Saints Anges
Posted: May 11, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 CommentsI think the vertical orientation of two pages of my little Moleskine is quite possibly my favourite format to sketch in. If I am struggling with my work and have a few bad sketch days in a row I go back to this and things improve instantly. I have been wanting to sketch the two towers of the Église Saints Anges in Lachine for a long time but there is no place to get a good angle on them unless you are on foot. The morning started out cool but by the time I got to Lachine it had warmed up enough for me to sit outside. And if I hadn’t worked in this format I would have drawn the other tower too.
Cattle barn
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 CommentsI tried out some new paper today. As a long time fan of Arches and Fabriano watercolour paper, I am always reluctant to try new sheets. After years of using them, I know exactly how paint will react on these two brands of paper but since I will be travelling quite a bit this summer, both giving and taking workshops, I thought I’d try something more portable. Not that cut sheets aren’t portable, but I haven’t used paper in blocks in a long time and I was curious. So this is painted on Canson XL series, 140 lb paper. The verdict? It is very forgiving because it really sucks up the paint. So if you go too dark with a wash, as I am apt to do sometimes, you can be sure it will dry lighter. On the other hand, if you want to get a really dark area, it’s difficult. I had to keep adding paint until I achieved the right value. I didn’t try to lift in any areas so I wouldn’t know how it stands up to scrubbing but I think it is probably more of a student quality sheet. It might be better to use with my pen and wash sketches that don’t require as many layers of pigment.
Brittain Hall
Posted: May 9, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 CommentsBrittain Hall, the subject of this overworked sketch, is one of the handsome old buildings on the campus of John Abbott College. It’s the only building on campus that is in a partial state of disrepair, collapsing in places, but the facade still has some beautiful details including those stately columns catching the light.
Northern palms
Posted: May 8, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 Comments
On steamy summer nights people gather at Wild Willy’s ice cream shop in Pointe Claire Village — entire soccer teams, families with dogs, swimmers from the local pools. I had to smile when I drove by there today and saw this year’s addition to their outdoor decor: two giant plastic palm trees. And it felt sooooooooooo tropical as I sketched them in the pouring rain.
A little magic
Posted: May 7, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 2 CommentsWhile I was at school today some magic happened in my backyard. The grass was cut for the first time, the lawn furniture was out, the umbrella was waiting to be opened, and all these pots were on the patio. The next sign of life in Montreal will be flowers appearing in the nurseries. And then I’ll have a little work to do…
A bit of drawing therapy
Posted: May 6, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 19 CommentsI had a bit of a bad start to my sketching session today. My drawing was all tight, restrained and dried out — little chicken scratches instead of flowing lines. Partly because I’m due for a trip to the art supply store to replace my Micron drawing pens that have no nibs left. As an exercise in loosening up I took out a big fat pen that did have some ink left in it and I drew this church in the loosest way possible, scribbling away and making a huge mess. It was physiotherapy for my drawing hand and it served its purpose by getting rid of that stiffness. When I felt better I tossed it aside and then did my painting.
Red wall
Posted: May 5, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentYou know a neighbourhood is being gentrified when there are lots of twenty-somethings jogging in the area. This morning while I painted this brick wall in Griffintown lots of them were doing their Saturday morning run. I found a great spot to sit, in the shady doorway of a building, and groups of them ran by. After a while I realized it was pretty cold in the shade and my paint wasn’t drying so I put the finishing touches on this in my nice warm car.
Towers
Posted: May 4, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 CommentsI’ve been admiring the beautiful stone towers of Église St. Laurent for many months, waiting for a good time to sketch them. On a break between classes (and rain showers) I dried off a spot on a picnic table and set up again on the green of Vanier College. I love the location of that table because of its proximity to a path between two campus buildings. As the students walk by I hear great snippets of conversation about teachers, boyfriends and… well, mostly about teachers and boyfriends.
Headstones
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 CommentsI painted outside today and I can’t wait to do more of it as the weather continues to warm. My spot at a picnic table was a perfect place to set out all my gear and at some point I had a revelation (I have lots of these when I’m painting!). During this whole endless winter, painting in my car, I have never been able to do really loose brush strokes because I’m kind of restrained in my seat. So I stood up at the picnic table, held my brush much more loosely and higher on the handle, and painted a few trees using the movement of my whole arm instead of just my hand. Felt great!
Power house
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 6 CommentsA great advantage to painting later in the day is that there’s more parking. This little power plant building, part of McGill’s Macdonald College, has no parking nearby, unless you are going to the Dental Technology building. I didn’t need any dental work but after 5 p.m. there are no roaming campus security guards checking the parking lots. I set up just in time for the afternoon shadows on the red brick and the red tile.
