Monthly Archives: October 2015

Halloween

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When my coffee came in a black takeaway cup on Friday  I knew I wanted to draw on it for Halloween.

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The white gel pen I was planning to use did not like the cardboard  that the cup was made out, so I ended up drawing with a coloured pencil (Faber Castell Polychromos) and using an image available on a copyright free online site. It is a cat on a pumpkin.

A few years ago I drew a few Halloween themed pictures.  (Watercolour pencil in my Moleskine Watercolour sketchbook)

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I hope everyone enjoys their Halloween  parties and costumes !

 

my first markets

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This weekend was my first time of selling my greeting cards at markets.

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It was a very low key entry as it was a fundraiser for a local church’s Community Pop Up Preloved Markets. A neighbour offered some space at the end of her table and I helped sell her jewellery as well. We were one of more than 30 stalls in the church hall and around the grounds. There was a steady stream of people from the moment we started to set up at about 9.00am ‘til about 3.30pm.

I had no expectations, so was pleased to sell 15 cards.

More importantly were the conversations I had and the people I met.

It was a chance to meet other locals (I have been in Melbourne for a year) and to get to put names to some familiar faces.

I met:

  • someone who lived in my apartment block in the 1960’s and whose daughter has just moved to my home town in Queensland
  • a barrister who uses the library (Supreme Court Library of Victoria) which features in my drawings. It was lovely and surreal to meet someone who has actually been there, and probably knows it better than I do
  • someone who would like to commission me to draw a car
  • a lady whose son studies birds and may help me to identify the birds nests I have been drawing
  • a few people who said ‘you’re the lady with the library display’. So nice they saw the display I have in our local library this month of my sketchbooks (and in August of my drawings and cards)  and connected me with that

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I learnt a lot about having a market stall. I had about a week to organise this and had great display ideas which I did not have the time to put together. It  was a good experience for a future craft/artisan market I hope to have a stall at early next year.

A wonderful but tiring day and I slept well last night !

 

 

 

New Greeting cards for sale!

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I have just collected my new set of Greeting cards from the printers. The four new cards feature drawings of books and a scene from the Supreme Court Library of Victoria (In Melbourne) where I work.
They are for sale on my online Etsy shop

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These four new designs join the 16 cards and 5 envelopes that are already there. They feature books, libraries, nests. feathers and snails !

They are all drawn in watercolour pencil.

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Once again Print Together has done  amazing scans of my drawings, replicating the original colours and have printed them on beautiful cream card. I have the envelopes and cello bags purchased and ready for a night of packaging !
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chocolate cake birthday card

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Today I drew a birthday card for my brother . Happy Birthday Keith for the 14th October !

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I thought that you might like to see it as a “work in progress” and I made a point of taking photos along the way. Usually I have great plans to do this but always forget once I get caught up in the moment of drawing.

Ingredients :

Watercolour pencils  (Faber Castell) Burnt Umber, Walnut Brown and Burnt Sienna on Fabriano Hot Press 300 gsm paper.

Time: about an hour

Method : draw outline in Walnut Brown

Add layer upon layer upon layer, adding water as you go

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Two strange ironies

  • I am printing and selling greeting cards and would love other people to buy them from my Etsy shop , but I have not purchased a card for years, as I always draw them.
  • I don’t have a sweet tooth and don’t eat sweets and cakes, but love to draw them ! see more of my drawings of them on flickr

New exhibition of my sketchbooks

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In August this year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to hold my first exhibition at my local East Melbourne Library. At the time, I also booked the space for my second exhibition for this month of October. Today I set it up with my friend and curator extraordinaire, Louise. This exhibition features 24 of my sketchbooks open at pages displaying a variety of themes. I hope to show people the wide variety of things that can be sketched and open their eyes to the concept of sketchbook journalingL1100103a.
The themes on the opened pages include people, travel, food, drink, Melbourne, tools, everyday things and medical – as you can see, a wide variety. Anything is sketchable! Some are quick sketches and others are studied drawings. I carry my Moleskine Watercolour Sketchbook, watercolour pencils and Ink pen with me every where, and draw everyday.

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It was difficult, but fun to choose 24 pages from 55 books with sketches capturing the last 8 years of my life. I had help and advice to choose pages that had strong images in landscape format so that they would be interesting to look at in the glass display cabinets in the library. So many choices !

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My exhibition is on for the month of October. If you are in Melbourne, I hope that you get the opportunity to come and visit.

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