolour pencils  and/or my Safari Ink pen. I usually fill a sketchbook in 8 – 12 weeks. I felt like I wanted to see it go further and had some vague ideas.

To guide me along I started working with an arts business coach, Vihn Van Lam from ArtShine. I began in March 2014 and we began to look at what do I really want to do and what is important to me and to prioritise my goals.

The concept of Art Licensing appeared to suit my style art of drawing and one of my goals, which is to have my art produced on products. In broad terms Art Licensing is a process where an artist “rents” their artwork to a client to use on certain products. The goal of the art is to enhance the look of a product that they manufacture and sell it to retailers. Products may include everyday items such as dishtowels, stationery, textiles, apparel, dinnerware and more. The intent is that the art will make the product irresistible to consumers, who then buy the product, earning the retailer, manufacturer and me, the artist, an income. 

Here is my art “mocked up” (using Photoshop)  on  trays, coasters 

and a mug


I then used the ArtShine planner to set daily, weekly, monthly goals and met with Vihn regularly to remain focused along the way and get things done!

My Original 90 day art goals were set and completed .
Goal 1.Entered Pyrmont art prize – my two entries – see below

                         
Goal 2.  Completed Jane Davenport’s Print and Scan Your Art Online workshop to learn about Photoshop. I now know a little bit about Photoshop and can do some very basic things with my art.I will probably do the course again to understand more and build my skills. 

After the 90 day goals were completed a new goal was set  
A portfolio of my artwork to be completed by 31st July. 


This goal is nearing completion. This seemingly simple statement has involved many steps and has been a big learning curve. I have been working with a graphic artist to produce a Portfolio that is representative of myself and my art. I have been challenged technically and mentally as I moved outside my comfort zone to work towards my goal. My portfolio is tied into my goal of seeing my art on a product .  

As part of the process I :

  •  Identified which of my drawings would be suitable on merchandising objects, which involved lots of research into products, companies, other artists.
  • Chose images for the Portfolio from the thousands of drawings I have produced 
  • Identified what sort of products my art would suit
  • Wrote artists statement 
  • Had professional photographs taken (thank you so much Maria ! – and Jodi for recommending her) 
  • Identified Art Licensing agents to send my Portfolio to.

And as part of achieving this year goals I have also 
  • Experimented with Photoshop to learn created mock art (see examples above) 
  • Created Facebook Page for Alissa Duke Art 
  • Commissioned high quality scan of three of my art images, ready for professional use.

Along the way life included a move from Sydney to Melbourne in September to start a new job. 

And during the year I have had unexpectedly achieved one of my goals – to see my art on products 

1. pillow & tea towels
The first set of products was created by me, ordering an online product through Zazzle with  my drawings uploaded onto it. It was a learning experience as to the quality of scan to upload (I had enlarged my drawing and it lost clarity when printed on the cloth) .I did not like the quality of the material it was printed on. 




2. Sketch used on Globetrotter Postcards website and business cards . 
I received an email from  from Sam, an Australian  blogger and traveller, living in London and asking to use one of my sketches on her website and business cards.  Wow ! 

3. Drawing used on Christmas cards for the Law Library of Victoria. The Director of my new workplace had seen my lunchtime drawings of the Supreme Court Library and asked to use them for the Christmas cards to go out to other courts, libraries and some judges. It was very exciting to see them arrive from the printers! 

Looking back, I have achieved a lot and am very proud of my year, my accomplishments and the challenges met along the way.

2015  ??? 
I will be sending my Portfolio to Art Licensing Agents and I have some ideas ….. a website, exhibition, markets, Etsy ….

Drawing in books

Last Christmas a good friend gave me a book to draw in.
But it is not a book of blank pages, but a printed book.
In fact it is not a book, it is The Acts of the Parliament of Victoria”  1894, Index 1890-1894. It is A4 size, only 24 pages but bound in hard cover and leather. It was bought at a second hand book store.

 


This gift was both apt and prophetic. Apt, because I have been a law librarian for many years, using the laws in research. But little did any of us know last December that I would move from Sydney (New South Wales) to Melbourne (Victoria) to work in the Supreme Court Library, where Victorian (and Commonwealth Laws) are enforced.

Last December when I received this I immediately knew that I wanted to draw grand and beautiful Parliament of Victoria building in the “Acts of Parliament” legislation.

I sketched some then and have continued this last few weeks. I have sketched on seven pages so far (see below)

 

Inside the front doors -The Vestibule

Floor tiles have beautiful colours and patterns


As a librarian it has taken many years to be able to draw in books. I was ok drawing on scrap paper, flyers, tickets. Then I drew on maps. I have recently bought old published cheap books especially for drawing in.. still working on those projects.

I am still not sure if the of concept drawing in this legislation is good or not. Is it legal ? disrespectful and irreverent ? It probably would have been thrown away otherwise. This is all online now and shelf space in libraries is at a premium. Sometimes it is impossible to giveaway old law reports and legislation. So it is a good thing that I am giving it a new and continuing life…

This pondering deserves another blogpost oneday.

 

Books on shelves in the Library

 
Another drawing of the library I work in. I have not included any of the  library ladders  that I have drawn previously. This time, I wanted to focus on the ‘bookishness’ of the library. This particular area with the book shelves above the doorway, leading into another room of books seems to exemplify this. These are the Commonwealth Law Reports above the door and on the surrounding shelves.
 
 

 This drawing was done over a week of lunch breaks and probably took about 2 1/2 hours. It is drawn in a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook 13 x 19 cm. I stood up, leaning on a bookshelf with my pencil wrap open next to me .(See more about my pencil wrap  at http://www.alissaduke.com/2013/07/customised-pencil-wrap.html)

 
Step 1

I knew from the first sketch that it was going to work and have the look and feel I wanted. I first marked out the lines in 2H Pencil . Then I started drawing with the watercolour pencils. Watercolour pencils allow me to draw and then add water with a brush to the page to blend the colour. I can then add more colour with the pencil. Detail works best if I have remembered to sharpen the pencil !

Step 2
Step 3

I used a lot of brown shades in this drawing, I might try a colourful object next !

The main Faber Castell watercolour pencils  used were:

Walnut Brown
Burnt Umber
Burnt Ochre
Light Yellow Ochre
Orange Glaze
Ivory
Payne’s Grey
Burnt Carmine


Read a bit more about me, my watercolour pencils and drawing in one of my first blogposts

 
 

Pacific Black Duck – Australia


Fitzroy Gardens , Melbourne

I am fortunate that the first part of my walk to work in Melbourne city is through the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens, with its traditional English plantings and ponds. I have discovered here are a few families of birds that live there : two Australian wood duck families, one with ducklings that are just past their fluffy stage,  peewees (mudlark), a kookaburra and magpies, crows and my favourite duck…


the Pacific Black Duck.
 
I liked the descriptions online that call it a sociable and a dabbling duck.  
 
The Pacific Black Duck is found in all but the most arid regions of Australia. Outside Australia, its range extends throughout the Pacific region. The Pacific Black Duck is one of the most versatile of the Australian ducks. It frequents all types of water, from isolated forest pools to tidal mudflats. The Pacific Black Duck is closely related to the Mallard (Source  http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Anas-superciliosa)


 

 

 

I know where to find them by the pond and how close I can get to them on land before they dive into the water. The more I draw them the more familiar I become with the shape of their body and head – the curves and subtleties that give them their form and character.

 
I also know immediately which colour of watercolour pencils (Walnut Brown. Burnt Umber and Ivory mixed with a little Yellow) to use to draw them. I can pick the colours out of my pencil wrap and start straight away !
 
 
 
It has a dark body, and a paler head with a dark crown and facial stripes. There is an iridescent green patch on the wing. This is when the Derwent Inktense Teal Green comes out of the box !
  
 

ANOTHER Library ladder

Another beautiful library ladder and bookshelves in my workplace (see my previous library ladder sketch HERE)
 
This time I wanted to include a bit more context, with some of the surroundings.
 
I drew this in my lunch breaks. Five days, of half an hour each for drawing time.  
 
 
 
As a work in progress….
 

You might be able to see a second ladder in the foreground in the drawings below. While I was drawing the first one I decided I could not draw another – too much perspective and counting. I was a little tired of library ladders by then.

 
 
 
 
 
 
I drew light lines and marks in pencil first to get the perspective right.
The following watercolour pencils colours were used to draw this . All are Faber Castell except where noted.
 
and a waterbrush
 
Madder Carmine(Derwent)
Burnt Carmine
Payne’s Grey
Schwarz Black
Ivory
Light Yelow Ochre
Burnt Ochre
Walnut Brown
Burnt Umber
Raw Umber (Derwent)
 
 
 
 
I will give ladders a break for a while and go back to drawing books