Category Archives: Cartoons

Cartoons, drawing, Urban Sketching

Bad Drawing

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I took my sketch pad to the Britannia Shipyards last week and saw an old boat that looked pretty interesting. I found a shady perch that gave me a view of the hull from an odd angle and started in on a little sketch. Now, if you’re an architect or a drafter, please don’t scoff; I’m just an ordinary doodler and sometimes I just can’t get the angles right. Two bad sketches later, it was time to go. Besides, it was hot.

I’d taken a photo of the boat and later on did a sketch from that which was a bit easier. It’s not that I’m into perfection (I’m trying to concentrate on light and shadows) but I like a drawing to be a bit recognizable.

Old Boat near Britannia Shipyards
pen, watercolour wash

Here’s something that is recognizable from a weekend visit to Burnaby Village Museum with 35 or so Vancouver Urban Sketchers.

Waterpump, Burnaby Village Museum
Watercolour, pen, pencil crayon
caricatures, Cartoons, Daily Drawings, drawing, illustration

The “R” word

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I’m trying to avoid saying the “R” word. It’s so final. I’m happy about it though – I have time at last to do my own thing, any time, any where, without worrying about spreadsheets, documents, booking meetings on Zoom and trying to get all that office stuff done without screwing up. I’m Done.

One thing I do recognize though, is the need for a bit of routine so for now it’s art in the a.m., my “work” time. I have some bigger projects lined up for myself and have almost got back into the daily drawing habit – see “Pedestrians” and the “Tulip Bed” below. There’s also plenty of fun stuff to do to keep members of my family entertained. And I am not averse to considering craft art – thus the amigurumi bunny. I think it’s smirking.

May 22 composite

(Just in case you don’t know what the “R” word is, it’s . . . retirement . . .)

Cartoons, drawing, Photography

Family

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A friend recently send me a jpg of a  wedding photo of her grandparents to see if I could “do anything”. I love a challenge but when I looked at this I wondered… The image was roughly cut out of a larger photo and was somewhat damaged. And old. I thought about digitally painting in missing parts, but in the end, I decided to enhance what was there and blend it into a recreated background.

Here’s the original:

And here’s the final:

I hope Baba and Deda would be proud.

Were there holidays last month? I think so and I think I experienced them because 2 new seasonal card images were dreamed up for 2021 based on a couple of surprise visitors:

Hope you had a nice holiday season!

Cartoons, Daily Drawings, drawing, Editorial

It’s Earth Day

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This cartoon might be a little subversive – is Mother Nature responsible for the Pandemic? Is she feeling bad about it? But now she’s thinking that there are some silver linings so maybe all the suffering won’t be for nothing? Daily Drawing April 20th:

Mother Nature pondering Nature

Roar Radically: UBC’s Bill Rees, Professor Emeritus of human ecology and ecological economics at UBC, talks about Not “Roaring back” to our pathological, polluting and wasteful “normal” economy once we make our way through the global pandemic (Times Colonist, April 19, 2020). Instead, actually seeing how phenomenally the environment responds to decreased human activity – once we take our feet off the gas pedal so to speak – should make us use this terrible time to help plan a comeback that, as Dr. Rees puts it, “repairs the social and ecological harm the current system creates.” It’s Earth Day – here’s hoping.

Best of 100
A few more days and I’ll have reached 100 consecutive Daily Drawings! My fellow Daily Drawer has already reached that goal. So, what we’re going to do is each select our 10 favourites and post them on a separate gallery page on my site in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

 

Cartoons, drawing, Urban Sketching

Art in the time of Coronavirus*

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Hunkered down like everyone else, I’ve found comfort in doing art – I’ve kept up with my Daily Drawings and am online with the Vancouver Urban Sketchers who have started to gather together virtually. We’ve pushed the rules a bit – we’re not necessarily outside drawing the urban landscape but we’re still drawing stuff!

I’ve also been drawing my anxiety. We’re all anxious, right? And we have to find ways to deal with it like keeping in touch with friends, meditating (not enough, but anyway…), beer, (did I say beer?) and silly cartoons:

Cartoon

This is today’s daily drawing, by the way. And, really, I haven’t reached the official retirement age. I also know of people older than me** who appear to have the energy and vitality of people much younger.

Yesterday, the urban sketchers did “Food & Drink” and I participated by spending time drawing my lunch:

Lunch
Pen and Ink, Pencil Crayon

This was also my Daily Drawing. I had the time, so I spent a couple of hours on it for a change. I think I mentioned that I’m accountable to another artist for the Daily Drawing so I asked if I could include one of her Dailies in my blog. The artist is Lori Fillo and this is one of my favourites:

Caulfeild Cove

Stay hunkered and take care!

*This is also a good time to read and here’s a suggestion: “Love in the time of Cholera”, by Gabriel García Márquez.

** Of course I’m a fan!