It is that time of the year when many people are baking special treats or meals.

Those of you who know me know that I do not enjoy cooking (I can cook!). However, I love to draw food. Instead of drawing food that has already been prepared, sometimes I have drawn the ingredients of a meal or a recipe for baking.

All with watercolour pencil , of course.

I use the word “drawing” instead of “sketching”. This is a self-imposed description I have. A drawing is more studied and a sketch is more impression of a moment. However, they are interchangeable!

The drawing does not have to be done when the cooking is actually taking place. Perhaps when preparing or gathering ingredients on the bench. I sometimes sketch ingredients while my host is cooking and we chat. Or you could give the recipe with the baked treat as a present.

Things to think about:

• where you place things on the page.

• you have control over the individual ingredients, which ones you choose to draw, and what to leave out. Some things are just not as interesting on the page!\

• do you write the recipe as well as the ingredients for someone else to be able to cook it.

I hope this inspires you to pick up a pencil and sketch a recipe. Let me know how you go !

USK is Urban Sketchers. Today the Melbourne Group had a very special final end of year catch-up. They usually meet once a month at place oragnised by one of the wonderful Admin team. We chat sketch, have a throw down (ie lay our sketchbooks out on the ground to see what everyone has done) a group photo and then go. I usually can’t attend as I have other events on the weekends,

I put this one in my diary when it was announced. About 60 people registered. a few sent apologies. In the end, there were 43 (?) .

Helen organised an AMAZING day. We thankfully had great weather, avoided protests, and everyone had a great time.

Met at 10:00 at St Pauls. The challenge – we were given a list of 30 things to sketch on the route down Swanston Street to meet at GPO at 12:00pm. There was no right or wrong, they did not have to be in order and open to interpretation.

The more sketching, the more raffle tickets you got for a draw at the end. It was quantity not quality. As you can see from my sketches below.

The only two I did not get were “someone reading”, a protester

When we met at 12 we tallied up sketches, handed out tickets, and then had a break for lunch.

On re-meeting back on the stairs at the GPO we had a new afternoon challenge.

Sketch a portrait of as many of the 24 people in the group that came back after lunch.

We had one hour.

Two rules

It must be a continuous line for each sketch. That means when you put your pen down and make the first mark on the page you can’t take it off the page until you finish that one. AND you must ask their name. This, of course, led to lots of conversations. People gathered in a few groups moving slightly and staring at each other for a short amount of time.

You got more raffle tickets depending on how many people you sketched.

Then we had the group photo and the raffle was drawn. Lots of prizes as many people had donated their unwanted art supplies.

It was such a fun day of quick silly and fun sketching. I got to catchup with friends and meet some people who I had only seen as names online in Melbourne Urban Sketchers facebooks group.

On a quick four-day visit interstate to my hometown, I sketched a lot. Today’s page is all about a two-hour sketching catch-up with an art friend Anna from Shiny Happy Art. I have only known Anna for a few years, but we talk art for ages when we catch up. Our meeting place is the delicious ParisiAnn where we eat and sketch Ann’s amazing creations.

We have very different styles with our art. I sketch in my spare time with my watercolour pencils for fun and journalling. Anna is a full-time artist, art teacher and always has many creative projects on the go. But we both agree that anyone can sketch and anything is sketchable!

We chose our pastry treats from the counter display and have a great coffee.

Thankfully Anna took lots of photos along the way so I can share our creations in progress. The table started off tidy and then we took over.

Below is a video that shows the sweets off! I(I couldn’t figure out how to reduce it in size)

Below are my final pages.

At one stage Ann bought out a colourful cake for a client to collect (Andrew’s wife’s birthday). We had to sketch it quickly! it was not out long as the weather was so warm.

We gave ourselves 10 minutes. Then agreed on another two minutes at the end!

and then it was time to go…

This Saturday I held my last Travel Sketching with WatercolourPencil class for the year.

I do have a final “Christmas High Tea sketching with Watercolour Pencil” class in December at Dromkeen homestead, just outside of Melbourne. See their Facebook page for a link to booking in the next few days.

I thought I would give a little overview of my travel sketching class. My first sketch was at Southern Cross Station waiting for my VLine train. The journey takes about an hour and trains leave hourly.

I arrive early. Waiting time is Sketching time!

It is a two hour class. Participants can purchase a sketchkit from me or bring their own gear. Many people already have watercolour pencils and don’t know what to do with them. The waterbrush tends to create the most excitement. it is basically a tube filled with water and a brush at the end. It is used instead of paintbrushes and containers of water. It is perfect for travel sketching.

I introduced everyone to their equipment and we played and scribbled with the watercolour pencils before heading outside.

There are three 15-minute stops to sketch. Part of travel sketching is being able to choose your subject quickly and start getting colour and lines on the page. Travel sketching is all about seeing opportunities and making the most of them to document your travels. So, 15 minutes is a good amount of time.

I bring three of my own sketchbooks from my last UK holiday as well as half a dozen published books to look through. These sketchbooks show different people’s linework and colour – all very different. There is no right or wrong. I also have my current sketchbook and pencils.

Below are two of the more popular ones.

I was able to share a sketching hint which I had used that morning. Wearing sunglasses lets you look at people subtly and sketch them.

There are lots of art adventures leading up to Christmas and into the new year.

Happy sketching everyone.

Last weekend I spent just over 24 hours in Ballarat, an hour north west of Melbourne.

Friends and I went to explore this beautiful historic regional city.

These are the sketches I made during the visit. My friends are not sketchers, but are very happy with me sketching and disappointed if I don’t!

It is a different style for me as I added large titles to each page.

I woke up this morning to hear on the radio that it is National Wombat Day.

My non Australian friends may ask What is a wombat ?

I decided that I had wombat enough sketches to show you. All are sketched with watercolour pencil. I have noted which are from photos and which are in real life.

The sketches above were drawn as part of the Kate Johnson’s Watercolour Pencil Workshop in 2009. It was online and interactive with the wonderful Kate (Cathy) Johnson. This is when I really discovered watercolour pencils and have not used anything else since. I was very honoured when she asked to include this sketch (and a few more) in her book, “Artist’s Journal Workshop: creating your life in words and pictures” p 25. 2011 Noth Light Books

(above) Wombat burrows. On location at a friends property. I kept checking all through the night at intervlas, but did not see any wombats.

Happy Wombat Day everyone.

2023

I have submitted my entry in for the Blarney Books and Art Biblo Prize.

I enter each year, not to win, but to be involved and support Jo at Blarney Books in Art, which is in Port Fairy, a few hours from Melbourne, This is its 14th year, staying the same but changing slightly over the years. This year you pay the entry fee and receive a random book title of an Australian book published recently. You then creatively interpret the book in any format. People knot, make installation art, weave or paint,

Of course, I draw in my book.

This is my finished work. my assigned book and my Artist’s Statement .

The Sitter is the story of two women each narrating about themselves and the other. The Writer is writing about the life of Hortense Cezanne, the wife of Cezanne, and also reveals circumstances of  her own life. Hortense is with The Writer as she writes. Much of time, is in Covid-19 lockdown in a hotel in Paris. Hortense tells her own story and that of The Writer. They are each narrating, revealing secrets to us and keeping others.

My drawing in the book is of the two women looking out over Notre Dame in Paris. In my interpretation, Hortense is outside of the frame for once, and The Writer is the one framed.

So where did I begin?

I read the book three times. First, as a story, but being aware of what I might like to draw. The second read is very thorough and involves putting post-it notes on potential pages and writing lots of notes. The third time is spot reading, refining to just a few potential scenes.

When I have decided on my idea, I then start looking for images that will suit me.

I photocopy the page I am going to draw on a few times and then move ideas around.see below.

Below is how I built up the scene

I have submitted my entry and now wait. All entries go online and 100 or so get chosen to be in the exhibition at Blarney Books and Art in Port Fairy from December to February.

My blog posts usually show my sketching at an event that has happened.

This week I am planning for my Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class next Saturday 14 October at Dromkeen homestead, just outside of Melbourne. As I write, there are still places left if you are nearby and would like to attend.

I last taught this class there in 2019 so I am reviewing my notes. The class will begin the same as my Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencil classes. I explain the gear and then we scribble with the colours and see what happens to the colour on the page when the waterbrush is used on it.

My classes are all about looking and observing the world around you. And making/taking opportunities to make marks on the page.

If the weather permits we will go outside and look at some big picture sketching and then up closer. If the weather changes again in Melbourne, I will bring the outdoors inside, with collections of nature objects from around the grounds of Dromkeen. I will decide on the day. When I arrive I will take a walk around the property and see what os happening with the trees and plants. It is officially Spring here, but the weather has been strange, so the plants don;t know what to think.

Built in 1889, Dromkeen was once the country estate of Judge Arthur Chomley and later became home to the world-famous Dromkeen Picture Book Art Collection.
Now a privtae home it is nestled in the Macedon Ranges at Riddell’s Creek. Dromkeen is a National Trust home with gardens with a range of Australian native and European plants, a gazebo and sometimes two resident peacocks. Guests to Dromkeen are able to visit the Tea Room and browse in the galleries.

Here are some sketches from my previous visits.

Below are some of the Nature sketching books from my bookshelves.

The frst photo is some books that are for practical instruciton and inspiration.

Some more books from my bookshelves. Diaries and narture journalling. More inspiration.

And my newest addition received a few days ago as a birthday gift, along with some magnificent feathers from Woody the Rooster.

I am putting together my sketchkits that can be purchased by peopple attending my class. It will include a “Nature Sketching Hints and Tips” pGE.

We had a long weekend in Victoria (for the Footy Finals (!!?) and it was my birthday. I decided to take myself away on a long weekend to Port Fairy. It is 5 hours by train/bus and is a comfortable long weekend trip.

Below are just a few of the 11 double pages of sketches that I did.

Below is Port Fairy lighthouse sketched on a map from the Tourist Centre.

I started the day by sketching while waiting for the tram, then the train.

Then onthe train then at the bus stop. There is lot of waiting time.

I can’t seem to make this image smaller. so here is my giant licorice ice cream.

I took the opportunity to catchup with Port Fairy Sketch Club, which I had sketched with on their first meeting in February this year.

another giant image.

and that is only half of my sketches. The others still need to be completed and words written on the page.

On Saturday I held my ‘Travel sketching with watercolour pencil class’ in Melbourne.

We had wonderful weather. After an initial start in the East Melbourne Library room, we were able to go for a walk around a few blocks, stopping to sketch along the way.

I was very fortunate that Penny from the group took photos along the way.

The time in the Library room involves introductions – to me, each other, and the sketchkit. We play with the watercolour pencils to see what they do and then head out.

We go for a short walk and stop for 15 minutes to sketch. 15 minutes may not seem a lot of time, but you can accomplish a lot in that time and it makes you make decisions very quickly. The class is all about travel sketching, where you may not have much time to sketch. it is all about capturing the moment.

We then walk to the next corner block and stop again. If time permits we walk a third block.

Everyone seems to have a lot of fun and be inspired and motivated to continue!

I am excited to have another three classes scheduled for the rest of the year at East Melbourne Library – Travel sketching with Watercolour Pencils

and some planned at

Dromkeen homestead, Riddells Creek – just outside of Melbourne – Nature Sketching with watercolour Pencils

keep a watch on the Dromkeen Facebook page for other events including a High Tea in December!

Happy sketching everyone!