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.

Join me on Sunday at Stewart Hall

Happy Canada Day! It’s nice to be back home for the national holiday! We just returned from France last night, and even though I have a sketchbook full of drawings from Provence to scan and post, I thought I’d share some info about an event I’m organizing this coming Sunday, July 7th. The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (Quebec region) is having a plein air painting day at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire (176 Lakeshore Road).

This event is not just for CSPWC members! Whether you are a seasoned painter, an urban sketcher, or a newbie to watercolour, come join us in this beautiful location by the lake. Everyone is welcome! We’ll be joining the Stewart Hall Gallery’s Picnic Vernissage, and they will be providing watercolour paints and paper if you don’t have your own materials. Join us from noon until 4 pm, rain or shine (there are covered areas on the porch) and bring along your painting buddies. I’ll have some of my recent travel sketchbooks with me, and no doubt I’ll be painting too. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good weather and hoping to see you there! And if you live in another region of Canada, have a look at other regional events happening this month.

Brought the pen but forgot the glasses

We’re having some unseasonably cool weather so I sketched from my car this afternoon — just a quick stop on my way from here to there. I’ve been working in a new sketchbook that I bought exclusively for pen work. I am not embarrassed to say that I originally bought it for its cover. It’s beige linen and has Studio Ghibli characters from My Neighbor Totoro debossed in black on it. But now that I’ve been working in it, I’ve realized that the paper is nice too — very smooth and ideal for ink lines. As for my sketch, I brought along sunglasses instead of reading (and drawing) glasses by mistake, but I managed to be able to see enough of the main shapes to capture the falling down buildings at the four corners near here.

539 Main

This morning I painted the Hudson History Garden from a new viewpoint. Last week I sat right in the garden but this morning I set up my easel facing the house on Main Road. I had read that the giant Black Walnut tree behind it was one of the biggest of its kind in Quebec, and I wanted to make sure I included it in my watercolour.

I love to capture light on buildings, and one of the things about getting to know a new area is getting to understand the light at different times of day. When I painted in Pointe Claire Village for all those years, I knew where to set up to catch the morning light on the yellow house, which I sketched in all seasons.

Early this morning, the light was just right on the Victorian house at 539 Main. An hour later the house was almost fully in shade. Much less interesting. This will help me as I find different places to sketch along Main Road this summer. And I will be watching that Black Walnut as the seasons change, since I am also on the lookout for a tree to replace my favourite tree this autumn.

A sketch outing, a sale and a new trio

Every year around the time of my birthday — which is later this week — my friend Susanne texts me when the poppies have started to open in her garden. I can’t always get there during the blooming season, but when I can, it’s my “official” start of outdoor flower painting season. Her garden is mature and lush, and she’s forever adding new plants, but the area with the poppies, the irises and peonies is my favourite.

Sometimes I paint in gouache but this year I decided on watercolour. It’s always a challenge to get the red/orange just right in full sun. This year I used some bright yellow and brilliant orange with just a touch of vermillion to get the brightest colour, and it still didn’t seem as bright as the real flowers.

I painted the quarter-sheet watercolour (above) but I couldn’t get enough of the those poppies. So before packing up my gear, I pulled out a fountain pen and did another quick drawing in my sketchbook so I could capture both the full flowers and the faintly fuzzy, pale green unopened buds.

And, since it’s my birthday week, I decided to have a 20% OFF sale on all my online courses (only individual courses, not bundles). This sale ends on June 9th at midnight ET. Check out all the courses here and use the promo code HAPPY20 at checkout.

During the same week, I’m also launching a new bundle of courses dedicated to painting flowers. Just Flowers! includes the ever-popular Wet-in-Wet Blooms: An Intro to my Favourite Watercolour Technique; Sketching Fresh Flowers: Late Summer Blooms; and Sketching Spring Flowers: My Favourite Blooms in Watercolour.

Purchased individually, the three courses included in Just Flowers! would cost $105 USD ($141 CDN), but I’m now offering this bouquet for just $79 ($109 CDN).

Happy summer sketching!

Hudson’s History Garden

If someone hadn’t told me about Hudson’s History Garden, I would never have found it, so thank you Michele M. for this! The garden is on Main Road but it’s hidden in between two old houses, one of which houses the historical society. I sketched the view from between the houses, looking across at the old building that houses NOVA Maison, but there are plenty of great sketching spots around the garden, and lots of benches too. And as always, when you walk through the town rather than drive, you can see so many little views and alleys that I hope to return to. I will definitely make this a frequent stop on my Hudson sketching outings, especially when there’s more in bloom in the garden.