gum nuts and leaves - Alissa Duke

A twig of gumnuts and leaves that I picked up off the ground at the Blue Montains in the weekend.

The Blue Mountains is a two hour train ride from Sydney. The towns and villages inthe Blue Mountains all feel very European - conifers, azaleas, houses with chimneys (it snowed there very briefly on the weekend) . But when you look out over the valley and out into the distance it

is purely Australian ! The rugged cliffs, ranges and eucalyptus go on forever and are beautiful.

I didn''t get a chance to draw the mountains while I was there so I took this twig home and drew it. Not sure what type of gum tree - a very tall one is all that I can guess

Red flowering gum tree - Alissa Duke

After many weeks of drawing everything but nature, I have finally grabbed the chance (and a piece of tree from a nearby park) to contribute to this website. This red flowering gum is in full bloom at the moment and the trees in a nearby park are covered in flowers. They are really an intense shade of fluorescent orange when the sun shines on them.

Gumnuts - Alissa Duke

These are some gumnuts that I picked up while walking with friends in their leafy suburb in Melbourne. Unfortunately I have no idea what type of gum tree it was from.

Turpentine tree

Well here is a sketch of the turpentine tree that the nut from my previous post comes from. Normally, I don’t take much notice of the tree as all I see looking out from the back veranda, where I like to sit and sketch, is the trunk. Actually the first time I realised how big and important the tree is, was when I looked at a google map of my house. The canopy of the tree, which is normally out of my vision, totally fills the backyard from the aerial photo!

The first branch is 6m in the air – I have never seen a green leaf from it...till this week, when we got some down to look at. It was so nice to see how those little nuts are arranged on the tree. I will have to do this again in spring when the flowers are out – naturally I have never seen what the flowers look like – or even been aware that the tree was in flower! My field guide describes them as a mass of creamy ovate petals fused to the globular heads (what a great description of what I am simply referring to as a ‘nut’)

While I was in the garden sketching I tracked down the final frangipani and sketched it on a new page (remember that being in Australia, I am in the opposite season to most of the rest of you) This afternoon, I went to my favourite tearoom and this lone flower (both in my garden and on a new blank page) got incorporated into a wild colourful eclectic journal page inspired by my café surroundings! You can see it here

Meet the Correspondents--Liz Steel

I am an architect, and have been drawing in some way all my life, but when I discovered watercolours just over 2 years ago, I started sketching regularly... and haven’t stopped since.

Whilst I love sketching buildings and urban life, it is impossible for me not to be inspired to sketch some of the natural wonders to be found in Australia, my native land. The bush, the beach, the outback, the land are significant parts of the way that Australians have tried to define themselves over the years and although it is a cliché to say that all Australians are in love with their country - it is certainly true of me!

Sydney, where I have lived all my life, is the largest city in Australia and yet has the most amazing amount of natural bush (forest) within the borders of what is defined as the metropolitan area. So while most of my landscape sketches are done on holidays, I really have no excuse for not doing more sketching in nature, since there is so much around me.

I am no gardener but gardening is a big thing for some special people in my life – my best friend, my dad, my aunt and grandma – so it is nice to appreciate the work of others. Although I am amazed at the variety and beauty of the flowers and plants and their composition in cultured gardens, for me nothing beats Australian trees in their natural setting. My sister, when she lived in Australia, used to work in the bush (regenerating it) and therefore going for a walk with her was a wonderful and educational experience as she would share all her knowledge of plants with me.

I am really excited about being part of this blog, giving me the inspiration to sketch and share more of the nature of my beautiful country.

My flickr


I love the analytical nature of botanical drawings (it’s the architect in me - plan, elevation, perspective) but I don’t have the patience to produce the precise style that is typical of this genre. So here is my own loose version of the curiously shaped nuts that are scattered all over our lawn – fallen from the huge turpentine tree in the centre. I will tell you more about the tree later...


Didn’t have any photos of me sketching in the bush… this is the best I could find... in the South American section of a Garden of Many Nations.