38th International Sketch Crawl

38th International Sketch Crawl was a success here in Ottawa.  Weather likely kept some people away but we had 4 sketchers at the Museum of Nature. We opted for an indoor venue as we had 10cm snow the night before and it was pretty cool outside.  All in all a great day!

Can't get much more Canadian than a Moose!!

Or buffalo (bison) and wolves for that matter!

That would be me.....

We found some rather large subjects to sketch.

Nicola sketching a raptor.

The talented one in our family!

Nicola's Moose - I love this sketch

After the museum I stopped by the new 3-Brasseurs pub to catch the first period of the Ottawa vs Winnipeg NHL hockey season opener.  This is a small sketch I did at the bar.

Hockey Fan - obviously waiting for the "Habs" game - judging by the toque!

Today's Sketch - Its been a long time since I participated in a life drawing workshop - I think the last time was in the early 90's at Architecture School in Calgary.  They are incredibly challenging because you have no time to dwell on your drawing.  The poses are a few minutes long so there is no editing time at all.  Great way to train the eye.

Sketch 15/365

Another sketch from "The SketchBook Project."

Sketch 14/365

Today's Sketch - Started an open life drawing workshop with Nicola, my uber-talented daughter.  I was able to use some of the life drawings to complete a sketchbook that was shipped today to Brooklyn NY for the "SketchBook Project," which will go on tour to several cities in the USA and Toronto here in Canada in June 2013. 

Day 13 Sketch - Memories of Sausignac France - We spent a week at an Art Retreat in a 16th Century Chateau in the heart of wine country outside Bordeaux. It was beyond awesome!

Now we are on track! 12 paintings in 12 days - New year is starting off as planned!

Sketch 11

Catching up on my posts.  I am having no problem keeping up with the painting, just a bit slow on the uploads.

Sketch 10

What a great day! Day started with Yin Yoga, meditation, followed by some serious deep fascia massage on my sciatic nerve, and an afternoon of painting to boot!

Today's Sketch - Stuck at home this evening with a sore back and neck. Had to find a cheap model to paint!

Today's Sketch

I have been faithfully sketching and painting each day, but  have missed a few days of posting, so as you can see I am posting several today. The balancing act between work family and painting can sometimes be a challenge. I am up to day 10 of the New Year and am developing some new art muscles! Its very much like running, if I miss a day of sketching, I really feel it.  

A trip to the National Gallery - great way to spend a cold winters day.

Hanging out in Vincent Massey Park.

This is a sketch of some old industrial buildings at the edge of the Ottawa River on Victoria Island.

Today's Sketch - A view of the Museum of History (formerly called Museum of Civilization) from the Alexandra Bridge. I am still not quite sure why we keep renaming things here in Ottawa - the one constant is change. I am enjoying these little 5"x7" oil sketches.

January 3rd Sketch - The Canadian War Museum. It was amazing to see the museum from this vantage point at the end of a very cold winters day - the air crisp, the building silhouetted against the late day sun with a winter front arched across the sky. One just has to open their eyes to see the beauty of our winters.

Today's Sketch. On the train home from Montreal last week, this interesting looking guy was sitting opposite me. He spoke very little English, and I have very limited capability conversing in French. I noticed he was reading a book about Louis Cyr, a very well known carnival strongman from Quebec (circa 1910). Needless to say he was delighted that I knew who Louis Cyr was and we chatted in broken english/french all the way back to Ottawa. It took a Quebec strongman to cross the cultural divide. I really enjoyed the trip home. I need to put some effort into learning more French this year.

New Years Day, Jan. 1st, 2013 - New beginnings! Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to the New Year! Couldn't start the year without a new oil sketch. I can't believe I forgot to post this yesterday, on New Years Day, but here it is.  This sketch is the view looking across to Victoria Island downtown Ottawa.