Studio test drive and a sale on my courses

I’ve finally unpacked and sorted everything in my studio, and my reward was to sketch, in colour! I was in my former home studio for so many years that it will take a while to adjust to the new one. But this one has more light, my supplies are a little more accessible, and since I just packed and unpacked everything, it’s much more organized. It really felt great to fill up a bowl of water, find my palette and select a brush from one of my coffee cans. And it didn’t take but a minute to figure out that what I should paint first was a selection of paint tubes.

If you’re looking something to do in your studio during the winter months, I’m having a 30% off Black Friday sale on a baker’s dozen of my most popular online courses. Head over to my website to see the sale (the full list is at the bottom of my homepage). Use the promo code IVORYBLACK30 at checkout. The sale ends at midnight ET on Sunday, November 26th.

Introducing…

Some might say we chose this new house because it came with an old green wheelbarrow. But in fact, that is not the case. We only found out about the old wheelbarrow after the deal was signed. When we first visited the house, it was hidden under the deck. Later on, when we came back to learn a bit about how to maintain the various electrical and septic systems, the former owner asked us if we wanted to keep the old wheelbarrow, or if he should dispose of it on bulk waste day. Little did he know that it would make the perfect companion for my well-known wheelbarrow of the same vintage. And if you are wondering, as many people did, if my red wheelbarrow is here at the new house, of course it is. I was worried it would not survive the trip in the moving truck, but it did, and I can only imagine that it’s quite happy to have a companion during the long, cold Montreal winters. And as soon as I discover what box my paints are hiding in, I will paint this happy pair in colour.

New house, new bed

After living in our house for over 30 years, we packed up and moved to a new place last week. All of that upheaval was hard on Alice. For weeks she was surrounded by boxes, and that was followed by the chaos of a move. The quiet house she was used to was just not the same. I didn’t have much time to draw during all of that, but I stole a few moments to sketch her while the movers were packing in another part of the house.

We’ve been unpacking since the big move on Tuesday, but Alice calmed down as soon as we got here. She loves her new bed that I’ve placed in front of the patio door, and she especially loves the walking trails that we’ve discovered. She’s already made a few new friends on the street. My studio supplies are still in boxes but I did keep one sketchbook and pencil handy, and my trusty scanner is back in business, so I decided to take a few moments to draw her today. We’re both excited to discover new walking and sketching spots.

Last day, first day

It’s the last day of October and definitely cold enough for it to be the first day of car sketching season. In fact, we had the first snowfall of the season yesterday. This morning the lawns were covered in frost and the cars had to be scraped. Winter is coming.

That means it’s time to paint my favourite tree in all its autumn glory. I love it best when some of the leaves have already fallen, exposing the perfectly domed skeleton of the tree. When I draw it, I always think I’ll be able to fit the whole tree on the page, but I often underestimate how much of an explosion of yellow it is, and it always bleeds off the edges of my sketchbook. And if you’re wondering about colour, this year I used lots of New Gamboge mixed with some Burnt Sienna and a spot of Hooker’s Green for the foliage.

Village Green

It’s just about time to sketch my favourite neighbourhood tree, but in the meantime, here are a few autumn scenes I sketched in Bar Harbor, Maine. Last week the town was still fairly crowded with tourists spilling out of the giant cruise ships that stop there as a part of an “autumn in New England” itinerary. The sidewalks in town are so crowded that it would be impossible to set up a sketching stool or easel. Fortunately there’s a Village Green with a covered bandstand, a great selection of trees and wonderful views of storefronts. Of course, having just returned from Maine, I can’t help but feel saddened by what is going on there this week.

Announcing a new online course: A French Village Scene

The ideas for my online classes often come from places I travel to, so if you’ve seen my recent sketches from France, you won’t be surprised that my newest course is inspired by some scenes from my trip there this September. I first fell in love with France after graduating from university when I saved up all my pennies to take my first overseas art workshop in Avignon. Since then I’ve visited Paris many times, explored Strasbourg, Lyon and many villages in Provence, but this was the first time I had a chance to see a bit of Normandy and Brittany. It’s fun to share a bit of that trip in A French Village Scene: Sketching in Ink and Watercolour.

This is an online video course that you can watch on your own time, as often as you wish. And as always, there’s special savings during launch week. The regular course price is $35 USD or $47 CDN, but for this week I’ve discounted it to $30 USD and $42 CDN, until Sunday October 29 at midnight ET. And there’s no coupon necessary at checkout. Have a look at the course here.

This week in Acadia National Park

Autumn must certainly be the best time to paint in Acadia National Park, and this week is definitely the peak for fall colours. My group of students were ready to sketch pretty much everything so we hopped around all over the place to capture as much as we could of the natural beauty.

One of our first stops in the park was Jordan Pond. If you’ve been there, you know this is also home to Jordan Pond House, famous for its popovers, which, as we found out, are not available for takeout! We spent a morning there, sketching in pencil, and painted back at the studio — as we did most days — because of the cold. We will definitely have to plan more time at this spot next time so we can reserve a spot at the restaurant and try those famous popovers.

My favourite painting spot of the week was Northeast Harbor where a backdrop of trees frames the fishing boats. This section of the park reminded me very much of Vancouver’s Coal Harbour where I painted boats and the mountains in the distance.

We also ventured down to Sand Beach to sketch the rocks and surf. The waves weren’t as wild as last week after the storm but that made it easier to paint (and teach!) on the beach since my washes didn’t float off the page like they did last week.

In between the departure of one group and the arrival of another tonight, I had a little break so we took a road trip around the Schoodic peninsula — a section of Acadia Park a bit east of Mt. Desert Island. It’s a little more remote, definitely less crowded, and definitely worth the trip. I painted the rocks at Schoodic Point. Thanks to all of you who wrote to recommend that we visit this area. Much appreciated!! And thanks to my wonderful group of sketchers who were up for any type of visual challenge I threw at them, and toughed out the rain and cold with no complaints. It was such a fun week in the park.

Sand Beach

It’s my first visit to Acadia National Park in Maine. Wow, what a spectacular place! My MISA workshops here start tomorrow so I’ve spent a few days driving through the park, scouting out painting locations. Sand Beach was high on my list so I headed back there today with my sketchbook.

The surf today was even more dramatic, after the remnants of Hurricane Philippe passed through here last evening. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to paint water that was a wild as this. And when I was part way through my sketch, a fine mist starting falling so I had to pack up my gear before the whole sketch washed away. I dried the paper using the hand dryer in the restroom, and I have to admit, I don’t dislike the texture that I was left with from that mist. I don’t ever sprinkle salt on my paintings but in this case, it worked. In the warmth of my room I added a few spots of white for the crashing waves.

A few more from France

I’m slowly getting around to scanning all my work from France but it’s a long process. For example, my sketch of the old mill in Vernon is quite large (24″ x 9″) and has to be scanned in three passes and stitched together in Photoshop. Thank goodness there’s software that makes the process easy for me!

I’m not really sure what made this mill so much fun to draw. It’s a bit of an oddity, right? A sagging timbered building hanging up there on the remnants of a bridge. You have to smile when you see the scene with all the pigeons on the steeply sloped roof. We sketched this on a very sunny but very cold day in August, with a chilly wind blowing up from the Seine, but despite the cold the whole group of students stayed to finish their drawings.

Here’s another one of a typical Normandy-style building — a tiled roof, a yellow stucco building covered in vines and a tiny balcony that looks out over the property. So much fun to draw something with this many details.

Hotel Baudy

Here’s another view of the garden at Hotel Baudy in Giverny, this one sketched on location last month. There were so many things that I could have chosen when I was there — yesterday’s green door, the little turquoise cafe tables and chairs, a rusty bicycle , but I was drawn to these stairs which lead up to the one remaining workshop space on the property.

If you don’t know much about this historic property, look it up. It was once the gathering spot for both French and American Impressionists. It’s no longer a hotel, but if you eat at the restaurant, you can tour the garden which is a welcome oasis from the crowds at Monet’s house and garden, and a bit of a hidden treasure.

I think it’s probably more colourful in May or June when the wisteria and roses are blooming. We had a full display of goldenrod and some tired geraniums but I’m not complaining. It was a delight to imagine that Cezanne, Sisley, Renoir, Rodin, Cassatt or Sargent may have taken this path up to the workshop space at the top of the steps.