Sketching More Stuffed Animal Nostalgia

I’m still having fun conjouring happy memories as I sketch my way through Jodie’s stuffed animal collection.  This time I was reminded of a time before Jodie was born.

If one could bottle, for sale, the energy of mothers preparing the nest for a baby we could stop burning fossil fuels.  But once the room was set up, Chantal was just getting started.  She began making clothes and stuffed animals.  Here’s one of them, a cat.  The ‘real’ one has a very complex pattern of flowers all over it but I didn’t have the patience to draw that.  I wanted to finish the sketch in my lifetime.

Flowers On The Deck

We were enjoying cheeses, a baguette and some wine while sitting on our deck last week.  It was a delightful evening, one of the evenings that we dream about during our long winters.

Eventually I got the urge to draw some of the many flowers we have all over the place, courtesy of Chantal’s green thumb.  I only had a small sketchbook with me and was too lazy to go get something larger so I just started drawing little flower drawings. Here’s a couple of them.

Plains Of Abraham Reservoir

Quebec City has several artificial underground reservoirs and one of is under a part of the Plains of Abraham, a huge park that overlooks the St. Lawrence River.  Originally owned by a farmer named Abraham, it’s now officially called Battlefield Park because of the famous 1759 battle when the British defeated the French.  Everyone who lives here still calls it the Plains of Abraham and the other name is relegated to the tourist brochures.  Recently the entire reservoir was uncovered to replace the top surface.  This is a sketch of that area of the park.

The building holds the support equipment for the reservoir and each of those little strips of foliage hides an air vent.  The grass is beginning to grow back but it’s still pretty sparse and a bright yellow green.  I thought it made an interesting scene.  Besides, I could sit in the shade as I drew.

Stillman & BIrn Beta (8×10), DeAtramentis Document brn/blk, Daniel Smith watercolors

The Used To Be Zoo Part Two

I almost titled this blog post “Oops… I forgot.”  When I wrote my last post I got pulled away from the writing for a while.  When I returned I read the last paragraph and it seemed like an ending so I did a quick copy edit and posted it.

Later I realized that the ending was really just a stopping point and that I’d forgotten to add a second sketch I’d done at the old zoo park that day.

So, as I was saying in my last post, we were having fun at the park and I decided to do a sketch of the bridge that carries foot traffic over the small river running through the park.

This required that I get down to the river level which put me in shade, among a bunch of foliage and near water.  What could go wrong?  Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, and more mosquitoes.  What made them worse was that I was drawing.  I’m oblivious to my surroundings when I’m sketching, even the swarm of mosquitoes that were biting me.

I didn’t notice until the next day when my arms and legs started itching like crazy (shorts and t-shirt day).  I’m sure the sketch suffers from blood loss effects but here it is.  I didn’t really finish the paint stage but I hope you like it anyway; the mosquitos sure liked me.

Stillman & Birn Beta (8×10), DeAtramentis Document brn/blk

Going To The Used To Be Zoo

At one time, Quebec City had a marvelous zoo.  I got to see it when I did my post-doc here.  By the time I returned to live here, however, politics had caused its demise.  These days a portion of the zoo grounds is now a park called Parc des Moulins because there is a windmill on the grounds, but I miss the animals.

Anyways, the Artistes dans les Parcs went there and had a lovely day.  The weather couldn’t have been better and so hanging out with a bunch of artists, in a heavily forested area, with a creek running by was really relaxing.

For a while I was off by myself because I’d decided to draw the rear of one of the old buildings and the garden area behind (in front of the behind?) of it.  This too is a relaxing place as there is a small pond and creek as part of the garden.  Here’s the drawing I did in the morning.

Stillman & Birn Beta (8×10), Deatramentis Document brn/blk, Daniel Smith watercolors

Then it was time for lunch and we sat around enjoying each other’s company.  Wish I’d think about taking photos of these gatherings.  I never think about it until I write the blog posts (grin).