Duck Story

A little while ago I mentioned how I had borrowed a stuffed duck from a pub called The Marquis of Lorne. In order to take the duck I had to give them something in return for the time duckie spent with me. So my little soft toy lamb, that I saw in a junk shop in Northcote, and couldn't resist, sat dutifully on the shelf in the pub for almost a month. I bet it was the time of his little soft toy lamby life!

So, Duckie became my model, I drew her, painted her and finally made a plate. A large perspex dry point plate. Almost didn't fit on my press!

It took a lot of rubbing and wiping to ink up this large perspex plate. Perspex isn't as nice to work with as copper is, I find it takes extra effort to get the ink just right on the plate and it's confusing because you can see ink on the back of the plate too. 

I inked up in sepia brown tones with black rubbed over the top in areas. I rubbed the ink clean in areas I wanted white and then over the wing I inked in a mixture of turquoise and black to give that flash of metallic green. That part of the duck has a special name, my mum knows what it's called, but I can't remember. Anyone else know?


And here is The Marquis Of Lorne's Duck. She'll be in my Exhibition next Thursday!

For the Loan of a Duck

Well, we've all survived that heat wave, poor Adelaide though who continue in the 40s! I hear the UK are knee deep in snow though. My friend Adele is coming over from London to visit tomorrow, I hope she can get to the airport, let along her plane taking off!

I've started going on hour long walks in the morning along the Yarra River, I'm trying to get a bit fit and I'm actually really enjoying it. I was thrilled yesterday to spot a Tawny Frogmouth in a tree while walking. Today I decided to bring my camera with me, just in case he was there again today, and he was! I was so excited that I hung around for about five or ten minutes, pointing him out to other passers by, some of whom must have thought I was a bit odd and possibly weren't quite as excited as I was, but I just couldn't help it. Here is a picture.


On Saturdays after Rose Street Artist Market we all go to the pub for a well earned beer and dinner. At the bar in the Marquis of Lorne in Fitzroy (where we normally end up) I spotted a stuffed duck. Recently I've been trying to paint with one of my fellow rose street marketeers, but I find it difficult not to draw from life. Last week I had been trying to paint from one of my etchings and I just don't think it was working, so when I saw this poor stuffed duck I though Ah Ha! Maybe I could paint the duck! So I asked the bar maid and she said of course I could borrow the duck, as long as I brought something in to replace it in the mean time, just to make a story for it. So next Saturday I'm going to the pub with a gorgeous lamb soft toy I bought in a junk shop who will have a great old time sitting on a shelf in the pub for a few weeks, while stuffed ducky will sit and have his portrait painted!

I had a few funny looks walking to Abbotsford with my duck under my arm!