Sarah's Painting Journal » river

Lunchtime River

Sarah Lynch — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:48:09 +0000

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!

River in March

Sarah Lynch — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:08:01 +0000

5.5"X3.5" Mixed media in Moleskine

I haven't been posting much recently. I haven't been painting much either, but I still draw and sketch most days. I found some old watercolour sketches from the past couple of moths that I never posted, so I will try to put them up over the next few days.

I did this one in March and there was still very little sign of Spring at that time. We have had some massive storms, including one that brought down 800 trees belonging to the City of St Catharines alone, not counting those on private property. It was a city tree that came down on my house, puncturing the roof and breaking the porch as well as taking out 50 ft of fence and part of my shed! That, combined with my dryer belt breaking, my oven going on strike and my phone refusing to work properly for the past couple of weeks, has made my life complicated. Then there is work....
Anyway, I have lots of excuses for not painting, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it.

Youngstown NY

Sarah Lynch — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:47:35 +0000

8"X5.5" Pen & Ink
An interesting day. I must have walked through half a dozen climate zones on my lunchtime walk. It went from cool and overcast to gale-force wind to blazing-hot sunshine to storm-laden clouds and back to sirocco-like hot wind again.

I have drawn and painted this scene several times already. That's what happens when there is a strategically placed, comfortable bench by the river on the Niagara Parkway.

By the time I had walked down here I only had about half an hour but I provided entertainment for some passing cyclists and helped them to avoid an extensive detour by pointing out that they were in fact on the right track to get back into Niagara-on-the-Lake. They were ready to go back the way they came, which might have taken them to Niagara Falls, about 10 miles!

Dawn on the River

Sarah Lynch — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:48:44 +0000

7"X5" Oil on board I found myself at work very early a couple of times this week so I went for a walk. Dawn looks a lot like dusk (except looking the other way of course) at this time of year. This spot is right at the junction of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.

Midwinter River

Sarah Lynch — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:28:00 +0000

8"X6" Oil on board

Looking northeast to the New York shore. The season is about right but I didn't take this reference shot this year. Right now we have a couple of inches of snow and the temperature is -11C (about 12F).

Smugglers’Cove 2

Sarah Lynch — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:35:41 +0000

5"X7" Acrylic on board

This time looking South-East, more or less toward Niagara Falls.

I based both yesterday's and today's pictures on very low resolution photos from my cell phone. I then cropped them even further so it certainly prevents the inclusion or unnecessary detail. The colours aren't very good either so I am left calling upon memory to keep it real.

I am still not sure that I wouldn't have done better to finish them with oils. I am persevering with the acrylics because I can see the advantages, easy clean up, quick reworking etc. I have a stay-wet palette which helps a lot but I am still not used the the incredibly fast drying time on the canvas and I miss the soft, buttery texture of oils.

Smugglers’ Cove

Sarah Lynch — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:53:06 +0000

7"X5" Acrylic on board Smugglers' Cove Boat Club sits on the west (Canadian) bank of the Niagara River about a mile south of Lake Ontario. I am not sure whether there is history to the name, it certainly seems like an ideal spot for some clandestine traffic. The history may not be in the too distant past either. The shore in the background is NY State and there must have been an awful lot of contraband, of one sort or another, passing across this stretch of water over the years.

Down by the River

Sarah Lynch — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:38:05 +0000

5.5"X3.5" Pen & graphitint pencil on paper

There is a tiny beach at the bottom of Ball Avenue in NOTL. Hardly anyone ever goes there, even at the height of tourist season when the town is teeming with people. It makes a pleasant spot to eat my lunch and paint the rocks.

By the Lake

Sarah Lynch — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:17:00 +0000

5.5″X3.5″ Watercolour pencil & pen on paper

This is the very corner of where the Niagara River meets the Lake. I am looking northish across Lake Ontario, toward Toronto. I have painted from this little car park at the foot of Turntable Way at least a couple of times before. If I had looked just to my right (East) I would be looking at Fort Niagara. I believe that the turntable in question was where the narrow-gauge railway ended and the trains were turned around to head back to St Catharines, but I am just speculating, I can’t find any information on it.

Navy Hall 3

Sarah Lynch — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:40:00 +0000

5.5″X3.5″ Watercolour in paper

I used the tiny watercolour Moleskine that I bought in England for this one. I have painted Navy Hall before, a couple of times at least. I did this at lunchtime today, sitting on the ramparts of Fort George, the Niagara River is in the background.