Sketchbook

Walking home and cutting through the campus of my almamater and taking a rest break at Heart House.

Today was an odd day in terms of me sketching in public. Normally, I'm the ninja/covert/under-the-radar kind of sketcher in public, but when I dropped in to the All That Jazz Cafe, there was no where to hide, especially when Brent and Carl showed up to play an afternoon session of jazz. So I went ahead and sketched. Afterwards, Carl (the guitarist) came up to me and asked what Iwas doing. I showed him my drawing and he took it from there. He's a natural salesperson and started showing everyone in the cafe. If you know me, this is not my style, but I have to take lessons from this man. He's a natural born people person and self promoter. I've been guilty of not promoting my work in the past but after seeing this man operate, he's inspired me.

I even got them to sign my drawing.

Carl and myself outside of the All That Jazz Cafe in Roncesvalle. (Carl's idea) 

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What turned out to be an attempt to sketch more often has turned into an attempt to sketch every day this month. Trying to do more art every day and make a jump in my art practice, be it in technique, subject matter and mind set.

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I've heard of a saying where the more messy a person is the more creative they are… or at least, I console myself with this idea.

One half of where the magic happens… or as many other people call it, a messy table. This place also doubles as my living room, dining room, entertainment area, and if need be, a place where a person could crash.

The other half of where the magic happens. Yes, I'd like to think I have aminimalistic design sensibility.

Robyn

 Robyn

oil on masonite, 10"x12"

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Colder temperatures makes for tighter quarters. Sketching at Tmothy's cafe in Bloor West Village.

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Some time to kill before an appointment so I chose to sketch at the Oakham Cafe, Ryerson University. This student was kind enough to pose for me, but he did recross his legs a few times, which threw me off a bit.

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Nao+Atsuko

Nao+Atsuko

12x16 in. oil on panel

This one took a while, but I finally finished it.

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Another day. Another sketch.
I remember the days when there wasn't any wifi in coffee shops and you could actually talk to a someone adjacent to you who didn't have their nose deep inside their smart device. Those days, unfortunately, are gone and Gabe and Marlow are my unsusupecting guest models for my brief sojourn at the Second Cup coffee shop. I tip my hat to you gentlemen and thank thee.

Mini Doc of me

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Alex Gladwell of Rainbow Scontayo about my art and process. Here's the one minute short of me.

https://vimeo.com/185529123

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I ate Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's place and Took the train out there. I was racing against the clock when I was drawing this and found I was able to skip over the knit picky things that I would normally worry over and just draw the main parts of the scene. Maybe I need to sketch with a clock on me.

I spent the following weekend in Chicago and I was fortunate enough to stay with a great family. This was the only chance i had to sketch. These are their two boys and they are really sharp.

Azumi

The mighty, mighty Azumi posing with the painting I had done of him earlier this year.

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Today was a first for me. We sketched at the Mt. Pleasant cemetery. I forgot how many great trees this place has. I used to have a few classes here in my uni dendrology class. I believe the tree I drew is a Fagus Grandifolia (American Beech).

 

Keira

6x8in., oil on masonite

Wwa: what makes you happy?
K: Seriously?
Wwa: yeah.
K: OK. Right now, I feel happy when I give or contribute to other people making a personal discovery they feel good about - whether that is finding a Lego piece for Emile so he can finish his Millennium falcon, supporting my actors though previews as we come to our opening night, or seeing Emile's friends excited at the storm trooper costume we stayed up till 2:00 a.m. making...too cheesy?
Wwa: nope. Thanks

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Sketching at the John St. Roundhouse this afternoon. Wearing black might make me look artsy, but it is not good attire for sketching especially without cover. Spent a few hours getting this down and burning my head.
The great thing was this sight was so close to the Skydome that I heard the roar of the crowd when the Jays did something good (they won over the Boston Red Sox and we're one game behind. The rubber match is tomorrow.)

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The last day of a beautiful Labour Day holiday weekend and I spend it indoors at Future Bakery. (insert eye roll here)

I noticed this person totally engrossed in drawing anime so I thought I'd draw him. Win win.

(Note to self: When hand lettering, pay more attention to spelling and grammar)

Mouse

 Kimchi and I have been living together for 3 years. This is the first mouse she ever caught in that time. IT happened last Friday.

As a proud papa, I thought I'd either bronze the mouse or paint it to immortalize the moment. I went with the latter.

oil on masonite. 8x10in.

I couldn't leave well enough alone. I had to be an "artist". I spent way too much time on this one, which was meant to be a quick study.

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A lovely afternoon sketching at Timmies with an iced coffee.

Renata

 Some process images leading to the completed portrait.

Renata
oil on masonite, 18"x 24"

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This was a first today for me at the Bloor Gladstone Library.

As many of you know, the Bloor Gladstone Library is a regular haunt for me to sketch at, particularly the users of the library. Today, as I have done many times in the past, I went after work to sketch library people. Midway through drawing a lady (see below), a librarian came up to me and asked me to stop drawing her because it was an invasion of her privacy. She also mentioned that library policy prohibits taking pictures of people… architecture is good. People, not good. Technically, I wasn’t photographing anyone.

I understand the librarian’s issue with it, but 99% of the time I’m drawing people who are so engrossed with reading, fiddling on their mobile devices or sleeping, that they don’t realize that they are being sketched. Whenever I was “caught”, I’d show them what I did. For the most part they were flattered that I had drawn them. I’ve posted past drawing sessions from the library (all people) on my twitter feed and “likes” have come from the Bloor Gladstone Library account multiple times. If this was an issue, perhaps raising it then would have been the time to do it. I know the account is probably controlled by some tech guy somewhere else, but it gives me mixed messages.

As an artist, this is how I interact with the world. I’m drawn to people and sketching them is my record of that time. Some people write in their journals or keep small momentos from a special moment. This is my way to remember. In the entire eight years I have been sketching in public, this is second time I’ve been asked to stop sketching a person. When asked, I have stopped and apologized. That’s all I could do. I won’t stop drawing people in public, but I guess the Bloor Gladstone Library will only be a place where I borrow books from.

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Trying to work in a larger size sketchbook at the Bloor Gladstone Library.

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The domestic departure lounge at Pearson International Airport. Headed to Kelowna, B.C.

Some passengers within sketching range of me. Beware. I like the mid range distance the best.

The gentleman beside me was sleeping for most of the 4.5 hr. flight. Fortunately there was no one in the middle seat, so I had a full view of him the entire flight. Thank you good sir, for modelling for me.

The quad in which three of my friends and I stayed in at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. Beautiful place.

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Stan the Man, aka. dad.
One of the most generous people I know with a gentle soul to match.

Paul

Oil on masonite, 6 x8 in.

Q: What makes you happy?

A: To be stress free.
Q: Have you achieved it yet?
A: No.

 

Paul is a general contractor… good luck with the stress, Paul.