Category Archives: Uncategorized

drawing books

I recently started working in a beautiful historic library. I have been drawing a lot of books and library scenes since then and you can see them on my flickr site here .

This page is all about my latest drawing.

The works of Plato : a new and literal version, chiefly from the text of Stallbaum. London : Bohn, 1854-1861. 6 v. ; 19 cm.

I draw at work in my lunch breaks for about 1/2 hour. My previous drawings have all been in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks (13 x 19 cm). I have discovered that I really enjoy drawing books and do them well and so I have started doing them on loose sheets of paper. I wrote a blog post last year on my search and experiments in locating loose sheets of paper that were equivalent to my sketchbook. Since then I have discovered the perfect paper for me and my watercolour pencils . It is called University paper and I think that it is made by St Cuthbert’s Mill in UK. It is 210 gsm and this page was cut to A4. It was suggested to me by Deans Art in Melbourne.

I decided to draw two of the five volumes in a 1854 publication of The Works of Plato. These books are only slightly worn, and have beautiful marbling on the sides of the pages and the end pages. (The books I really love to draw are those that are not in the best condition, however they are not a good representation of what is held in the library.)

Progression from a sketch to a finished drawing

initial sketch. HB pencil on loose sheet A4 scrap paper

I started with a sketch on a scrap paper to try to get the angles right. This is not my usual approach, as I usually start straight in with the watercolour pencil on the page. However, I know that I find books difficult to draw – getting the proportions right and making them look like they are sitting flat and piled on top of each other. I have almost achieved it with this drawing. (It is hard to tell as these are photos taken at an angle)

The colour variation was not as contrasting as these photos suggest (that is the photography!) . However, I did attempt to match the colour of the book binding and used a mixture of the following three colours : Burnt Carmine, Pale Geranium (both Faber Castell) and Madder Carmine (Derwent), building the colour strength and shadows over the days. The drawing reached a stage where the colour started to get ‘muddy’, so I stopped and worked on the detail.

I still have to find a method of representing lettering in drawings, both on the outside on the spine and front cover, as well as the print inside a book. This drawing was a bit of an experiment. Instead of leaving the white space of the letters on the page and trying to fill them in with colour (not enough space), I coloured all of the book and then tried to add the words by writing over the colour with both yellow pencil and gold highlighter. I also added white gel pen and then colouring over that with the yellow. None of these were spectacularly successful. I welcome any suggestions and links to examples of words on books.

However, I am pleased that it does give the impression of the gold crest stating that this book belongs to The Library of the Supreme Court of the Colony of Victoria. This shows the age of the book from the collection.

In 1770 Captain James Cook landed in Australia. In 1835 Melbourne was established. In 1850 the new “Colony of Victoria” (after Queen Victoria) was founded with separation from New South Wales. At the beginning of 1901, Victoria ceased to be an independent colony and became a state in the Commonwealth of Australia.

This drawing is almost complete. I will put it aside for a while and then make some minor changes to details. I would like to see it as a print or on a card one day . In the meantime I will begin another book (to draw, not to read)

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?”

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 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.

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!

Australia Day

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

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

sketched at Australian Museum, Sydney

sketched at Taronga Zoo Sydney

sketched at Tarona Zoo, Sydney

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

website update

My website is currently being updated as I change from Blogger to WordPress, with all the little technical issues that go along with it. My web address will remain the same at www.alissaduke.com

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 ….

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Farewell Sydney

After 10 years living in Sydney I have moved to Melbourne ( 1 hr 20min flight or 9 hours for those who drive).

When I moved to Sydney I did not know anyone. Now I leave good friends in my local Pyrmont community and a wonderful sketching group.

The sketches on this page were done on the last few days on Sydney when I had time to spare, taking the opportunity to capture the scenes around me.

Sketching on the morning before my plane flight to Melbourne

Cafe Morso. My favourite brunch cafe

A very very quick ferry sketch

a part of Pyrmont Bridge – walked over this to work for 10 years

local Pyrmont buildings. The Community Centre is the heart of Pyrmont

Sketching with USK-ers interstate

Urban sketchers is a global community of sketching, sharing the places we live and travel to online. It is also a global community of people that you can meet and sketch with all over the world. There have been many stories and sketchers of people meeting up with local urban sketchers in a country they are visiting.

This page is about my experiences in the last month. I live in Sydney I had the opportunity to connect with urban sketchers in Brisbane, Newcastle and then Melbourne in the Australian Christmas holiday break. In each city I sketched with the locals (and some other Sydney travellers). I had met some of them previously but also met new people. I initially contacted them online via facebook or their blogs and let them know that I was visiting and the dates and they arranged place to meet and sketch. Often an event was organised around my visiting dates !

This is a bit of a long post with my sketches and a some notes. I filled many more pages of my sketchbook in Melbourne, but they are not Urban Sketches. They will all get scanned and put on my flickr page. I will also write a separate Melbourne blogpost on my site with those adventures soon.

Have watercolour pencils , will travel !

BRISBANE

A day in Brisbane in early January included a group of JJ, Asuka, Leeanne, Geoff (who sketched with us in Sydney recently) and Chris (also from Sydney) .

Asuka, Leeanne, Geoff Chris, JJ and me (in a circle left to right) at Steam Café, Southbank. Thanks to JJ for the photo

We met for coffee and quickly moved into discussion of art materials and looking through each others sketchbooks. It is so different to see the sketchbooks in reality and turn the pages. JJ and I had a discussion on drawing feathers.

We sketched at Southbank in the shade of the trees looking over the river to the city. It was very hot and we were outside in the morning and headed for airconditioning from lunch onwards.

I revisited the same area later in the week to draw some more.

NEWCASTLE

Newcastle was an organised USK event where Sydney Urban Sketchers visited Newcastle. I have written the day up separately http://australia.urbansketchers.org/2014/01/newcastle-alissa-duke.html.

It was a wonderful event and so good for many of us to connect with Urban Sketchers we had met online and for the Newcastle sketchers to meet us (and vice versa) and show us their city . Thanks Phil .

Thanks Judy for the photos

MELBOURNE

Both of my visits interstate coincided with extreme heat. It was 41 degrees in Brisbane and 44 degrees (for 4 days in a row) in Melbourne. But still we sketched, finding shade in the morning and then air-conditioning. A hardy bunch !

I was in Melbourne for a week and fortunate to have all my days free , so lots of time to line up sketching activities with Urban Sketchers in Melbourne. Kym, Evelyn and Angela – combinations of the three, and others as well. I had met them two or three times before, so it is like meeting up with friends (which is actually what it is). We took every opportunity to meet and sketch: before they started work (a 7am start one morning!) their lunch hours and any other time. My visit also coincided with another Sydney sketcher travelling. Chantal was in Melbourne and visiting her sister Suzette. We had a morning with them too.

DAY 1

Sketching with Kym before she started work. The staff at The Quarter on Degraves Street took our photo and put it on instagram. We received lovely reactions and had some great conversations everywhere we sketched. In most cases cafe staff love it when you sketch their food, cafe or coffee. I think that it is because you are taking the time to appreciate on paper the food they have taken time to prepare and look at it in a way that other people do not.

Breakfast with Kym at The Quarter café in Degraves Street

Old Treasury Building – historic museum and exhibition

with Angela and Evelyn at The Old Treasury building

with Evelyn at Time Out Café in Federation Square

DAY 2

With Chantal, Suzette, Evelyn at Koko Black cafe where they let us sit all morning and gave us a sample of chocolate

After farewelling Suzette and Chantal, Evelyn and Angela and I ventured outside into the heat.The joy of sketching with locals is they can suggest places to sketch and it is often an opportunity for them to sketch something that they have been meaning to do for ages. They took me to Town Hall. There are a number of pianos in public spaces called “Play Me I’m Yours” – which is what it is. A piano is there (all painted colourfully). You can sit and play them. I do not play, so sketched them !

with Evelyn and Angela at Town Hall “Play Me I’m Yours” piano

I then found another piano and player outside State Library of Victoria

another “Play Me I’m Yours” piano. State Library. on my own

DAY 3

The earliest start 7am, for a prework sketch with Kim & Angela in one of Melbourne’s laneway cafes. Plenty of time for continuing conversations that we had started the day before !

with Kym and Angela and No 5 Café

Then moving onto a tearoom that Angela had wanted to sketch. We sat outside looking in

with Kym and Angela at Hopetoun tearooms. the Block Arcade

My final sketch with a Melbourne sketcher was as Evelyn & I sat on the steps of the Parliament of Victoria. She sketched the panoramic view and is determined to bring the Urban Sketchers group here. I sketched the building for another project I am working on (which is another blogpost on another day) . We were sketching when a camera crew and others came out and were interviewing a politician/spokesman from Emergency Services about the ambulances coping with the demands in the extreme heat. So I sketched them !

on the steps of Parliament House. with Evelyn

Christmas drawings

The countdown to Christmas is on and I have been drawing Christmas objects and scenes over the last few weeks. I thought that I would gather them all here on one page to share the festive joy. Season’s Greetings to everyone.

It began in early December when I made brooches from my used pencils. – the red and green ones – to wear in December. I only wear two or so at a time but decided to do all of them . I had gathered them together on the table when completed, and decided to draw them as they sat

drawings of brooches

The sights around Sydney also provided wonderful opportunities to sketch. This gorgeous Christmas tree dress in the QVB Building had to be drawn. This gets lots of comments

The large floating Santa’s in Darling Harbour are also very festive and hard to miss

I then began to draw some presents that were waiting on my table to be wrapped.

and made a Christmas card . I drew some sweet handmade Croatian biscuits that I was given by a neighbor for Christmas and I will give the card to her

On the weekend I drew on letter writing paper and an envelope I am posting today. Those of you who know me will know that I enjoy drawing on envelopes. I have a lovely time drawing and someone enjoys receiving it in the mail.

and finally – on the top of a friend’s tree. I was sent a photo and had to draw it !

Cre-art-tive weekend

The Cre-Art-tive weekend of Kaz, Meegan ,Lisa & Alissa .

This weekend was weeks in the planning, coming out of a suggestion a few months ago – to take a whole lot of art gear, go away to the mountains or beach, hire a house and experiment with the equipment ! The vast majority of the gear was bought by Kaz and Meegan who both own an amazing amount of art equipment. There were paints, pencils, gels, liquids, papers, and tools. So we had the opportunity to do lots of layering, blending, and a bit of collage. Lisa & I bought along paints and art materials that we had at home, but never used. It was good to find out what it did and whether we would ever use it again.

We had a carful !

We decided it was best not to go to someone’s house, so that no one had the responsibility of being the host . We all agreed to finding a house that would suit us, with lots of light and tables. This house in the Blue Mountains, two hours from Sydney (in Friday night traffic) was perfect.

The only strict rules (which were happily agreed to) were for Lisa & I. We were not allowed to use sketchbooks and watercolours. And we had to draw big. You may be aware I usually use watercolour pencils and Lamy safari joy ink pen in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

We used the benchtop, dining table and a table bought in from outside (all carefully covered with plastic sheet – no spills all weekend). Even though it is Spring in Sydney, the weather was cold and foggy, but it was cosy and warm inside. We did not have a reason to go out, as we had good music and food.

We arrived Friday night. After dinner, we spread out our Art gear over two tables to see what we had to play with. We couldn’t help ourselves, and had to try something out straight away and make some marks on paper. We made a decision that the next day we would start the day by each trying three materials we had never used before. We made ourselves go to bed by midnight, but only so that we could be up early and have a whole day of art, not waste time sleeping in.

EXPERIMENTS

trying soluble pens. I also tried a
parallel pen
– a new discovery and used again

liquid ink – with a dropper from a bottle
, then a watercolour wash

I was determined to try a watercolour
wash and contrast colour of ink

THE CICADA SERIES

On Saturday morning I went outside to explore the backyard an found a shell, shed by a cicada beetle. This is my normal subject – a small object drawn realistically – a study on a page. But by using something within my comfort zone (the subject matter)it allowed me feel at ease using other things outside my comfort zone. This was the key for me ! and I had a wonderful time and am really pleased with these results

Once I had my subject I began experimenting with materials and colours. Most are on A3 paper and a few on old book pages

experiments for background

experiment with Tim Holz Distress Stain
to see the colours for my cicada

A3 paper. Golden Liquid Acrylic background. I think the sketch is in crayon . I should have made more notes as I went

Derwent soluble graphite XL block and Pilot parallel pen on A3 paper

A3 paper. Derwent soluble graphite XL block background. I first painted an old newspaper with Distress Stain in a few brown colours, dried in , ripped roughly into strips that could fit into the pencil outline. Matte Medium to stick down & seal. The next morning it looked like it needed some intensity to pull it together – I added scribbled lines with a thin marker

gold pen on A3 black board – unfinished. I am not sure where this was heading

smaller than A4 – old book , Rough texture liquid,mixed with acrylic colour. painted and scraped over the page It dries with a texture of course sand. I thought it was too rough to draw on for what I had in mind. I asked for suggestions. I drew and coloured cicada on transparent paper and stuck it down with that wonderful Matte Medium . I really like this one

smaller than A4 – old book , face-on cicada

Cicada on Gestetner or Roneo

BEGINNING OF A GESTETNER SERIES

Meegan tried drawing on Gestetner (or it is Roneo paper ?) – remember it from school in the 1970’s, before photocopiers were around. It had lovely smelling purple ink. I really liked the effect it had on paper and tried my own experiment. I wrote on the paper, pressing though to make a copy. I then used the copy, adding water with a brush (it turns bright purple) and then stuck the Gestetner tracing paper over top.

twig covered in lichen

OTHER ART

There was heater, so we could lay painted sheets of paper out on the floor in front of it to dry while we started another page. We were all working on a few projects at once, I tried some collage. My new favourite best friend is Matte Medium. I bought some on return to Sydney and will use this in the future

I created this one over the weekend .gluing scraps of paper down. finding images. The only real realistic drawing I did was the keys and then I stuck them down on the page and added the shadow. This took a while to come together. It looked nothing at first and Kaz kept encouraging me to add more. By the end of the weekend I was so pleased with it.

newspaper . I sealed the page with matte medium and then painted with ink

AT THE END OF THE WEEKEND

I was inspired and motivated by letting the creative juices flow. I think that I need this sort of time (even a day would be good, but a weekend is more like a holiday) every 6 months or so . It is great to try a different sort of creativity for fun, with no pressure. It is also good for me to discover that I can do other sorts of art.

me !

Kaz

Kaz’s art

Meegan

Meegan’s art

Meegan has a wonderful indepth blog of the weekend too

http://scratchyas.com/2013/11/24/a-rainy-weekend-full-of-sunshine/

Enjoy!

alissa duke

watercolour pencil artist

Category Archives: Uncategorized

drawing books

Progression from a sketch to a finished drawing

Writing on sketchbook pages

Australia Day

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

website update

My 2014 art goals

Hello world!

Farewell Sydney

Sketching with USK-ers interstate

Christmas drawings

Cre-art-tive weekend

The Cre-Art-tive weekend of Kaz, Meegan ,Lisa & Alissa .

Progression from a sketch to a finished drawing

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

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The Cre-Art-tive weekend of Kaz, Meegan ,Lisa & Alissa .

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