Tag Archives: pencil

Lunchtime River

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Various Moleskine sketches


I haven't been very productive of late. What with dealing with the various household problems (storm-damage to porch & roof, phone, dryer, stove, air-conditioning, printer/scanner) and summer-time guests, I haven't been painting much. Coupled with my scanner not working for a while (see above), blogging has not been high on my list of things to do. I have been sketching though, mostly at lunchtime, and here are a few quick river views. The weather has been so hot recently, that even these tend to be cut short. It is hard to stay focused when it is 37C in the shade. With humidity, that translates to very hot indeed. Last week
 apparently we hit 47C with "humidex" taken into consideration!


Members Event

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Various, pencil in Moleskine

I had to work this morning, a special backstage tour for Members. Apart from having to be at work at 8:00 am on a Saturday, it really wasn't too much of a hardship. Meet and greet and then sit and listen to Jackie and Judy talk about the process of planning a season of great theatre. The Members are already fans and predisposed to have a great time.

The bonus for me is that this sort of thing is a great opportunity for candid sketching: people are sitting still for a long time and their attention is engaged elsewhere so they tend not to notice me.
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Tree

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7"X5.5" Pencil in Moleskine

Yesterday it really did feel like Spring but it was quite a bit colder today. This was sketched during a lunchhour last week. I am hoping that there won't be many more opportunities to draw such a chilly scene.

I haven't done much actual painting recently, it has been really hard to find the time. As we get into the season I have to work more and more weekends and when I am not working I seem to have other things I have to do, like plumbing. I really hate plumbing, but it beats paying the plumber. My next project is retiling the bath surround which is at least a little more creative than removing and reinstalling a toilet!


Royal York

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5.5"X7" Pencil in Moleskine

Last night I had to work at a fund-raiser in Toronto until late. One of the perqs was getting to stay at the Royal York. I always enjoy this grand old hotel.

I woke up early and thought I would sketch my view. At first I was disappointed that all I could see was another wing of the hotel, but then I realized that there were actually some interesting challenges here.


Tropical Leaves

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Various sketches in Moleskine

I have been back from Puerto Rico for several days but recovering from the culture shock and time change has taken its toll. Combine that with the horrific things going on in the world and I have had little heart for posting.

I didn't paint very much when I was down there, but did some sketching and took lots of photos, so I will try to create some pictures before I forget what it felt like.

Banana leaves are fun to draw, they are interesting plants too. They are the largest flowering herbaceous plant and can grow to 7.5 metres. After producing fruit they die down to the root and new "trees" grow up.





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London, Ontario

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5.5"X7" Pencil in Moleskine The boys are home this weekend and it doesn't look as if I will get any painting done. I had a busy week last week, went to Detroit and London (Ontario) for work-related events. I had a nice hotel room in the Armouries in London. This was the early-morning view from my room. Urban scenes like this are a challenge for anyone striving for accuracy. I lose track of windows very quickly. One of my favourite blogs (also a Flickr group) is urbansketchers.org It is an invitational group blog for both amateur and professional artists from every continent. All the sketches are done on the spot, no copying from photographs here. Some are loose and impressionistic, some are tight architectural renderings. Some sketchers specialize in people and movement, some in buildings and monuments. Well worth a visit.
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Conference

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3.5"X5.5" Pencil in Moleskine

I went to a conference yesterday. I had to leave home at 5:30 in the morning in order to be in Toronto for 8:00. The conference lasted until 5:30, I wasn't home until 7:30. I am not even sure why I was there as it was for some software I barely use.
Oh well, the food was quite good. This chap seemed to find it much more compelling than I did.
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