Jardin Botanique

One of the sketches from the last Urban Sketchers meet at the Botanical  Garden - the alpine gardens.
The paper seems to be hot press - don't know the name. I want to use all the paper I already have before buying more - at least in theory.

Color first, then some line. I am pleased with this one.

Bitter melon

I could not resist buying this fruit/vegetable, it was evident that it would be a great model to sketch. However. by the time I actually sat down to do that, few days had passed and the melon started to dry a little. I added cherries to the composition just to have some contrast. Sketched on a gessoed page - over an older sketch I did not like.

This the model - no cherries. Those  were long eaten by the time I took the picture.

Out and about

In my weekend outings I walk a lot. I am practicing silhouettes - trying to capture people as quickly as possible.

 People on Mount Royal - buying icecream, doing pushups, resting, walking ...

Westmount park - sunbathing, playing with a child, talking ...and a lonely bike.

Half eaten

I am trying to find a vocation for this Rendr sketchbook that turned out to be a no-no for watercolors. I covered the page with gesso - and the sketch of the cathedral that I did not like. I decided to sketch a pepper in watercolors, crayons and watercolor pencils. the process was log, I got hungry and I started eating my model ...

This book will most likely be used for ink, line sketches, dry media. Definitely not for washes. I like the hard covers and the spiral bound.

Tulips

I liked how the tulips spread in space, the shape reminded me of a peacock tail; leaves almost separated from the stems and the flowers as if they did not belong together. I had some watercolor pencils handy...

Lefties

I was watching a movie the other night and I realized that my hand was reaching the popcorn bowl a bit too often. That's when I decided to sketch the actors with my left hand - a win-win situation for the practice and the waistline.

I hoped to be able to use the ipad and some apps to post pics to the blog. I thought I could speed up the uploading process and also get rid of the grey background of the scan. So far, no luck ...

Fredericton

I had to fligh in for a meeting and I decided to enjoy the late afternoon. I took a walk and the only store that was still open was ... Drum roll ... The art store!!! Of course I found stuff that I don't find inMontreal and I broke the moratorium. I bought sketchboks: a small Pentallic, one with pages that do not bleed and one with pages that look like ledger pages. In this one I will probably try to channel Lapin.

I ended the evening having great food, local beer and honey from the roof top beehive.

The next morning I sketched the view from my window and the hotel. Crowne Plaza is across the street from the theater and the convention centre. I cannot believe that I got so much detail in. Not only did the building fir, but I have stairs .. and sidewalk ... and even a car! All this was possible because of a measuring trick that Stephanie Bower teaches in her Craftsy class.

Don't play with matches...

... But by all means sketch them!

I started using Snapseed and posting from the tablet. I want to see if I can post better quality images. 

Portugal - part 1

It seems like such a long time ago, but I've been back only 2 weeks. I went to Portugal for Spring break -  5 days only. I went prepared to sketch, but I did not do much. Simply to many places to see and too much walking. Great weather, great food, great wine - what's not to love? I even prepared the sketchbook ahead of time - a map of Portugal, map to the place I was staying, my travel gear.... I am finishing the few sketches I managed on location - adding color mostly - and posting when I have a chance.

Spring flowers

There is no spring in sight, if it were not for the tulips on sale at the grocery store.

Noodlers flex pen - I like the line variation I got with this pen.
The washes are darker then usual - which is great. I always struggle with wishy-washy washes :). I mixed the greens beforehand - 3 values. This is something that has to become a habit - and might require a different palette with mixing space.

Broccoli anyone ...

This is all I had in the fridge that I thought would make a nice model. Pentel pocket brush - I never use it, but I like the results when o ther people use it. I found it hard to create mid values though - and as I write this, I remembered an exercise from Sketchbook Skool. Jean-Cristophe Defline had us draw something only in black and white - we had to chose what to do with the mid-tones: either leave them white or black so that the resulting composition is balanced.

Will keep in mind this as I work my way through the pictures from Portugal and I also try to finish the few sketches done there,

I did not ...

..disappear. Just been busy with Roz's class, work. The usual stuff...

These are some of the class exercises:

Un pomodoro ... due pomodori

This is a direct-to-brush sketch that took two pomodori to complete (two chunks of 20 min otherwise knows as "pomodoro" from the time management method of the same name).

 The background was covered with guache for this one - and the colors washed out.

More projects from the book

These are two other projects from Heather's book:

Bathroom counter

Sometimes, all I can do is to draw the clutter on the bathroom counter.. better than nothing. Still long way from the 10 000 hours of practice..

High key, low key

Another exercise from the book - using high and low key colors. I have a super cheap set of guache and the changes in color with the addition of black and white are almost non-existent.

I reused the pages to sketch my glasses and the armchair in the hotel room in Toronto.

Holiday season

I spent few days in Ottawa with family and I managed few very simple sketches - which is an improvement of sorts right?

My sister had a humongous poinsettia and I tried to sketch it as a whole and in detail.

 These are stuffed birds sketched at midnight with a brush.

Post-Christmas table

6 quick sketches of 2 min each. I divided the page in 6 and picked some items around me to do quick pencil sketches: a plate, a paper bag, an empty cup, a piece of bread, an empty bottle of wine and a glass.

New Year

Last sketch of 2015:

Drawn is semi-darkness while watching TV. Celebrated at home in my PJs. As for resolutions, I am not a big fan of them. Last year was the worst year in terms of art making, so anything better this year it is going to be an improvement.

Flat

I wanted to test Pelikan opaque watercolors to see if the washes come out flat. They do. And I don't mind! It might be a way to simplify and speed up the sketching process...

The landscape was inspired by a sketch that Cat did in class. 

The bird sketch is from a photo - brush only

8 oz

This is a coffee shop close to the Rosemont metro. They server coffee by a Portland roaster - the only place in Montreal to serve coffee by Tandem roaster.