Writing a letter to Evelin!!

Good morning! Couldn't sleep in today so I started on my drawing early. This ballpoint drawing and my homemade stationary is going to my foster-daughter in Bolivia - her name Evelin and she is 5 years old. She is my newest, my last child has grown up and is too old for the sponsorship. 

I hope she likes the drawing of my Fuji Film instant camera to explain the tiny photos. I added my collage birdy to include my wish that the birdy will take my letter to her quickly!  I don't like white paper so I have decorated it to match my bird. 

I must go now to write my letter and one for the translator.

My first Wellington boot

We are visiting our family in the big city and have stopped in for a liquid libation because it is such a hot day here! 

Come on ..... Ya know ya wanna get your "Welly On"!!! 

This brewery is just west of Toronto in Guelph Ontario 🇨🇦

Urban Sketching and a new sketchbook

I like to beautify the cover of my sketchbook.  This time, I took my inspiration for my next sketchbook cover from Andrea (thanks Andrea!!!)

I use to be a shift worker and on night shift I would get my "lunch" at 0200 hrs or 0330 hrs. In a medium sized city there use to be not too many options. Then things changed and I would do my grocery shopping on my lunch!! 

My sleeping patterns continue to give me a bit of trouble so this cover is a nod to all the insomniacs out there.  So happy that my sketchbook is "OPEN ALL NIGHT"!!

BTW, I used an office supply for my "stickers". I was going to cut around them but opted to leave the mailing label "as is".   I'm not finished with the cover yet but I've just started my current book so this is as far as I'm going to go for right now!!! 

I had to go to town to pick up a book st the library and stopped off at a side street to sketch this industrial building. 

Graffiti Name Tag

This was just so much fun! 

Graffiti lettering for Andrea Joseohs creative lettering class in Sketchbook Skool dot com 

I wasn't happy with it but now that my circles actually look like bubbles I like it! 

Sweet Tomatoes

I went out to the garden this morning and found some ripe tomatoes ready to eat and perfect for drawing!  I have never drawn the inside of s cut tomato so this was s first God me! And just if you were wondering it wasn't easy. 

This is my page for today and you know what I had with my dinner!! Cheers!

Oro Methodist Historic Church

Inside the Oro African Methodist Episcopal Church Grand re-opening this afternoon originally built in 1849. It was quite an experience to have people watching me draw then paint the pulpit of this church. I usually don't have people taking my picture or filming me while I worked away to complete my drawing. The church has been designated a national historic site. I loved the smell of the new cut pine floors. Much of the inside is still original but the floors had rotted.  The glass in the windows isn't original either but they found glass from the period. A couple of the top wall beams had to be replaced and they found a recipe for the white wash. Seemingly the recipe depends on what resources would have been available in the surrounding location. 

I use to live down the road a bit and would stop by to peer in the Windows. Today I had a chance to sit in one of the pews to fill my page.

French's Refreshment Stand Orillia Ontario

I had some errands to run in town but I had enough time to draw and paint this 1920 French's refreshment stand. The original owner signed a 99 year lease with the Canadian Pacific Railroad.  It is just across the road from the beach and Champlain Park on Lake Couchiching in Orillia. I enjoyed reading the fact that the students who work in the stand all enjoy profit sharing. Most of the time that I have been by the business was closed so I definitely had to stop. 

This is what happened today

This is the kind of day it was! 

I like the squarish fonts on my first page, I think that they add a bit of panache to my drawing. I'm not a botanical kind of gal but I wanted to document that my Rose of Sharon is in bloom!! There are loads of buds but with little rain this summer I didn't think it would flower on its own. We are on a well, so I have been coaxing it along with the dish water from the kitchen sink. I can't waste it by throwing it down the drain. I'm not really diggin' the spatters but it is what it is! 

Then, I had to take laundry and do it at the laundromat in town.  We are expecting a major rain tonight and tomorrow, I hope it will refill the rain barrel and make the garden (and me) happier!  I have left room for a bit of journaling too! 

1951 Hudson Hornet

I live in the boondocks of central Ontario🇨🇦 so I don't get a chance to do much "urban sketching".  Yesterday, I had to go to the library in town and surprise.... there was a car show on. I had my sketchbook in the car so I dropped off my library books and picked up my pens. 

So enjoyed talking to the current owner of this 1951 Hudson Hornet and she signed my book for me.  She and her hubby are the second owners of this beauty and they have had it for 24 years.  They have re-painted it the same as the original colour - a dark green. 

It started to rain so I stopped to get a tissue to dry my page and headed to a covered spot where the owner happened to be sitting.  Then I started the rear drawing ...I'm glad I did!  I'm not use to sketching in public at a car show "in the rain" especially found standing a bit difficult but happy with my results regardless.

Very cool car to see. I had a fellow stop by to say that he thought what I was doing was cool because everyone else was snapping their cameras and phones. 

Laundromat Again

I lead such an exciting life I forgot to post this yesterday! The attendant stopped to tell me she thought my art was wonderful. That was so sweet of her! 

Yup, still no rain so I'm back at the laundromat using the water in town. Everything is an ugly brown, leaves are falling off our apple trees and the fire ban is on! 

Yellow Bird

I love how one thing leads to the next.... I was tearing up a pamphlet I got in the mail. So I made this piece from a throw-away. I like it very much since I didn't feel that it was such a "precious" piece of expensive paper. I accented the word chicks on the page and put it aside. A few days later I saw a photo of a yellow bird on a calendar I had, so I drew it. Then, yesterday I was eating a banana and stuck the scan code food sticker on the page (I cut off the scan thingamajig) and put it aside once again.  This morning, the lyrics to Yellow Bird occurred to me.  I loved the version sung by Harry  Belafonte! Happy with the end result of a piece of paper I was about to recycle and in essence I did - I made junk into art or rather "nothing into something"!!

Penetanguishene Ontario

My hubby has to get his muffler fixed so we drove to a town where he worked for a zillion  years. Nice little town on Georgian Bay Ontario🇨🇦. He treated me to lunch...love it when that happens! 

I'm not a gal that likes to draw salad so I fudged it. It was the cool wooden table centre that was neat- all set in and under glass.

We were in a bit of a rush so this is as good as it gets! 

This is a Francophone community and afterwards we bought a fresh "tourtière" - sh, memories of Québécois meat pie! Soon, it will be "in my belly"!!! 

Vintage finds in Coldwater

I decided to sketch and paint the vintage Mercury truck I saw in Coldwater yesterday.  I used my photo as s guide; yes, it really was that rusty!!! I picked up a real treasure....another view master reel. The glue has let go so I'm hoping I can glue it back together to see the images in my View-master!  The reason it seemed destined to come home with me is that I had actually looked at the photo of my Mom and Dad and I having our picture taken in the gondola when we arrived at the finish! I still remember that moment! 

I think the Sucrets container might end up as a travelling palette for some gouache paint.

I drove up to the town of Coldwater Ontario 🇨🇦 today.  They are preparing for the Steampunk Festival this weekend so I took a back street and drew the lovely old mill! It was open to the public and I got to tour inside for the guest time!  It was way too hot to do anything else but sketch - 31C or 88F and with humidity feels like 95F. For me, it was too hot to add colour;  I packed up and stopped into the local coffee shop!  I love this town!!  If you are in the area, the Steampunk festival is on this Saturday!! 

My little pieces of art displayed together

This is what I have been doing for the last two months. It is small pieces of art on cheap index cards. I didn't get the 61 done (that was the challenge - June 1st to July 31st) but I am happy that I did complete 47 cards! There really is something satisfying seeing them all laid out like this!

I posted this drawing to Sktchy today 

Kempenfest treasures!

Today, I went to a local art festival in town! It is a huge favourite for me! Kempenfest is the largest "open air" festival in Ontario🇨🇦 This is my page in my Moleskine documenting my treasures!