DSP - Tomb Guardian

I love small rabbity creatures with great gnashing teeth ffft fffttt

DSP - Fire Temple

Today's speedpaint, the Fire Temple.

Daily Spitpaint - Riot

I joined the Daily Spitpaint, to get more sketching in.  I do a lot more work from life now, but not nearly as much idle creative play.  The Daily Spitpaint is a Facebook group which posts several daily topics and participants create a speedpainting in 30 minutes or less.  It's not only good practice, but it's fun too.

Inktober - Cement Truck

Went out for lunch with a friend, and when we finished I sketched some construction equipment across from her workplace.  This is a composite of two trucks because of course you can't start sketching anything without it buggering off halfway through the drawing.  And my small camera is broken so I never bother to bring it along when I'm biking around.

Inktober - Going Away Party

Some friends at a farewell pub bash for an old friend.

Candle Flame

The fall colours have been amazing, but I had a lot of trouble finding a good place to paint this week.  I went out on Sunday to the ravine and although this tree struck me right away, I couldn't commit to it and ended up further down the trail by the water.  I got one of my shoes wet crossing Whitemud Creek, and the other wet crossing back again because the lighting was crap from the other side.  After a half hour of sketching the creek was invaded by children and I gave up.

I came back on a weekday, this time determined to paint the first nice thing I saw and the tree was right where I'd left it.  So here it is, like a brilliant candle flame glowing against the hillside.

While I was sitting there, one of the biggest bumblebees I had ever seen decided to explore my paint bag, my shoe, and my leg all the way up to my kneecap.  I gave it a ride down on a fallen leaf, but it was not interested in being on the ground floor and it flew off with a sulky baritone buzz.  A perfect capper to what is likely one of the last beautiful days of the year.

Inktober - Sofa

My living room sofa, from life.

Assiniboia Lilac

Perspective! My nemesis! So, at last we meet for the first time for the last time!

I started this... I think in May 2012, and it has sat in the pile of unfinished paintings until I pulled it out and decided that I wanted to try something different with the light and shadows. The building is one of the oldest on the U of A campus, where I spent some time in my undergrad years having labs, then teaching labs, and then -- after I graduated -- changing backup tapes in the basement. It now houses the Philosophy department, where I also spent a few of my post-graduate semesters.

Lilac season on campus is lovely, following flowering crabapple season which starts real spring off with a bang. (There is also fake spring which starts on March 21, is alternately brown and snowy, and lasts for 2 months.) It is by far my favourite time of the year.

Dry Island Buffalo Jump 2

2 years ago I went on my first plein-air painting trip out to the Drumheller area. I have some very fond memories of that trip, and also some highly questionable artwork and lots of reference photos and studies.

When I got a set of oil paints and a vague clue about how to use them, I decided to revisit this scene. I have learned a lot about landscape painting since that trip, and I was curious whether I could apply it to oils as well as improving an old painting. I think that I'm happy with the result.

For comparison, here's the first version, painted on location.

Oils on hardboard, 9x12".

Inktober - Woman with Bun

No ref, just doodling.

Inktober - Philodendron

This Inktober thing could easily become Draw My Plants month.  I think I could draw a different indoor plant every day for a month without leaving my house.

Inktober - Tea and Coffee

I don't know if I'm going to do all of Inktober, since I have a pile of illustrations and paintings to finish, but I like ink and I've been thinking of doing more drawings.  Also after a summer of biking and gardening I am trying to get back into a more productive schedule.  It's not that I haven't been drawing, I've just been so awful about scanning any of it.  As I am writing this I am a month behind on my blog posts.

Anyway.  Here's a sketch to celebrate the start of hot drink season.  Kettle, teapot, and coffee grinder.