Excepté Véhicules Autorisés

It’s probably too hot to be outside to paint this week but I try to get out and back before the worst of it. I am happy to be home this summer and I am trying to take full advantage of getting to know my new surroundings.

Today I painted again at the Hudson History Garden. The peonies are finished and there’s not much blooming this week but I loved the view from the parking lot across the street. The old houses are almost hidden by the vegetation, and what gave it a sense of place for me were the signs indicating that there’s no entry up the lane except for authorized vehicles going to the fire station.

This is a complex scene, and I think under different circumstances, I probably would have taken more time with both the drawing and the painting, but in this heat I painted fast. I think the result conveys the chaos of overgrown midsummer vegetation.

Corner lot

I love hollyhocks but I can’t grow them. I think the secret to their success may be poor soil and a good dose of neglect. I found these growing down the street, on a corner lot where there’s a house but no landscaping. It’s a good thing I painted them today because I spotted backhoes and bulldozers this afternoon, and I suspect this corner may be manicured soon.

I painted this in direct watercolour (no pencil drawing first) on a pad of Saunders Waterford CP paper with a wide flat brush. I was hoping to capture the main shapes of the flowers and leaves with fresh colour, and show a bit of the wildness of the corner lot.

Sunday at Stewart Hall

Last Sunday was a perfect day for the CSPWC/SCPA plein air painting day at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire, and we had an amazing turnout of artists for the event. I had no idea how many people would join us, but sketchers just kept arriving with their stools and their sketchbooks, including several from out of town. I can’t believe that I managed to get a sketch completed because there were so many friends (including lots from USk Montreal) who came out to draw, and there was much catching up to do.

What fun it was to see my good friends Laurel and Marc Taro Holmes again. As we have done for many years, Marc and I sit together to draw but we talk the whole way through and catch up on what each of us has been doing for the past year.

At the end of the event we all gathered for a photo and to show our work. The drawings were spectacular and I hope to make this an annual event. Thanks so much to EVERYONE who came out. You made my week!! And thanks to Stewart Hall for welcoming us!!

From the wedding

My kids attended a wedding on the weekend, and these vases were the centrepieces. They brought them home with the idea that I might want to sketch them. My family knows me well.

I bought some Inktense pencils when I was in France, and thought I’d try them out for this sketch, combining them with Caran D’Ache Museum Aquarelle pencils that I already had on hand. These are both deluxe watersoluble pencils because when you wet them, the colours are quite intense. I use them in two ways. To start, I draw with them and wet the coloured areas with a waterbrush. But that is not my favourite way to work with them. To get the real darks, I dip the tip of the pencils in water to get that thick, deeply coloured line. It feels a bit like drawing with velvet.

Happy hours in Lyon

Lyon is a wonderful city. You can find wonderful museums, food, wine and plenty of historic sites including one dating back to Roman times. On this trip we had a few days to explore it (and get over our jet lag) before heading south to Provence where I was teaching.

The city is at the junction of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and one of my favourite places to sit is along the Quai du Maréchal Joffre, where I can look up at the Fourvière Hill and the Basilica at the top. The Saône is much narrower than the Rhône so the views are better on that side of the city, plus that is where the hills are.

I also spent a bit of time on Place Carnot, sketching a view of a busy corner near where we were staying. I love the wrought iron trim on the windows and balconies, and the warm colour of the stone in France.

When I look at these sketches, they remind me of what I love best about urban sketching: being surrounded by city life and trying to make sense of the complexity of it. I was jetlagged and both of these sketches are kind of messy, but for me the result is less important that the process. I loved watching people go by, overhearing snippets of conversation and smelling coffee from the café on the corner. Each of these sketches took about an hour, and I sketched them in a Travelogue Handbook Watercolor Journal by Speedball.