If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook you will have seen a few Jane Austen-themed sketches. I have attended some talks, been inspired by costume and social history.
Sketching at a fascinating talk by Chris Brown at The Johnston Collection. , Melbourne. Dressing Up : the depiction of fashion in magazines in the 18th and 19th century. An explanation of Coloured lithographs and hand-coloured engravings from his collection. The talk was about. the history of the depiction of fashion, and also the courts and publishing. Sketch on location and copied from plates at home
A mince pie and twist stem wine glass drawn at home after a Christmas with Jane Austen talk and tour at The Johnston Collection, Melbourne. Lise Rodgers gave fascinating performance talk based on the letters and novels of Jane Austen
I was re-reading my copy of Pride and Prejudice (after watching the BBC production) and came across some pages that I had drawn in! It must have been in my last Jane Austen stage.
In 2017 Melbourne Rare Book Week there were a few presentations about collecting Jane Austen Books. 2025 will be the 250 Anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, so expect some more!
Christmas is coming up and I will be posting irregularly over the break. But I will be sketching all the time ! Happy sketching to you all !
In the past week I did two sketches on location. Both are very similar and yet different.
Similarities
both in my 13 x 19 cm watercolour sketchbook, which I carry with me everywhere
in each case I sat at the back of the room.
I am a member of both organisations and many of the staff and volunteers know me and remember me as the sketcher when set myself up at the back of the room.
At this event they launched both the exhibition and Dr Judith Buckrich’s latest book, which is the first comprehensive illustrated history of the Yarra Birrarung from before European settlement to the present day, a 200 year story, examined through the lives of its creatives.
This book is an illustrated history of life on the Yarra. Through the lens of artists and writers, the book explores how life has flourished on the river, including recreation, industry and land use, as well as infrastructure, natural history and social history.
Despite much despoiling, our river remains the vital artery of the city and beyond to the Yarra Ranges. Just as it was the fulcrum of Wurundjeri life, it continues to inspire and fulfil our lives. From the Heidelberg School to the MCG, the river has been a centre of Australian arts and culture for decades.
over two pages
ink then watercolour pencil
30 minutes
i did not know how many people would attend. They kept coming and it was standing room only. I stood at the back and tried to give an idea of how full the room was
Sketch two
Dressing Up: The depiction of fashion in magazines in the 18th and 19th centuries with Professor Emeritus Chris Browne
The development of both men’s and women’s fashions from the later part of the 18th century until the end of the 19th century has been perhaps surprisingly well documented. Surviving colour lithographs and hand-coloured engravings can show us today what was in fashion at precise dates throughout that period. Professor Browne will describe the history of these illustrations and the magazines that first published them in both England and France.. The lecture will be illustrated by examples from his personal collection, some of which will be on display for direct inspection after the talk.
on one page
watercolour pencil
one hour
a set number of chairs in a small room for this smaller presentation
In each I have made choices on
what to use
what to sketch
where to add the colour
I usually make my decisions on the spot with no plan!
This week’s blog post is the nature sketches that I completed in England on my recent holiday.
I have not finished my holiday sketching books yet. I plan to add more notes about the plant to each page.
I will not be adding any more detail to the sketch. I like to consider these to be capturing the moment when I sketched them. A journal rather than an illustration
Some of these were completed on location as I sat in the fields in the lovely England countryside.
I had to look most of them up online to see what I was sketching.
Others I took cuttings of and placed in a glass of water. I later sketched them at my own leisure in my lovely cottage.
I was familiar with some of the plants as we have them in Australia. Others I had to check on, and some I had not heard of at all.
I learned to take scissors out with me on my walk, as many of the plants were very spiky.
I hope that you can see how much I enjoyed discovering the plants of the English countryside,
On Saturday I presented at the Melbourne Athenaeum Library. This marked the end of my year long Artist in Residency, I last wrote about this in January, when it was just beginning.
My brief for the Artrist in Residence was “12 illustrations of various aspects of the Athenaeum Library and Archives”.
I gave a one-hour presentation and had lots of questions from the audience. I knew many, but not all, in the audience, either from The Athenaeum events, friends or my own classes. It was a very friendly, relaxed talk.
I explained the commission and my approach. I talked about how I use my watercolour pencils and then the objects I sketched. I then discussed my on-location sketching at events and how that translated to a final drawing.
There is currently a display of the commissioned pieces. On the day I also had my sketchbooks for people to look through.
I am holding two classes on watercolour pencil at the Library.
It was such a wonderful experience and I was honoured to be invited to interpret the collection and add to its history through my Residency.
Due to technical difficulties, I was not able to access my blog until now. This is a last minute post with sketch done this evening at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria book launch.
I had left my sketchbook at home on the scanner and attended an event with my watercolour pencils and ink pen only. This was no excuse not to sketch! I borrowed some sheets of photocopy paper from the front desk.
I used my ink pen to draw across the A4 page, and onto a second page. I decided not to add watercolour pencil, but leave it in pen.
If I had forgotten my sketchkit, I would have borrowed a blue pen.
The book is Melbourne Ghost Signs by Sean Reynolds, published by Scribe. Amazing photographic documentation of stories of ghostly ads, aged signs and iconic architecture of Melbourne. Read more and purchase it here .
It looks so interesting and I can”t wait to dive deeper into my copy and discover Melbourne.
I had such a wonderful holiday in England. I was continually observing the sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch of the England I experienced.
I had many exciting and fulfilling days in London, but the majority of my time was spent in a small English village in the South Cotswolds. I don”t drive, so arrived by train to a nearby city and the property owner collected me, helped me get groceries and dropped me off at the cottage, explaining how to use everything. From then on I walked everywhere and caught the local bus a few times.
I was happy to walk down English country lanes, past bramble hedgerows and drystone fencewalls. There were squirrels, robins, and everything I hoped for.
I soaked it all in and there was so much to sketch at every corner. As I was there for three weeks, I knew that I had time. I had to time take things slowly, revisit places, and look closer. I also had time to talk to people, ask questions, and read about the places I was sketching.
I only had my phone to use to record, and had not (then) figured out a way to record as I sketch. I did not bring my larger filming setup, even though it is in theory portable. I have since discovered a small attachable device that I could have taken with me to film as I sketch. A future experiment.
Here is the only sketch filming I did. It is watercolour pencil, and captures a special moment on my English holiday. Sketching in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, in Wotton Under Edge. The first record of Wotton Under Edge appears in 940AD as Wudetun, Settlement in the Woods, It is known that there was a church there at the time. This church was consecrated in 1283. Many changes have taken place over the last 700 years, but the basic layout has remained the same.
The organ was originally presented to the church of St Martins in the Fields in London in 1726 by George I who engaged Handel top play at its dedication. Installed here in 1800.
I walked passed this church most days and through the churchyards.
The bell tower, from which those wonderful bells tolled has eith bells, originally cast in 1756,
I was fortunate to be there for the Church Fete. and I went up the very very steep stairs to the bell tower and listened to the Bell ringers explain what they do. Fascinating. I could not sketch up in the bell tower itself, but did sit in the pews.
Below are those sketches.
Writing this page and adding the sketches has brought back wonderful memories.
There are more to be shared in future posts, although life returns to normal here. I start back at work on Monday and am sketching in my everyday sketchbook and giving some talks and classes. These will be added to my website soon.
I have returned from my six week holiday in England and a little break after that.
I had a wonderful holiday, fulfilling all my dreams. I have so many sketches to share with you and I am not sure where to begin. I photographed my sketchbook and posted daily while I was away to instagram ( alissaduke1) and facebook Alissa Duke Art. You can look and see them there.
I completed four watercolour sketchbooks (13x19cm) with my watercolour pencils and ink pen. I still have to scan all of these. This will take some time as some of the sketches still need to be finished and I have to write notes on many of the pages.
Here is just a glimpse.
ten days in London
three days of Goodwood Revival
three weeks in Coombe near Wotton Under Edge in the South Cotswolds
Each sketch tells a story and takes me back to the moment I was there .
I am going on Annual Leave tomorrow for six weeks in England.
This week’s blog post will be the last until I return in October!
I am taking four sketchbooks and my sketchkit and some spare watercolour pencils . Below are some of my sketches in preparation. I will be sketching ALL THE TIME and posting to Instagram daily (alissaduke1).
Below are my outfits for Goodwood Revival Historic Motor Racing Festival. Three days of car racing from 1940’s-1960s . Everyone who attends dresses in outfits of the day. HERE are my sketches from 2018.
I will have so much to share when I return. Also lots of exciting plans and classes planned for the rest of 2024 !
Did you know that it was International Lion Day on Friday? i didn’t I don’t usually know about these international days until they are over. There are calendars you can look ahead at to find these things out. Here is a selection.
My immediate thought was the Trafalgar Square Lions, which I will be seeing in two weeks in London. Then I thought of all the other lion sketches and drawings I have done and decided to share them all here. I sketch them every time I visit London. I know I have arrived and it is now a tradition.
and then there are the real lions at Melbourne Zoo. They are usually sleeping on the platforms, but have come close to the glass wall a few times. Magnificent!
Sketched in an old ledger.
I have also drawn a lion in a book It is an old copy of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis. It took a long time to locate a copyright free image online that had the right look.
A variety of subjects, many of these I have sketched before. Most were sketched quickly. The longest one was Affinity Quartet which was one hour in the Library.
A week ago at Melbourne Athenaeum Library – Affinity Quartet. It was a lovely way to end my week of Melbourne Rare Book Week events.
I spent most of the week finalising MRBW sketches, scanning and sending them to the various partners or organisations involved.
This past Friday, I was back to the traditional Prosecco.
Saturday on the tram – about 20 minutes
This evening – a Zoom chat with UK friends
a quick sketch of some of the London books I have on table.
