Alliums in the rain

The alliums in my garden look best at the end of the day. When the low sun hits them they glow against the dark fence, floating like purple globes over the rest of the garden. I was hoping for that effect today but instead it started to rain while I was sketching. I have another few days before they turn into skeletons, so maybe I’ll be able to capture the scene tomorrow. You might also enjoy seeing how Jean Mackay captured the alliums in her neighbourhood.

Boats, masts, sails

I must have missed launch day at the boat club but it was thrilling to see all the movement on the docks this morning. People taking boats in and out, doing spring maintenance, and even starting sailing lessons. We’ve had a few windy (and cold) days which was good for the sailors. As for me, I had to sketch from inside the car because of the wind, but it was a happy start to sailing season. Yesterday was also the end of curfew and the reopening of outdoor dining, which includes having people in your own backyard, so the feeling in Montreal is more festive than it’s been in some time. I hope wherever you are, things are looking up too.

Local produce

Local produce is making its way to market this week. I received my first CSA basket from Ferme Tournesol on Tuesday. I didn’t get around to sketching everything but I was especially appreciative of the first stalks of asparagus, so I painted them in gouache on toned paper while chatting on Zoom with friends.

This morning I made the first trip of the season to my very favourite Jean Talon market. I was REALLY hoping to sketch on site but there are no tables or chairs in cafes, and no benches within the market. That will all change tomorrow when dining on terraces will open again in Montreal but it was still exciting to see all the merchants gearing up for this. Most of the produce this week is still imported but I found some French radishes and brought them home to sketch and to eat.

Lilacs and crabapple blossoms

Several years ago on a visit to New York, I saw a painting by Serge Hollerbach at the American Watercolor Society Annual Show. His work stuck out in my mind because it was so different from most of the watercolours in the show. I don’t remember exactly what the painting looked like but the subject was figures, the colours were muted, the shapes were flat and there was no attempt at realism. It was a refreshing sight. Recently I found a few of his books online and they just arrived on my doorstep. I am enjoying The “How To” of Sketching, a slim but very informative little handbook about sketching people. And I’ve also started reading a larger hardcover Composing in Acrylics. My favourite quote so far in the book is this one:

“All my experience as an artist, from student days to the present, tells me that the fear of doing the wrong thing… is the most repressive, inhibiting feeling an artist at any level can have. Yet we have all had it, or still have it from time to time. The fear of creating something ridiculous and ugly makes us timid. But if we want to create, we have to get rid of inhibitions.” Serge Hollerbach, from Composing in Acrylics.

As for the lilacs and crabapple blossoms, they were a gift from a friend who loves lilacs as much as I do.

Announcing a new online course: Sketching Skies in Gouache

I’ve been sketching a lot in gouache these days, and have been asked often to create an introductory course for people who want to learn more about what surfaces to paint on, what brushes to use and what colours to buy for location sketching. I’m happy to launch “Sketching Skies in Gouache: An Intro to Tools & Techniques” today!

Skies and clouds are the perfect subject for learning about gouache, since they lack hard edges and strict forms. You can experiment with the medium in a painterly way, and get a feel for how the paint behaves on your palette, brush and paper.

Gouache dries quickly, making it ideal for location sketching. I especially love gouache it for its versatility. I can paint from light to dark or dark to light, and I can work both transparently and opaquely. It’s a great addition to your sketching toolbox if you are used to using watercolour.

The course is over three hours long, and although I teach it from my studio, I’ve also included a bonus on-location demo. There’s lots of information about the details of the course on the course website, so please feel free to have a look at the trailer! And I’m always here if you have questions.

Special price for one week only!

The regular course price is $35 USD or $47 CAN, but I’ve discounted it for this first week to $30 USD or $42 CAN. The launch week special expires on Friday, May 28^th at midnight EST and there’s no coupon or code necessary. 

Bulbs 72-182: a race to the finish line

Yesterday I finished my spring bulb concertina sketchbook! Of the 200 I planted, 182 flowered, and I think I drew them all. It was a little crazy at the end of the project when I realized that we were about to experience really warm temperatures that tulips do not like, so I scrambled to get them all drawn. I didn’t spend nearly as much time on the later drawings as I did the early ones, but you get the idea. I’m so happy I did this! It was a mixed-media experience, with watercolour, gouache, Neocolor II pastels, black ink, blue ink, markers and water-soluble pencils all making an appearance!

And this morning I opened all of the accordion book to take a photo while the tulips were still in bloom. The thing I love most about the book is that even though the daffodils and hyacinths are finished now, in my book everything is blooming at the same time.

Carré St. Louis Victorian

One of my favourite downtown Montreal places to sketch is Carré St. Louis. There’s a row of Victorian-style houses with painted trim that I’ve sketched often, like this one with the red door or this one with the purple door. I haven’t sketched the one with the turquoise trim in ages, but the second story details are so much fun that I used it as a reference for a demo in a Zoom class I was teaching this morning. It always feels odd to me to teach urban sketching from a photo, but I try to approach the subject the same way I would if I was teaching on location. And this week in Quebec, there does seem to be a little light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, so maybe in-person teaching will happen soon too.

Sketched in pen and watercolour in a Handbook Watercolour Journal.

Bulbs 52-71

The good new today is that the tulips are blooming, but the bad news (for the tulips only!) is that the weather is getting nicer which means they may not last long. I have a feeling that I will be scrambling to capture them all before they’re gone. I’m also happy to report that so far the squirrels have been kind. That may change, but as of today there are only one or two that have been beheaded, and they are not in these clumps. I sketched today in both gouache and watercolour in my ever-evolving Seawhite of Brighton Concertina sketchbook.

Mother’s Day

My favourite spring bouquet is always made up of the perennials that are the first to bloom. This year the bleeding hearts were crushed by the snow that fell in late April, but miraculously they survived and seem tougher than ever. They are not fully in bloom yet but I picked them anyway since their heart-shaped blooms seemed like the perfect shape for today.

Bulbs 41-51

As I suspected, all the tulips in the garden are blooming at the same time. These red ones were so bright, so shockingly red, that they required special treatment. I pulled out my Neocolor II Watersoluble pastels. I haven’t used these much but they are perfect for the paper I’m working on because they don’t need much water to release vivid colour.

Here’s what I’ve done so far in the concertina sketchbook. It measures about 6 ft across and I am just about halfway through the first side of the book.

If you’re looking for a great book about art, artists, spring, and much more, I highly recommend the just-released “Spring Cannot be Cancelled: David Hockney in Normandy” by Martin Gayford. If you’ve been following this blog for a while you know that I am a fan of Hockney’s work, and I’ve also enjoyed many books by Gayford. This one is a true joy, especially during this difficult pandemic year. It’s a book that I am reading slowly and cherishing every moment that I have with it.