In May I went out with the Urban Sketchers to a very wet and rainy Burnaby Blooms Festival. There were a lot of kids.
On a recent visit to the Sunshine Coast I became fascinated once again by all the different rocks on the beaches. I’m thinking of studying geology a bit more. (We’ll see how that goes.)
Hopefully with a bit of extra time over the summer you’ll see some more paintings, particularly of Nitobe Garden. Here’s what I would call “a watercolour study”.
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.
pen, watercolour wash
Here’s something that is recognizable from a weekend visit to Burnaby Village Museum with 35 or so Vancouver Urban Sketchers.
The whine is about Langley City – the WORST place if you’re a pedestrian. Shopping is by car; you park at a store, buy stuff, drive to another parking lot and park, buy more stuff, drive to another parking lot, park, buy more stuff and so on. None of this “take your cart and walk from store to store” business. That would just be weird. Admittedly you need a car if you plan to buy a TON of stuff and hopefully it would be just a trip to a parking lot of one of the Big Box stores. Or maybe the Mall. Or maybe two stops – from the Parking lot at the Big Box store to the Parking lot at the Mall.
Fortunately, throughout the rapidly expanding Langley City and Township neighbourhoods, there are a lot of greenways. One of these places is Yorkson Pond (both a nature preserve and resevoir) and trail in the newish Willoughby Community in Langley Township (here’s a link to the Community Plan). I took a few photos of the pond and did a couple of quick sketches of the view from the bridge.
Watercolour wash and Pen(Oops, I used watercolour in my new sketchbook that’s for dry media only…)
Speaking of walkable – two more sketches; one of Craig Bay near Parksville (I was there for a couple of days) and also one of the very walkable Granville Island/False Creek walk/bike path.
Craig Bay looking toward Madrona PointAn old lady and flowers, Granville Island Walkway
Since my last post – far too long ago – I’ve become an Art Instructor with Young Rembrandts, an after school Art program for children from K – Grade 6. It’s always been at the back of my mind to teach art and now I am! Here’s some bits and pieces I’ve culled from all the fascinating and glorious work of the kids (and I did get permission to use portions of their work for this post):
My own work? Well…not so productive but I’ve done some quick sketches here and there – very quick, I might add, just to keep me going:
An old garage in a back alley
A lovely old door – the Carnarvon Apartments on Broadway
We’re into August and I’ve been procrastinating about updating the blog because I didn’t think I’d done much that was blog-postable. However, now that I’ve sat here for a while, turns out there may be some bits that just make the grade. Just.
Ongoing: I believe I’ve moaned about trying to make my work a little more dynamic. I continue to do value studies, particularly as I hope to attempt some larger foliage-type pieces soon. Soonish. Here’s a small study and a small watercolour study of the same subject.
Urban Sketching – Made it to the local Farmer’s Market and listened to the Band!
Holidays – Had a pleasant sojourn in the Interior with family – and drew their house. Random Bits – I take so many photos of things that momentarily pique my interest – the sunflower garden at VanDusen was particularly fascinating last December. I did a quick watercolour and ink sketch from a photo and, although the blue wash in the background is regrettable, (mistakes are learning moments, right? ) I still like the image.
Hopefully with a bit of extra time over the summer you’ll see some more paintings, particularly of Nitobe Garden. Here’s what I would call “a watercolour study”.
