Ottawa Sketching??? Adventure

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Chantal and I headed off to Ottawa on a five day trip to visit our daughter. Of course, I hoped to get some sketching done as well but on this trip it wasn’t the high priority.

Nevertheless, I contacted folks in the Ottawa Urban Sketchers via Facebook and one of the members said she’d send me an email to arrange a session. Sadly, my host server’s spam mail filter decided it was spam so I never received it. While disappointing, truth was, the rain would have likely scuttled any chance of meet up. Next time for sure.

While waiting for our daughter to get out of work, Chantal indulged my passion by agreeing to wander around the nature museum while I sketched this guy. While Fred Flintstone’s pet looked like a baby brontosaurus, I suspect that cavemen might have been happier with this dog-like beast. The display only had the leg and back armor on one side, I drew it as it sat and thought it pretty cool.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5x8.5softcover), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5softcover), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

We had a ball the rest of the week but there wasn’t much sketching involved. I did a bunch of quick-sketches as people ran up and down the shopping malls while the family shopped. We visited museums and walked a lot. We ate too much. We dodged the rain…lots of rain.

One evening I was sort of antsy about not having done any sketching so while the family was reading, I tried to channel Paul Heaston and drew my daughter’s kitchen. I’m afraid that Paul and I had a bad connection because I don’t have the hatching/drawing skills that Paul has but I had fun doing it and that’s all that matters.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (3.5x5.5softcover), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (3.5×5.5softcover), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

Sadly, it was time to leave but Ottawa hasn’t seen the last of me yet. Besides, someone was coming for a visit in Quebec City and I had to be there to greet her. More on that next time.

We Visit The Ste-Foy Historical Society

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Larry Marshall

The Ste-Foy Historical Society was having an exhibition of needlework being done by Quebec residents and it seemed like a plan to go see it and sketch around the society grounds. The main building is a gorgeous old mansion and it sits beside a very large church that was destroyed by fire. It has since been partially resurrected and is now the site of evening, partially open-air concerts (the main church walls were stone but the roof succumbed). The burnt out portion of the church is to the right in my sketch.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6x9), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

I’m still trying to get caught up so I’ll let the two sketches I did that day do all the talking. Next stop…my Ottawa trip 🙂

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black

2016 Nouvelle France Sketch Fest

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Larry Marshall

The Croquistes de Quebec held their August sketchcrawl in conjunction with Quebec’s Nouvelle France event, a time when people dress in 18th Century garb, some act like pirates, minstrels, swordsmen, etc. and everyone has fun. This year was no exception.

I apologize for the blog going dark for a while but it seems that the busier I get sketching, the less time I have to write about it. I’m going to try to make a push to get caught up but this sketchcrawl event took place on August 4th so you can see how far behind I am.

My goal that day was to talk as much as possible, eat a lot, and do a bunch of quick sketches. No long sit-down sessions for me this day. They can be placed in two piles. The first are the people in costume and here are few examples of those:

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5x8.5, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5, DeAtramentis Document Black

I didn’t limit myself to people, though. I did some quick vignettes of scenes surrounding the venue. Sorry that I haven’t written more but if a picture is worth a thousand words maybe the sketches make up for it. I’ll leave you to peruse these sketches cuz I’ve got a bunch of scanning to do 🙂

S&B Alpha (5.5×8.5)

A Whale Of A Time In Tadoussac

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Tadoussac is a major whale-watching spot in North America. It sits at the confluence of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (salt water) and a major river fiord (Saguenay River) that is both deep and rich in nutrients as it flows into the Gulf. This interesting dynamic results in a place where large whales come into the Gulf just to amuse tourists paying to go out on boats to see them (I think that’s right), while smaller whales wander around in the mouth of the Sagueny, feeding.

This generates lots of tourist trade, boat traffic and a whole bunch of people sitting on rocks on the edge of the Saguenay, yelling “Ooooooo” in unison every time a whale decides to take a breathe. This is great fun and very relaxing, except for my butt which doesn’t think much of sitting on rocks for long periods.

But I was there, with my family and as we watched for whales (saw pilot and beluga whales), I started making tiny sketches of the stuff I could see around me. This was the end result. I do a lot of tiny sketches but I rarely post them but in this case I did them all on one page and it does document the area…well, sort of.

Stillman & Birn Beta (8x10), Esterbrook J9550, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (8×10), Esterbrook J9550, DeAtramentis Document Black

After some whale watching we went back to the car to get stuff for a picnic and sat in a grassy area and chowed down, enjoying the sea breeze. When we finished we headed back down the main street.

I posted a couple days ago a sketch of a Tadoussac street lamp that I sketched while I waited for wife and daughter near a public toilet, but I was not finished with my sketching day. I’d seen a house that I thought particularly sketcha-genic so I proposed that we get an ice cream cone and sit on the boardwalk, watching the tour boats come and go. We got the ice cream and I found a place for us to sit that just happened to let me sit on the end of the bench and see that house. I managed to do this sketch of it while my family patiently waited. They seemed amused by the interest shown in my scribbling by those passing by.

Stillman & Birn Beta (5x8), Esterbrook J9550, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (5×8), Esterbrook J9550, DeAtramentis Document Black

We had a great day as tourists and I had a fun time as a sketcher. It couldn’t have been better.

My Love Affair With Street Lamps

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Long ago, Pete Scully introduced me to the notion that the mundane in our lives could be great sketching subjects with his series of fire hydrant sketches. I started drawing every fire hydrant and garbage can in sight. When you start looking at these things as art objects, they become art objects and that Pete’s important lesson to the rest of us.

I feel the same way about street lamps. I draw them all the time. They serve as practice; they serve as fun. They also serve as the basis for sketches that give me joy. Here’s one I did recently in Tadoussac where my family spent the day last week. I’ll talk more about sketching Tadoussac in a future post but for now, imagine a place with these all over the place.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black