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

This weekend I was so happy to meet with two of my urban sketching friends, Angela and Helen. It has been such a long time since we sketched together in person.

The weather was blue sky and sunny – very unusual for a Melbourne winter.

We met at Mr Tulk, the Cafe at State Library of Victoria. Of course, I sketched my food. Eggs benedict and bacon. I then turned to the scene in front to add a bit of context. It is a busy cafe with delicious meals. We stayed for about two hours chatting and sketching in our own individual styles.

I started to sketch the scene in front of me with black watercolour pencil and just kept sketching. Most people were wearing black, so I did not get to add pops of colour. I decided just to sketch, and not add colour or detail. It was great when the waitress stood taking an order for a few minutes !

We had finished eating and the sun was still shining and we were fortunate to fnd a bench seat facing the magnificent Library. I started to sketch one of the statues in front of the building, but after four attempts I gave up. Not meant to be ! I then started to sketch the profile of the building tops the got distracted by the detail on the State Library. It was a very special feeling to be outside in the sun , with friends, doing what I love. I stayed until I started to tire and then some protestors moved into the space. It was time for me to go.

We were entertained by a great busker who set up right next to us.

It was so good to be back in one of my happy places – urban sketching.

Life returned to some sort of normal by the end of the week and I returned to sketching my usual themes.

One of these is travel sketching. In daily life, this could be on a tram. Below are two airport sketches. This is going from Toowoomba to Melbourne. The first is very minimal in black ink. The second is with watercolour pencils. Over the years I have sketched at airports a lot, and so I know what I like to focus on, and how to measure airplanes to fit what I want on the page.

and an on location sketch

food. of course

dinner. I have included a link to a previous blogpost about drawing food- very similar to this. The post has step by step photos.

I hope this inspires you. Happy sketching.

After the death of our mother last week, my brother and I have been sorting through and clearing out her retirement village home. Thankfully, Mum had moved there three years ago, and the BIG cleanout occurred back then. It was her house of 50 years and it took a long time to go through all of those memories. I kept some things and drew others.

I like to draw objects, I like their history and narrative.

This time I have drawn some objects that Mum had kept and I did not wish to take home, However, they held hugely sentimental value.

When I draw I do not think of anything else. Which is a lovely thing.

I also drew some of the lovely flowers that were sent to us.

I am looking forward to getting back to urban sketching soon .

This week was the saddest week as my mother passed away.

The Iast two weeks have been a whirlwind.

I did some sketching during this time. When I sketch I do not think about anything else and it is a wonderful way to relax. I did some sketches in the hospital, which I cannot look at at the moment.

However, there was a lot to share. There is the hospital equipment-

Flowers and food delivered.

And for something different. We are cleaning out Mum’s house and I sketching these plates. They are part of my childhood, and as much as I love them, I did not need or want to take them home. So I drew them instead! They will always be there for me. All in watercolour pencil of course.

If you have been following my blog for a while you will know how much my mum meant to me as we travelled and had adventures together.

Saturday was voting day in Australia for the Federal election. We got to choose a new government – and we did !

I had planned to arrive early at my local polling booth, which opened at 8am. I was there at 7.45am and there were a few people already there, so I lined up behind them, while the various candidate party volunteers were putting up their signs.

I took the opportunity to start a quick sketch of the signs and finished it at home.

I then sketched the people in front of me in the queue. When I looked behind there was another 30 in the line. By the time I left the queue was down the block. I heard that it was like that all day. At this stage the line was moving quickly.

And the Democracy Sausage? It is the colloquial name for a sausage wrapped in a slice of bread, with onion, add you add your own sauce. It is bought from a sausage sizzle (mine was $4) operated as a fundraiser at Australian polling places on election day, often in aid of the institutions that house the polling place or a local group. My local East Melbourne Group had the sausages sizzling by the time I voted. I bought one to eat and one to sketch (and maybe eat). The term seems to have starter in 2013.

Now there is even a democracy sausage website, where people can add their stalls. The big question – if you vote at a polling booth that does NOT have a democracy sausage stall, can you go to another, just to buy a sausage????

This week I sketched a few times on location. Some were planned visits ans sketches and others were just making the most of an opportunity to sketch. I always carry my sketchkit with me and it is so lovely to return to normal.

The planned visit was sketching In the audience at a friends Masters graduation ceremony, which was delayed since December 2020. We had front-row seats and a clear view of the stage. However, it did mean that I could not sketch “the backs of heads of people as I usually do at large events. I am still getting back into the rhythm of sketching on location and felt as though my colours were heavy handed. There was so much black!

I also filled in a bit of time beforehand sketching the magnificent Royal Exhibition Building where the ceremony was held.

Once or twice during the week I caught a few trams and sketched .

And then there was an unexpected wait at the bank. I was lucky to have a seat. I put some quick lines down starting with the person on the left. My wait got longer and so I started on the next couple. I was beginning to add detail when they left and it was my turn. I am always happy when I start a sketch and get to the stage when if they leave, I am ok with it, but if I get the opportunity to add more details, or continue across the page I will. The sketch can grow organically. At any moment it is a capture of the event.

I wonder what next week will bring ?

My usual weekly art blog post was on hold for the past two weeks as my life was taken over by Clunes Booktown Festival. It was held last weekend, and this blog post is all about it.

What is it and why am I there? For those new to this blog.  

Clunes Booktown Festival

For two days, the historic main street of this beautiful township will transform, once again, into a spectacular book bazaar. Over fifty specialist book traders will offer an extraordinary range – new and second-hand, antiquarian and contemporary, rare and popular – covering every imaginable topic and theme. Clunes Booktown celebrates every aspect of the book – not just writing and reading but making, publishing, retailing, and sharing. Along with the wares on display, you’ll find conversations with writers and storytellers

You Can’t Draw in Books – I draw in old books that are about to be discarded. I draw on one page illustrating an object being described on the page. I draw in watercolour pencils.

This event was two years in the planning. I was successful in my application for a stall in 2020. But after two years of lockdown, this annual event did not take place again until this year, May 2022.

I had many books drawn in but quickly realised that I would need more for a two-day event where the town is filled with book people – I had a captive market. I was drawing in books up until the day before.

I took over 80 ‘drawn in’ books and loose pages with me and my book-themed greeting cards. In these suitcases were also my display stands and tablecloths and signs and assorted other things. Most importantly  I had a good friend, Louise who has been planning and assisting since Day One of planning. We carried four large suitcases up and back by train. It is two hours from Melbourne.

Having my stall in the old bluestone church was the perfect place for me. I could not have been happier. You can see the grin on my face in every photo ! My stall neighbours were the State Library of Victoria, with a display from their Egyptology collection, Victorian Book Binders Guild and two booksellers. It was just a short walk from the town main street, where all the stalls were, and close to the  Town Hall and other buildings with author talks. I hope that I am giving you a feeling of being there. I was in my happy place and wnt to share it with everyone.

We had lovely conversations with interesting people all day. There were locals, volunteers, other booktraders, day visitors from Melbourne, and further afield. A steady stream of people came through the doors all day. They were of all ages as well as families with young children (there is a children’s activity section in the town). Sometimes we were their first stop on the way in from the showground/carpark. Others were popping by in between author talks and others with bags full, were on their way home. After an initial torrential downpour all Friday night we were blessed with crisp autumnal weather all weekend.

Helen purchased my Poodle drawn in a book and then sent me a photo of it on display in her home. Here is her poodle Rosie giving her look of approval.

Strangely enough, I did not purchase any books. I did not leave the stall often, and I had decided that it was not the focus of my weekend. Every time Louise went into town for a coffee or food, she took a long time to come back and there was always bags in her arms and stories to tell of people she met. But I did pick up two free books (one  to read and one to draw in) at a little library at 7am on a bookshelf at the railway station platform – (you get the idea of what sort of town it is)

Now that I am home, I am putting on my ETSY site everything that I did not sell. So if you were at Clunes and considered a book, just watch this space or contact me. I have about 40 to add to ETSY over the next few weeks as I take photographs and add to ETSY My ETSY site has an Australian postage price. Please contact me about overseas postage as this needs to be calculated and due to some parcel changes has gone up so much.

I have added these today.

The weekend could not have been better. It was a joy from start to finish. It is run by a very small number of people and many volunteers. It had a great vibe from the moment we arrived on the Friday to set up, right through to our final farewells. I will put in an application for next year as soon as the organisers have recovered from this one. The only thing I would change would be to bring an extra layer or two !

Every year I draw my hot cross buns. I buy a few and keep one just for drawing as it sits out on the bench over a few days and is not worth reheating.

This Easter the hot cross buns were not as pretty but they are probably the tastiest I have had in years – nice and spicy and with peel! Bought from Kere Kere Cafe in the Fitzroy Gardens and learned that the hot cross buns were from Dench Bakers in Melbourne, who I had not heard of.

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This year I drew my hot cross bun and a soft toy Easter rabbit while on a Zoom catchup with some UK sketching friends. There was a lot more talking than I would normally have while drawing. It was lovely to be social. My memory when I look back at this page will be the event, not the bun. The reason I choose to draw some things is to document a place and time. I will remember that my friends all agree that hot cross buns from the Co-Op are the best in the UK.

In previous years I had drawn some spectacular-looking buns – all golden and glistening. This is a less finished drawing. I decided not to continue after the zoom meeting, and just leave it as it is.

As usual, these are drawn with watercolour pencil.

I have started to attend live events again, and of course sketch at them.

Recently I attended two events that threw me back into on-location sketching. One was back in my comfort zone (from two years ago) and the other was way outside my comfort zone.

The first event I attended was a book launch.

A G L SHAW LECTURE: “The Barristers of the Port Phillip District, 1839-1851” at the Royal Historical Society Victoria. It was a talk given by author Peter Yule, to two historical societies I belong to. It was in the evening, indoors, with about 40 people for two hours. The speakers’ stand was at the front with a screen. The seats were all set up. I was in familiar territory. I usually try to sit in the back row with a good view of the backs of heads of people and some interesting room features. I don’t always get all of these but this is what I look for. It is a known time (usually an hour) and nobody moves. You can see how I am in my comfort zone.

At the events, I make decisions on what to include, where to add detail and where to add colour. This is actually two double pages spreads, which I have put together. I usually do the one sketch in this time.

The second event was the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne.

My sketching was over two days, with over 100 000 people each day, all outside, perfect weather, but unknown everything.

I knew that I would not be sketching the cars as they raced. There were display areas with cars I could have sketched – even the pits for some of the support races. However, they were a bit a walk away from where my friends and I had set ourselves up. My sketching on location is all about capturing the moment

I choose people around me. It was still challenging.

The one thing that was known were my watercolour pencils and sketchbook. Once I had these out I knew (sort of) what I was doing. I knew at least, what I could do with my pencils. The hardest part was making the decisions on what to draw. It was so visual, as well as all the other senses !

I had a wonderful time in the midst of it all. The final day I watched on TV and put my feet up. Orange nail polish for McLaren – they have an Australian driver !!!