Category Archives: Arts on Burgundy

Travel Sketching Workshop

Yesterday,  I led a Travel Sketching Workshop at Arts on Burgundy in Melbourne .

My one sketch for the day was my traveling to the workshop. 

Ten enthusiastic people arrived and spent the day listening to me talk about travel sketching and then experimenting with sketching on location.

After a few days of very hot weather in Melbourne we were very fortunate to have a cool change come through to give us pleasant weather for travel sketching. 

The two things that I wanted to share with everyone on the day was my passion for the concept of travel sketching and to introduce watercolour pencils as a way of capturing the moment while travelling.  Some people were planning to travel and keeping a sketchbook, or interested in the idea.  A few had watercolour pencils,  but most were new to them. For anyone interested in getting the most out of their watercolour pencils I have gathered together a few practical blogposts based on my experience. 

After an hour talking about travel sketching we walked out for 1 1/2  hours, stopping at two places along the way. In a short amount of time at each stop, they captured the moment and recorded their own individual impressions of their experience. It is really interesting to see what people are attracted to sketching when they are given are wonderful array of scenes and objects to choose from. 

Then back to the studio at Arts on Burgundy for lunch, talking and air-conditioning. 

After lunch we went out again to the beautiful 1859 bluestone St Johns Catholic Church for another two sketches before walking back to the Arts on Burgundy studio for more discussion.

I had a wonderful day and I think that everyone else did too!  We hope to run the Travel Workshops again. Watch this space !

Exploring for a travel sketching workshop

I am very excited to have been asked to hold a Travel Sketching Workshop by Sarah at Arts On Burgundy in Heidelberg, Melbourne. 

On Friday I took a day off to meet Sarah, discuss the January Workshop and explore Heidelberg, as I have never been there. I wanted to see where I could take the Travel Sketching group on a walk on the day.

I will base it on the very successful plan of my East Melbourne Library Travel Sketchwalk except this is a full day workshop, not just an afternoon. 

I am not teaching how to draw, but how to see and to sketch an impression of your moment. No erasers or rulers,  wobbly lines are  just fine. Nothing matters but enjoying what you do. 

I also want to introduce people to watercolour pencils as a everyday art medium or a travel sketching tool. 

 

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I also took the opportunity to catchup with sketching friend and artist Jodi Wiley. We started the day sketching our food and talking a lot.  I got a lot of ideas for where to sketch locally from Jodi and then Sarah.

I walked around and around the streets of Heidelberg.  I stopped at three places and did two 15 minute sketches at each.

This will hopefully give the participants an idea what can be sketched at each. I  looked for places to stop where we could stand or preferable sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

I need to know about the potential for shade as it will be January in Australia. However it is Melbourne – so who knows what the day will bring.  

 

My day ended at Heidelberg Railway Station, knowing that I had just missed a train and had 19 minutes to wait. Time flies when you are sketching !!!