EDiM 4th and 5th

These seemed better by the softer light of last evening. Yes, even though I could see the distortions (the too small ear on the attentive one, the imbalances of the grinner with the matted hair) they WERE better by candlelight, trust me. LOL. I need to try them both again but that's ok, they're both fun sketches. Persevere.

Oh yeah. How DO I get a rich lively black again?

Two Years...REALLY?

Time does fly, it's true.

Have been experiencing the odd sketch attack and will get around to posting those bits and bobs eventually. This month however is May and May means EDiM for EDMers. I signed up for EDiM before I realized that I really want to base a collection of sketches on the great photos that my DD and I took in India. So here goes.

EveryDayInMay with an Indian theme.

May 1 My DD took this one and I love it. When I look at this sketch at home that green area is so much more subtle but my scanner isn't working so, 'it is what it is'.

May 2 Again my DD's photo. A little flower selling sweetheart that she and her friends befriended.

May 3 OK DD took this one as well LOL. I will be drawing this youngster again. I have not done his sweet look of concentration justice but I love the drips (As seen in Nina and others work).

odds and sods

While I did sketch this 'plein air' I didn't stay long enough to splash on some colour. Learned some surprising perspective lessons this day though so this wonderful old church has value to me.

This is my sweet son. From a photo. The strange thing with this one is that in the photo he is a teen (a stage where his wonderful, generous spirit was bent full force on making me realize the limitless powers of a mother's patience) and I've transformed him into his sweet easygoing 10 yr old self. Now 29 he is both neither of these boys and more of each one.

Another oldie never posted. This was done after enjoying Karen Winters portraits with a splash of colour on the page. My DD with her nephew, our adorable grandson. The small in the corner is an overdone drawing of this same DD working hard husking corn on the back step in her soggy cloth diaper.

Incomplete. Loved learning from this but copying a painting in watercolor mag. is probably not worth finishing.

I have not done A THING in FOREVER! Why is that I wonder that business rolls into laziness and before I know it...it's been 4 FREakin' months w/o a look at this spot that I always INtend to post weekly at least. I've FELT like drawing ....OK clearly, not enough so I'll just put up the randomness that I have at some point prepped by resizing for our smaller bandwidth buddies.

Accordian Sketchbook with lightweight paints

My little 6.5x7" sketchbook opens to about 7' long and proved to be the perfect size for my glorious hiking trek along the extreme northern tip of Vancouver Island.

Using 90lb watercolour paper I simply cut single fold pages and using 1"x7" spines (folded lenthwise) attached one to the other forming my accordian. I chose to position my paper so the the join was in the inner crease of each double page. This resulted in some pooling of paint (see cabin sketch) but I am fine with this and was pleased with having good flow from one day (double fold) to the next.

Because I had my paper glued into a hardcover book I could easily sketch and paint with a firm surface yet had the option of opening up the odd time I was connecting pictures with the next page.

North Coast Trail

I'm so thrilled to have had the opportunity to hike this trail before it becomes as busy as the West Coast Trail!

The cabins hosted president Teddy Roosevelt back in the day!

NCT hike

Just back from hiking the North Coast Trail. Brand new trail this year across the top of Vancouver Island. What a beauty of a trail it is! Enough hauling oneself up hills (ropes are provided), lowering oneself down the other side (thanks be that ropes are provided) and rolling along rocky shores to be challenging. Enough heavenly scents, awe-inspiring sounds (whales and loons being my favourites) to be mystical. Enough good company to be wonderfully relaxing and entertaining. Our dear 'Coastal Cinder' once again planned and coaxed us through an unforgettable experience.

As for the sketching, folks allowed me my space so that I would not feel intimidated and were very kind with their comments when they did wander over to look.

Included in the photos are 1. the cover of the childrens book that I removed the innards to replace with an accordian of w/c paper . Forgive me whoever you are that showed the method I followed to create accordian pages that don't take lg sheets of paper. The little book is 6.5"x7" and proved to be the perfect size to manage on the trail.

2. Title page. The trail name will end up here.

3. pg 1-2-3 our first campsite at Laura Creek. July 2'08

4. pg 4-5 Irony Creek camp at Shuttleworth Bight July 3

5. pg 6-7 a fern to represent the beautifully lush woods we spent most of this day hiking through

6. pg 8-9 the beach at Nahwitti Camp looking toward Skinner Creek.

7. pg 6 through 9

8. the cabins at Nahwitti Creek.

Month 3, posting 3

Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic. Throw an extra day into February and STILL I miss it! Old drawings, February drawings but haven't scanned anything more recent. Still have to clear some stuff off my laptop before I can add the printer/scanner to it and avoid completely the achingly slow setup DH deals with on the 'main' computer.

The wonky portrait sketch is from a photo in the dead of night. The reason/excuse I'm offering for those too close wonked eyes is that I was attempting from right to left with no spatial planning. Fun but none to effective.

The blue teapot (a favourite) was a most effective lesson as I kept on adding layers (glazes I suppose) thinking that I was going to end up with an overworked, muddy mess when WHELLA .. lo and behold I quite like the richness that resulted. Who knew? I never would have had the courage to try that on something important/expensive paper.

So, that's that. The weather is sunny-ing up here, I'm walking more so the energy levels are getting up there and I'm starting to see life beyond work. I still pop in at EDM and some crafting sites to be inspired. Lord, I LOVE the blogging world.