Here’s a sketch I did of a kayak that was gliding along on my river (Riviere St. Charles) in Quebec City. Nothing special but it was fun to quickly scribble out some vegetation.
Stillman & Birn Gamma (7×10), TWSBI Mini, De Atramentis Document Black
During much of the year I wear a leather hat that has big furry flaps. It’s a reflection of Quebec temperatures. But when late spring and summer roll around, I need some shade, particularly while I’m sketching.
For that I’ve used an old Tilley hat. It’s one of the original designs and I bought it in the mid-90s. It’s still fine but I like the looks of the newer style Tilley hats and so I plunked down my argent, as we call it here, and brought one home. I love it as its lighter than my original and fits better on my semi-square head.
It seemed only fitting that I sketch my sketching hat so enlisted Winnie the Pooh to model it while I that. He liked it too but had one criticism. He thinks it needs a couple holes for ears because he wasn’t able to pull it down onto his head properly.
There’s a hospital a mere half hour walk from my house that has a small cemetery associated with it. It’s somewhat special because there is a sculpture that honors French soldiers who died during the Seven Years War (1756-1763) as well as a series of plaques listing their names, by year. It’s also the case that Montcalm, the Commander of French forces is interred there. Montcalm was killed during a battle on the Plains of Abraham, the battle that was the turning point of the war in favor of the British, though the British commander, Wolfe was killed as well.
My Sketch with the sculpture in the background. Stillman & Birn Beta, Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black
I mention all this because I met with Claudette, Louise and Fernande to draw the sculpture on a day that was too cold and windy for reasonable people to be outside, but we’re tired of waiting for spring. So, bundled up and huddled against the wind, we drew, we laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. I had the presence of mind (an odd thing for me) to take a photo of the group so you can finally meet some of my friends. I also had the opportunity to take quick photos of their sketches so I can share those with you as well. Hope you enjoy them. They’re very talented sketchers.
LtoR: Louise, Claudette and Fernande
Claudette’s sketch
Fernande’s sketch
Louise’s sketch
When we returned from Toronto we wanted to spend a few more hours in Ottawa, preferably not walking a gazillion steps, before we piled in the car and pointed it towards Quebec City. Somehow, and I’m still wondering how, it was decided that we should walk, just shy of a gazillion steps, to the Canadian Museum of Nature , where we would ALL sketch. Yep, you heard that right. My wife and daughter produced sketchbooks and we all headed to the museum. Maybe I was dreaming.
I wanted to draw in the dinosaur rooms. They wanted to draw mammals. We split up and agreed to meet in a couple hours. Group sketching is always fun, but amounts to people getting together so they can ignore each other for extended periods of time. This is punctuated by greeting each other again and the intense kibbitzing that friends do when they haven’t talked in a while. We sketchers are a crazy lot but we’re having more fun than most people.
And so it was as I headed off to draw more bones. But I didn’t. I went into a room where they had a room-sized diorama, with two Tyranosauruses (Tyranosaurusii??) looking over a walkway, mouths open and looking hungry. On the other side were two Tricerotops in defensive positions. I’m no James Gurney but I had to try to draw one of these guys. I also got to draw in one of the new 9×12 Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbooks. I think I’m going to like this size, though it does present some scanning issues.
Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black
As I drew I learned that this was a prime stop for school tours. They bring the kids in and ask them questions like “What do you think these Tyranosauruses eat?” and “Do you think they are hungry?” And as the kids stand between the participants in this confrontation between predator and prey their eyes get big and they become very quiet. It’s fun to watch.
And the kids were lots of fun. They’re always curious. They can relate to people drawing better than adults can. But they are reluctant to talk until you look up and say hi. Then the fun begins. One kid wanted to buy my sketch. Another said, “Hey, that looks just like a dinosaur.” But mostly we talked about how much fun it was to be at the museum. It was a very good morning.
Best of all, when I met up with family, they’d had fun sketching lions, rabbits, pikas, bats, and owls. They were smiling. And we only had “just shy of a gazillion steps” to walk to get back to where the car was parked.
My family is great. While I was in Ottawa they understood that I was frustrated by not being able to sit down and sketch for an extended period. I didn’t have to say it – they knew. And so, the day before we left for Toronto, they sent me off to sketch by myself. Hmm…or maybe they were just tired of my presence and wanted to get rid of me. Either way, I got to go sketching.
I headed immediately for the Canadian Museum of Nature which is spectacular. We’d spent an evening doing a quick tour of the place and I could spend a lifetime sketching there. But I was after bones. Dinosaur bones.
Ever since Tina Koyama started posting her sketches of bones contained in a Seattle museum, I’ve wanted to draw some myself, but bones are sorely lacking in Quebec City, except those holding up the bags of water that march along the streets.
Stillman & BIrn Gamma (10×7), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black
Once I paid the entry fee, and became a member of the museum, I headed directly for the dinosaur portion of the museum. It was a great morning as crowds were minimal, the security guard was really nice and we had a great conversation about sketching and photography, and I got to draw bones. Here are a couple of my efforts. What fun! The shapes are interesting, complex and organic.
Stillman & BIrn Gamma (10×7), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black