Fork in the Road

Sat in a "no parking zone" to draw this at the "Five Points" in downtown Barrie, Ontario.  The restaurant in the centre is the closest thing that Barrie has to a "flat iron" building. 

It was quite the challenge and I can see that I have been "somewhat" successful.  at least I was able to complete it, paint and all before I left for home. 

Monarch and Tea Bag Art #2

Really love this raindrop that I drew with Derwent Inktense Pencil for Everyday in September.

I found the image on Google when I queried rain drop images.

I just love tea bag art and need to do more on this substrate!

Tea bag art and our Finial

This past Wednesday, I meet up with my sketching buddy and we had a lovely lunch at The Blue Willow Rea Room in Gravenhurst.

 I think Martie was a bit surprised when I emptied the large folded tea bag out on my plate and placed it in my napkin to dry and stowed it in my purse. 

We are getting a new metal roof on our old house (circa 1892) and the roofers took down what was left of the finial on the one gable. The ornament has been damaged, eaten away by the exposure to the harsh elements over the many years that it has been on the roof. I wanted to draw and document it! 

I have also seen lots of interesting tea bag art and wanted to test it out for myself. I tore off a piece of the flip-over for this. I was very surprised at how lovely it was to draw and paint on. I am definitely going to be using the tea bags I have saved; however, I am actually a coffee drinker! 

Pilot Metropolitan fine nib pen and Payne's Grey watercolour in my Moleskine sketchbook.

Not JUST a tin of soup

EDiS 16- Pop Art. For this prompt I actually went out and bought the can of soup the other day. It will be cold enough here to eat it sooner rather than later! I didn't want to recreate the Campbell's soup can so thought this might suffice. I had no idea that it is made in Montreal. I don't recall eating this when we lived in Quebec (I was young at the time) but my hubby loves it. 

A House and a Panama Hat - kind of...

I went by this house at 158 Dunlop St E in Barrie and saw that the legal eagle firm has vacated the premises and the huge mansion of a house appears to be abandoned.  I have always loved this house when I drive by.  I stopped a year a go or so and attempted to draw it but was not successful.  So happy that I made the effort today.  Funny how people alway feel that they need to comment when they see someone drawing.  A fella went by walking his dog and he said, "Drawing the house, eh?"  Yes! Yes, I am!

Earlier this summer we were in the big city -Toronto Canada - to take a tour of Graffitti Alley just off Queen St West. It was the hottest day that we had up to that moment. We walked by this store and decided that we needed hats to survive the tour. My hubby bought this Panama hat and we were told that the way to tell a Panama from other hats is the woven circle in the centre.  I couldn't figure out how to draw the texture so I just drew. It is actually white and I didn't want to leave it as a contour drawing. Now it makes me think of a computer simulation during the graphics stage of hat building. 

Gargoyle

I drew this last night in pen and applied watercolour this morning in my Moleskine sketchbook. 

A Flaming Meditation

EDiS #6- here is my matchstick flame. We are still in the big city visiting family and since my grand-daughter has gone to her piano lesson I have a few minutes to post and surf here! Way, way back in the day, I belonged to a transcendental meditation group.  We were taught to use the time of a burning flame to wipe our minds clean of "stuff" and concentrate on meditating. At first, I could only last for that very short period of time before my mind would wander. I had fun.... the second time ever drawing my hand and the first for a flame! I had to jimmy around trying to make skin tone, need to practice that one more. In my Moley

Sketchbook. 

Moorish mask

Funny how I see this souvenir everyday but I don't really look at it. I took down this leather mask we brought back from Portugal.  It was quite challenging to get all of the folds in the leather to create the face.  We had a good holiday but if I was to do it over again we would have spent the money on the excursions.  We missed a great opportunity to visit Morocco.

Watercolour first then add drawing

A new technique that I think I enjoy doing very much is to lay down the watercolour and then apply the pen work afterwards.

This is how I did this sketch of this Canada Goose in my Moleskine sketchbook. My initial paint application has created a shadow that makes this goose appear to be in motion.