Orchid

I managed to get a tiny bit of painting done at the Muttart in November.

Sketchcrawl - River Valley

Muttart Conservatory, painted from the Shaw Conference Center.  Now that I'm looking at it, it could have used some ink.

Oh well, all this stuff is still there, it's just covered in snow.  Next year I'll snap a photo and use this as the basis for a proper painting.

Jasper Mountain

A watercolour sketch of one of the mountains visible from Jasper.

Sketchcrawl - Plant

After the official sketchcrawl ended I tried to do something with watercolours.  The plant turned out okay.  Not sure anything else did.

Food Tent

Another watercolour sketch, this time from the Heritage Festival a few days ago. I believe this was the Congo tent.

I loved those two women, cooking in their hats.

Sunset

A quick watercolour of a sunset I did a couple weeks ago.

The sky turned out well but the light was really going by the time I got to working on the road.  I decided I really liked the patterns of the lamplight but hadn't left any space for the lamps themselves...

I think I'm going to try redoing this one in acrylics.

Canada Day

We sat on a hill and waited for the fireworks. I just had the little travel set and Niji waterbrush, and I had to scribble really quickly because the light was going. You can see the last bit of sunlight on the right.

River Valley

Started this one weekend several weeks ago. Today the weather is finally bad outside to finish some paintings.

This fall has been particularly nice for both colours and weather. The Edmonton river valley, near McKinnon Ravine Park.

Horseshoe Canyon 3

This was the last thing I did in Horseshoe Canyon, a quick exercise in composition. Just to be able to show something for the day that wasn't a total mess.

Horseshoe Canyon

The next day we were out early at Horseshoe Canyon. Well, other people were out early. I can't manage to get anywhere before 09:00 and that's only if I manage to get going before noon at all.

The shadows were going by the time the instructor's demo ended and I wanted to get them down. Unfortunately I think they're the weakest point of the picture. I did another one in the afternoon and that was even worse. The two things I keep wanting to capture, the dark shadows and the stripes on the hills, keep turning out poorly. I'm kinda looking forward to maybe going back next year (probably not with the group, just by myself or with Neil) and giving them another go with acrylics.

Hoodoos 3

Our day at the Hoodoos started at 09:00, but by about noon it was 33C out there, there was no shade whatsoever and we were pretty tired of being out in the sun. After lunch the group decided to move closer to the river. It took me a while to find the place (perhaps the big sign saying PRIVATE DRIVEWAY DO NOT ENTER had something to do with that) so by the time I arrived everyone else was already set up and I had a bit of trouble finding a shady spot.

After one false start I ended up with this:

I'm pretty sure watercolours aren't my medium (at this point, anyway) but I liked the colours and perhaps this could serve as the base for a better painting.

Unfortunately I rushed the bottom third because I was late for the group critique. The heavy purple could use some softening and the river more work.

Hoodoos 2

The same scene as the sketch, done in watercolour on a 5x8" pad. None of my watercolour sheets stretched well. I think I need a better board and the other kind of watercolour tape.

The colours in the original turned out a bit dull. I think I'm going to replace them slowly with artist-grade watercolours.

Vancouver Lanscape

I did a bit of watercolour painting on vacation in August:



Watercolours aren't really my thing. This was the third painting I attempted while there, and the first that turned out even somewhat to my satisfaction.

We sat on a bench near the Burrard Bridge in the afternoon. I painted and Neil played the guitar. Some guy walking by took a look and said "meh". Everyone's a critic! :)

Journal Sketching

I've been trying to sketch more stuff from life, to help me with things like backgrounds which I hardly ever bother with (because why? Because straight lines are difficult, perspective is difficult... I'm lazy as all get-out. You heard it here first.)

So here is that front yard picture I posted up a few days ago. I spent some time tonight trying out my watercolour pencils on it.



As you can see, either I suck at watercolour pencils (very possible) or they are not what I should be using to colour complex pictures like this. It could also be a combination of the two.

Luckily, I think I'll stick with inks for the next little while. I'm inking a picture I did yesterday of a little nook outside of Cameron Library on the University Campus, but it'll take me a while. I even had to go back today to get a reference photo so that I don't screw up too badly.

While I'm finishing that up, I'll post this picture I did today at a local Cafe:



I finally swallowed my something-or-other and dragged the sketchbook out for lunch. As a matter of fact I DO get distracted while drawing and am not a brilliant conversationalist, but since Neil was busy eating his pizza, I'm not sure he minded all that much. I had just enough time to sketch out this couple before they left. Turned out quite respectable for a quick drawing!