sketchbook, the sleeping giant.

The sleeping giant (that's what I'll be doing when the ball drops). My last sketch for 2014.
Looking forward to what kind of new art I'll be up to in 2015.
All the best to my friends in the new year.

Subway sketching and one

After a week and a half of being under the weather and no desire to sketch, it was nice to get out  from under that cloud and put some ink on paper.

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Sketching at the Cafe Neon after my physio appointment.

A little…

Alot…

Just right!

sketchbook: A bit of walking and a bit of drawing

I decided to walk west on Bloor. Just walk. I stopped off at the Runnymede Library for the first time and spent most of my time there. A lot of mucked spreads but I managed to salvage two, the two I've uploaded here. My next stop was to get a coffee and of course, some sketching. I was looking for a non franchise coffee house that had something that piqued my drawing interest. The Coffee Tree fit those criteria.

sketchbook-- subway people

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Some afterwork sketching at Dufferin Mall... it's been too long, my old friends.

Sketchbook : The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, v.2014

I've been to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for the last few years now and as a city person, it's great to see live stock other than raccoons and squirrels. Plus the cattle and pigs don't move as much and they make for great models.

sketchbook - Riding the rails

I spent a few hours riding the subway people sketching. Where else can you get so many models for three dollars. I'd say it was a well spent three dollars.

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Chipping away at the 10000 hours today after work at the Bloor Gladstone library. 

Instead of the standard drawing of a person reading that I've drawn so many times before, I wanted to practice my perspective. I realized that my sense of proportion and perspective are a bit off so I think I'll concentrate on that for the next little while (hopefully). But I will sneak in a drawing or two of people.

So... besides my home "studio" and cafes, this is where I probably draw the most.

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A street scene (Christie, just south of Dupont) from the parking lot of my work place, drawn over two lunch periods.

"Up Close (and Personal?) #1"

oil on masonite, 6"x8"

"Measles"

Oil on masonite, 9"x12"

Done over three, three hour sessions.

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I've been thinking a lot lately about putting in the "mileage". Drawing a lot. Chipping away at the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell believes any person needs under their belt to achieve pro status. So today I did a mini sketch crawl on my own around the waterfront.

 This actually was drawn yesterday. Another addition to the "Stan the Man" series. Aka. my dad.

Toronto's Union Station, the city's transportation hub that was modelled after New York City's Grand Central Station.

After the station drawing I wandered down to the waterfront to sketch some boats. There's nothing like a stiff, cold wind up the pant leg to quicken up the pen strokes.

The last sketch of the day. Being a voyeur and sketching a metalsmith work on her jewelry at the Harbourfront Centre's open air studio.

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I sat in a coffee shop and I sketched whatever was in front of me. The table in front of me changed occupants twice, so there's a bit of layering going on...
The dots. No idea where that came from, but i know I'm not doing that again!

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The modern day obsession over the smart phone is good for only one thing....

I knew the Saturday edition (the thickest of the week) of the Toronto Star was good for something. I used it as a seat cushion on a cold rock while sketching this scene.

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It's getting cold here in Hogtown, so I'm headed back to my tried, tested and true (and warm) sketching environs of the Bloor Gladstone library.

People sitting by the railing counter at the St. Lawrence Market.

Grandfather and grandson. Kinda creepy that I've depicted my nephew as a toy doll my dad is holding, but I think I nailed it with the other two drawings.

Kensington Market

Sumo, reworked.

The original black and white sumo portrait was completed last year, but I wanted to add some colour to it. I wanted to break out of the tighter style that the portrait was rendered in so I took a leap of faith and splashed some colour on it. I think it turned out ok. There are some parts of it that feel like it was drawn in a style that I would use in my sketch book. That's a good feeling.
Maybe my future paintings will go in this direction.

WIPs.

Lately I've been obsessed with painting black and white portraits of sumo wrestlers. With my latest trio of images, I think I've reached the completion with the actually portrait portion of the images but they all need colour. Not just any colour but some colour that contradicts the tightness of the painting style. I'm working my way up towards just loading a brushful of paint, like a bright red and arbitrarily applying a swath of colour. Like I said I'm not there yet. I have to work myself up to that point. Stay tuned.

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back story: I ate a pizza and a family size bag of tostitos last night. I felt like a slug this morning.

Today I decided to do a cleanse and as a test of my commitment to it I walked through Kensington MArket and had a coffee at Moonbean cafe. While on my way there, I walked by a Jerk chicken place, my favourite beef patty spot and other places that were emitting amazing smells. I survived the walk without caving. The cleanse continues.

Elmer Fudd and That Rascally Rabbit

WIP, I think....

I completed this last night, but I have plans to paint the left side of his face, 3/4pose, to the left of this image. So as  whole, the painting is not done, but this particular pose is.... I think.

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It was a "put as much ink on the page" day today. i think i did that.
I was sitting at a large communal table at Balzacs today and while I was sketching the lady on the bottom right, a woman, sits right in front of me at the table. Well, let's just say all my stares at the woman at the next table made the woman in front of me a little nervous... i think. It made me nervous, that's for sure.

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An afternoon at Balzac's coffee house.

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On vacation in Vancouver, a friend and I decided to take a coffee. He was on the computer. I was in the sketchbook.

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It was the bug. Then the mini. Now the fiat. But I guess I'll have to do with my bike for now.

Some sketching down at the St. Lawrence with a friend.
(I depicted her with football line backer shoulders, but I assure you she's a lot more slender than that).

Sketching some St. Lawrence MArket people. Actually having sketched these people, it sparked a potential idea for my next set of paintings. What do you think of closely cropped images of people eating?

On the subway ride home tonight. I love it when people are so absorbed with their smart phones! Perfect model. Thank you, sir.