Father and Son, finished

 

Process stages including framing.

13x16in. Oil on masonite.

I think I could finally post this. My sister has delivered this to her in-laws, so I think it's safe to post. Neither my sister nor her husband has seen the finished piece, so I thank them for having faith in me to complete it to their satisfaction.

Father and Son

For the last two weeks I've been working on my first official commission. My sister hired me to paint a portrait of her son and I decided to paint her son and husband. It'll be going to her in-laws.

These are the first few in progress shot of this portrait. I think it'll be done in two weeks. Time enough for it to dry.

sketchbook

I just walked west today on Bloor. I stopped in for a quick coffee at Timothy's and stayed there far too long.

One of the issues of have with sketching people in public is that they move (I say that sarcastically). However, part of my drawing pattern is to draw a farely detailed image of what i see in front of me and moving people don't lend themselves to my way of drawing. So I'm trying to find a way of adapting to "moving people".

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Some post work sketching at the Bloor Gladstone Library.

I have a pattern of sketching in public, especially when I sketch people. It starts with trying to be inconspicuous and as the drawing progresses, the quick peek turns into a longer look, without trying to be inconspicuous... Then when I'm really in the groove, it's a full on, open stare.

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Coffee at Tim Hortons. When I did this sketch of a homeless man, I felt quite conflicted. Normally, it's drawings of other customers. But he was not one, and he chose to take a nap at the table across from me. It felt like Iw as taking advantage of him.

 

Visiting my sister and her family in Milton. Her husband is a gamer and when he's on his laptop, he makes for a perfect model.

I returned to the Bloor Gladstone Library to do some sketching.It's getting cooler outside, so you'll be seeing more of these library sketches in the future.

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I visited Kelowna B.C. this past weekend and on my first day there, it was wet, cold and grey. The perfect conditions to do what I like best to do when I have a sketchbook in hand. I hit the local coffee shop.

Some random people I drew on my way to the airport.

The Smudge, a progress shot

I have been working off and on on this piece for the last half year. Working on this piece has raised a lot of issue s for me. First do I want my paintings to be so tight? If not how do I break away from my natural tendency to paint exactly what I see from my photo references? So, the happy accident of the smudge in a sense liberated me a bit. I chose to smudge the entire painting. It might not seem through the image that I smudged it at all but it was a big, terrifying step for me to even do what I did.

I think I'm onto something new. Or maybe not. Stay tuned for the next step.

The Smudge

Painting is still a painful process for me. A case in point. I've been working on a portrait this afternoon and the only redeeming part about it is this smudge. A smudge that was created, as Bob Ross, would say, by "a happy accident".

The battle continues.

QWAC 2015

Like the start of school in September, my involvement in the Queen West Art Crawl art show in Trinity Bellwoods Park, is another indication that another year is drawing to a close.

It was a grey, cold and wet weekend, marked by a few highlights. One of which was to finally meet a fellow Toronto urban sketcher and to find out yet another one was showing her wares a few booths down from me.

 My new body of work. 21 6x8 in. up close and personal portraits of friends.

 The 21 portraits hung in my tent waiting to be bought (and btw, are still available for purchase if interested. Please email me directly.)

 The sumos. Maybe I'll do a few more since I had so much fun painting them. Stay tuned.

 Bumping into a Facebook urban sketcher friend who I've never met before and excited to see yet another urban sketcher showing her stuff at the same show a few booths down from me.

My best imitation of jazz hands in my tent.

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My first urban sketch in a while. This is the scene in front of my tent at the QWAC show. (who doesn't like a drawing of porta potties!)

Trinity Bellwoods park
Toronto

Jennifer

oil on masonite. 6x8in.

Or as I like to call her, "Iron Woman Tendokai".

I haven't had a chance to ask her what makes her happy, but I suspect one of things and from the glint I see in her eyes, is her beating the crap out of me when we practice together.

This also is my last 6x8 before the QWAC show. I was aiming for 30, but ended with 21 paintings. Not bad.

Mitchell 3

I'm calling this done.

"What makes you happy?"
"Being around happy people."

Frank

oil, 6x8 in.

 
This is probably the quickest I've ever finished one of these small portraits. It's looser than the previous one and I like it like that.
"Frank"

"Besides your family, what are you most proud of?"
"My vineyard."

(Frank works as a fulltime bank teller but hopes to get out of it in a few years to devote all his time to his vineyard.)

Habeeb

 oil, 6x8in.

"Habeeb"

"What's the best part about being a cable technician?"
"The customers."

Clearly a good emloyee toeing the company line but I suspect the answer would have been the same if I asked him what's the worst part about the job... Or it could just be me.

Ray Ray

oil, 6x8 in. masonite board

Mcburney

oil, 6x8 in. Masonite board

Jake

 

oil, 6x8in, masonite board

"What makes you happy?" 

"A happy wife."

Mark

 

oil, 6x8 in. on masonite board 

"Do you have a pet peeve?" 

"Yeah, inconsiderate people."

Sketchbook

I returned to this same spot this afternoon to finish off the spread. It was a beautiful day to finish it on... a tad hot though. Toronto Harbourfront, Canada.

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Machiko

the 2 faces of Mitchell

6x8in. oil on masonite
I think I'll call these, done!

Robyn

  10x12" on masonite, oil.

I'm calling this done. I'll experiment with my next portrait. This one needs to be dried and framed in time for her birthday.
As a side note, what I like best about this portrait is that it is a total contrast to what my niece is usually like. She's a chatter box and has a constant smile on her face. This one moment is one of those rare times she's not that.

Figure drawing at the TSA

Another sketching session at the Toronto School of Art. I thought I'd continue doing the three hour pose as I did last week. However, tonight's model was a fidgeter and it was quite frustrating trying to get her down on paper. I actually found sketching one of my fellow sketchers to be more productive (the top page).

Fortunately, in the short pose room, there was an awesome model and she salvaged the night for me. I did this 20 min. sketch as the last one for the night. Apparently she'll be the long model pose next week.... I'm there!

sketching at Venezia Bakery

It's been a while since I've been to Venezia Bakery on Ossington. The last sketch of the Bakery can be seen here (WOW! that was 6 years ago!). It's one of the last few hold outs on this strip where posh, hipster cafes, bars and galleries have taken over. It's run by an older Portuguese couple and they have definitely made their presence known in the shop. The lady of the business is loud, shrill and friendly and talks to her Portuguese clientele without paying heed to how long the line up is… that's what her daughter is for. I loved it and actually got a pat on the back from her when I was drawing this. I'll be sure to visit again.

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I saw the gentleman on the left and he had a great nose. A nose with a lot of character. I had to put that down on paper.

Figure Drawing at the TSA

I spent three wonderful hours sketching this model at the TSA open figure drawing class tonight. This is my second time drawing her and by far she is the best model I drawn at these sessions. Steady as a rock.

On a technical note, sketching a 3 hour pose in pen seemed a lot like painting with watercolours. Every move had to be planned in advance or else the drawing as a whole wouldn't look right. I think I'll live on the edge again next week.

sketchbook-- riding the rails

I was travel east on the Bloor line and there was only two stops left. Amazingly there were three people sleeping around me. I felt like a kid in a candy shop and I couldn't decide who to sketch. So I decided on the lady in front of me. I hope it happens again.

Up Close and Personal #7

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Breaking in a new sketchbook at a place that shall not be named.

Anna Karoliina Koskinen, part 2.

Karoliina, a friend and a fellow artist have been sitting for each other in our own mini portrait painting sessions. This is the second installment of "Karoliina".

Sketchbook - subway sleeping

I love to see people sleeping on the subway. More people should do it. It makes my sketching easier. Pass the word on , please.