Category Archives: Melbourne

MRBW – lead up to the event

A special mid week post.

I have been the official urban sketcher at Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) for the past two years.  Each year during the week I write a daily blog post, posting my sketches from the events I attend. If you would like to see the sort of events they have held in the past and my sketches from them just click on this link  . You will see all the results of a search of my blog.

I am honored to be involved again this year and will be sketching at over 20 of the 43 events. held during the week. I will be writing a blog daily from this Friday to the following Sunday. 

Then my blog post returns to its usually weekly format 

What is MRBW? A week of interesting and entertaining lectures, presentations and exhibitions. 
It includes a wide variety of interesting topics on book-related themes, and entry to all events is free of charge. There is something for all interests and taste. They welcome bibliophiles, established collectors and those new to book collecting.

How does my sketching  work ? I look at the program for the week and circle the events that I would like to attend and can get to, There is often an overlap of times of two events and sometimes not possible to travel from one to another , even though they are generally all in Melbourne CBD. I don’t have to book for the event (many have seating limits due to  the space they are held in) and I usually stand at the back of the room. Therefore there are lots of “backs of heads of people’ sketches. If there is an interesting feature to the room ( Tonic House has a wonderful internal brick wall) I add to colour to it. I have been to some places previously and know what to expect, and others I need to decide on the spot. But that is the joy of sketching on location! Tackling the unknown is all part of the joy urban sketching .

Events go for 45 minutes to 90 minutes, All of my sketches are done on location, not from photos . They capture the event and are an impression of the moment. Sometimes I manage to do two sketches. Some are on single pages and others are double page spreads, I decide on format at the time.

All of sketches are done with watercolour pencils and Lamy Safari Joy ink pen in a 13 x 19 cm Moleskine watercolour sketchbook. 

 

AND I get to hear amazing people share their passion and knowledge for their area of bookish expertise. !

I hope you enjoy my reporting of the event. Please say hello if you attend any  of them and see me sketching !

Home

Travel Sketchwalk in East Melbourne

Today I ran my own Travel Sketching session for East Melbourne residents. For the first time, I organised the room, bought the sketch kits and emailed potential interested locals. 

The day was the same format as the sessions I have with my Melbourne Library Service Travel Sketching classes. But this time people purchased the sketch kits to keep.

  • Faber Castell “Red Range” Watercolour pencils 12 pack 
  • Pentel Aquash Medium Waterbrush 
  • Draw and Wash Pad 210 gsm A5 sketchbook
  • Micron waterproof ink pen 04
  • Travel Sketching Hints and Tips sheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was beautiful as we walked a few blocks, stopping for 20 minutes at three places to sketch whatever attracted each person. Sometime it was the feature of a building such as a lamp or window, or the whole building or the phone lines.

Everyone ‘got’ the concept of Travel Sketching and captured some amazing lines and colour on the page in just two hours. I was so inspired by their enthusiasm.

 

We hope to meet up again to sketch.  I also plan to continue to grow the Travel Sketching sessions in East Melbourne and broader Melbourne. Today was a great positive experience and the comments from everyone who was there were so positive, They all had fun and were so happy to be introduced to the potential of travel sketching and using watercolour pencils. !!

Email me through the website if you would like to be on the mailing list for future Travel Sketching sessions. 

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 !

Sketching at concerts

This week I went to two classical music concerts in libraries and sketched at each . Both concerts were beautiful and I am in awe of the skill of the musicians and performers . They were:

I am most pleased with the above sketch of Saverio , at the second concert I attended. Perhaps I had warmed up my sketching the night before. I think I may have been a bit self conscious at the first (Bottled Snail) concert, as it was held in my workplace and a few people know that I was sketching,

Habeas Chorus of Bottled Snail at Supreme Court Library. They were warming up just before the concert began

I have sketched irregularly at classic (and other) music concerts over  the past few years. It is something that I enjoy, but don’t feel in my comfort zone. I often draw people in groups, audiences or events, but for some reason I am not entirely happy with the results of musicians.

Sketching while listening to music enhances my appreciation and relaxation.  However, it all depends on the music. Sometimes  I will put my pencil down, close my eyes and soak it all in.

I have been reflecting about why I don’t have the same level of comfort as in other situations. I don’t have the answers but I think I know why I don’t have the answers,

One thing I have learnt – each situation is different – indoors, outdoors, amount of lighting, size of audience, number of musicians and how many musical pieces and the length of the pieces.  Sometimes I can choose where I get a seat but not always. There are often unknowns.

 

Choosing pen and ink to sketch the highlight of the black and white of the choir , the outline of the audience members. Adding colour to the Chief Justice’s portrait and the gasolier lamp.

 

I know that I need to make an early decision on what to draw with. I need to decide whether to choose my Lamy Safari ink pen or one or a few choice watercolour pencils. I then put everything else away. I don’t want to be disturbing and distracting other audience members by fiddling around, looking for colours. 

Although listening to a concert is an audible experience, there is often so much visual.

One of the decisions I think that I need to make is about what to focus on and put down on paper. Are they sketchy or detailed ? Often this depends on my mood. 

Do I want to capture 

  • The feeling of the music
  • Musicians – faces, feet, hands, their movement
  • Instruments
  • Audience
  • Surroundings – the building, stage

I will try to think of them as a suite of options open to me.

At the moment I think that I try to capture it all. Some concerts are only 45 minutes, some much longer and will have a few different sets of musicians playing .

 

 

an even quicker sketch. The music ended

I know that I had seven minutes to sketch Kylie, the accompanist.

another quick sketch

CRAFT Victoria HATCH markets

 

I wrote about my previous CRAFT Victoria HATCH markets in May this year.

Craft Hatch program supports emerging makers and who have never had their own market stall before. The program includes mentoring and professional development guidance, and is a perfect way to get a face-to-face experience.Once again it lived up to all of that . 

It was held at the same venue as last time, in inner city Melbourne, which was good for consistency for me. 

Here is an overview of my day. It is mainly photographs and few words and sketches this week. I did not have time and forgot to take photos during the day or of my own stall. This blog post and my memories are my record of the event.

Saturday morning

All packed up and waiting for my taxi to arrive. I have figured out how to carry this on my own, However, it is too awkward for public transport .

everyone setting up at the  venue

These photos were taken from my table looking at the room as the other stallholders set up

My own space.. starting to set up. Set up began at 8am.

The Markets were open to the public from 10- 4 and then we packed down. There was a constant flow of visitors through the day .

There was a guitar player/singer for a few hours and he was set up just around the corner behind me. The subtle background music was lovely and created a warmth through the room . 

 

Some of my cards and my full up banner, I am SO pleased that I invested in this banner, I very proud of it and it does define my stall. 

sketches of the day 

I was able to do a few quick sketches during the day. There was a very quiet time after lunch.

 


I made some sales and had some wonderful conversations with customers. I also learnt a lot from other stall holders. There a was a wonderful vibe to the day . 

 

East Melbourne travel sketchwalk

If you have been reading my weekly blog recently, you will have noticed that the focus has been on my East Melbourne Library Travel Sketchbook exhibition and the associated Sketchwalks.

We had clear crisp skies to start the Sketchwalks each day on Friday and Saturday and everyone had their warm layers on. 

My two sketchwalks were wonderful experiences. Each day a group of 13 enthusiastic participants arrived and embraced the concept of travel sketching . After a short introduction to the watercolour pencils and the idea of travel sketching,  we headed out into crisp winter East Melbourne day, drawing trees, leaves, houses, fences, signs and whatever else attracted each person. They only had 15 minutes at each of the three locations, so it was all about getting marks and an impression down on paper. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A giant orange crane working in the street attracted some people on the Friday. It was not there on Saturday, so those Friday sketchers had really captured the moment !

Saturday sketchers had the football fans walking past on the way up to the MCG , so some sketched the scarves and team colours.

I think that most people finished the day with a new way of thinking about travel sketching and eager to put their newly found skills into practice, 

Each day we headed back to into the warmth of East Melbourne Library to chat, share and look through some other examples of sketchbooks (my own and published books) that I had brought in.  

They are not’ how to draw’ books, but rather show different people’s sketches and styles. I’ve put links if you are interested, I will often borrow a book from my local library before deciding to purchase it.

An Illustrated LIfe by Danny Gregory

Reportage and Documentary Drawing by Veronica Lawlor

London You’re Beautiful by David Gentleman 

Taking a Line for a Walk by Christopher Lambert

Drawing Paris by David George Holm

Manchester Sketchbook by Manchester Sketchers

An Eye on the Hebrides by Marie Hedderwick 

A great book to start drawing is Danny Gregory’s book  Creative License .   It will open your eyes to creativity and drawing. I return to it regularly to refocus and relearn.

Here are the links to my previous blogposts about the East Melbourne sketchwalks and my exhibition. 

Preparing for a travel sketchwalk 

East Melbourne Sketchbook 

Video of my East Melbourne Sketchbook

 

Happy sketching !

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

preparing for a travel sketchwalk

I am preparing for my local Travel Sketching ‘walk and talk’ that are on this Friday and Saturday. Both sessions (1pm -3.30pm ) of 15 people are fully booked out and there is a waiting list ! The wonderful Melbourne Library Service have promoted the sessions widely and there has been a lot of interest to run repeat sessions. 

Yesterday I spent time walking the route and stopping at my planned locations.We are only walking a few blocks and there is so much potential to draw. The idea of the day is to inspire people and  to open their eyes to the possibilities and concept of travel sketching (not to try to teach them to draw in two hours) .

 

We start in the Library, where I will talk a little about travel sketching, my own approach and what we will be doing. Melbourne Library Service is supplying watercolour pencils, waterbrush and paper for the day.

There are three stops along the way once we leave the Library, each with so many potential things to draw – up close or vistas. We will stop for about 20 minutes at each .  I walked the walk yesterday doing my own sketches which I can show as examples on the day.

These are very quick sketches, as sometimes when you travel you do not get the opportunity to sit down and sketch for a long time.  I also don’t want people to stress about the drawing and getting caught in the details. 

Stop 1
Stop 2

Stop 3.

After the final stop, the plan is to retrace our route back to the Library, giving people the chance to spend more time on a previous sketch or do some more. 

When we arrive back at the Library, afternoon tea awaits and also time to talk about the day and share experiences and sketches if people are comfortable with that. I also have some examples of published travel sketchbooks from my own collection for anyone to browse through to inspire  them to continue. Ad there is my own Travel Sketchbook display on in the Library. 

It will all be very flexible on the day. This is the first group talk I have given and it will be a positive learning experience for everyone. 

My only concern is the weather. It is Melbourne in winter. This week has been 14 degrees and sunny blue skies. Fingers crossed that this continues. The wet weather alternatives are not exciting. However that is all part of travel sketching. Sometime weather changes your plans and you have to make do with alternatives.  

Sketching in Fitzroy Gardens

Today I sketched with a friend and her 12 year old grand daughter in Fitzroy Gardens. We are three people who love to draw. Not everyone is as fortunate as me to have the time and opportunity to draw. So it is always special to spend time with other people who do. We each had different styles and approaches. I feel that it is so important to encourage young people and anyone to draw, especially if they show an interest. 

Colours

Grass Green

Chrome Oxide Green

Earth Green

Hookers Green (it is too bright. I am going back to Derwent Mineral Green)

I love a combination of a sketch on location and then finer details of smaller objects. This works for travel sketching, as I will have a ticket, or souvenir (or leaf) that I can sketch at home. Trying to capture the autumnal colours that are coming through after our late summer. A sunny 26 degrees today. Perfect for outdoor sketching.

I also used a lot of Light Chrome Yellow, Light Yellow Ochre and Bistre ( a new colour in my pencils, replacing Raw Umber, which had too much yellow in it).

A combination of old and new, looking through trees to a modern building in Clarendon Street.

A family picnic across the park. I am not sure if I am finished yet. Maybe some more colour and detail. Alternatively I may move onto my next project……

All in watercolour pencil and also Lamy Safari Joy ink pen in Moleskine Watercolour sketchbook.

Lunar New Year sketching

Over 40 (perhaps up to 60) Melbourne Urban Sketchers met on a blue-skied sunny day at Queen Victoria Markets to sketch for Lunar New Year. Although the markets are busy, especially on weekends, we found spacious, shady places to sketch. 

 

such a wonderful sight to see sketchers all around

The Queen Victoria Markets have been operating in Melbourne for more than a century. This historic landmark is spread over two city blocks, and you can shop for everything from Australian fruit and vegetables, and local and imported gourmet foods, to cosmetics, clothing and souvenirs . A place to visit for locals and tourists ! (www.qvm.com.au/about/)

There was so much to sketch, and I choose two of the mythical creatures that were between the market sheds. I used my Lamy Safari Joy ink pen and watercolour pencils. I wanted to capture the people as well as the Lunar New Year.

a group photo at 1pm

We were one of at least 25 worldwide Urban Sketching Regional Groups that were sketching for the Lunar New Year.  

and here are some roosters I sketched a while ago . For Year of the Rooster

Urban sketchers in Ivanhoe

About 30 people from  Urban Sketchers Melbourne  met at Hatch Contemporary Art Space in Ivanhoe, Melbourne at 11am, then once again at 1pm after the sketch to share. This event is part of 2016 Pinpoint Contemporary Art Fair held by Banyule City Council. We sketched for the morning on postcard size paper (and some larger) on location in Ivanhoe. group

The sketchers included Lionel King visiting from Sydney and a few newcomers, including Colin, a local, who could give us local knowledge of where to sketch – a big thank you !
It was very surreal to be with Angela Williams, Alf Green and Lionel King, as the last time we were in one place together was in Manchester, UK in July this year for the Urban Sketching Symposium.

img_2215

looking down a driveway/laneway near Upper Heidelberg Road

img_2222

War Memorial on Upper Heidelberg Road

Above are my two postcards from the morning.

img_2216 img_2218

The sketches were laid out on the tables at Hatch, as we chatted and enjoyed their hospitality of tea, coffee and biscuits !
img_2219 img_2225 img_2228

The finished “Postcards from Banyule” were then put in a display cabinet at the Ivanhoe Train Station (work will be displayed for 2 weeks).It is in the area where people buy their ticket or shelter from the weather, so should get a lot of people looking at them. (Ivanhoe is a suburb in the City Council district of Banyule).