Monday, June 2, 2014


I didn't want to travel to paint today so I decided to paint my garden shed.  It would have been really great to paint the shed from a different perspective, but there were lots of neighbours outside in their yards and I felt a bit uncomfortable to sit in my yard while painting.  So, I sat on the side of my house, but unfortunately, this is the static perspective that caused.  Still enjoyed the experience.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

I was in a hurry to get home after work today, but I am keeping to my word to sketch every day.  I decided to a quick sketch of a magnolia blossom near Finlay Community Center.  It only took about 30 min and I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to draw the blossom. I do find it easier to draw organic shapes than geometric.

Friday, May 30, 2014


I had this old photo of some deck chairs for quite some time and had been wanting to paint them.
I don't suppose they are the most comfortable chair, but they sure are a neat looking chair~!

Thursday, May 29, 2014

I had been wanting to paint today, but it was quite cold out.  I bought a potted plant at the garden center the other day for our front doorstep, so I decided to sit on the steps and try to paint it. This way, if it was truly too cold, I could pop inside after the initial drawing and finish the painting.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014


Just a quick sketch of some rocks near a boat launch just outside Chester.

Monday, May 26, 2014

I love sketching in the 3.5 x 5.5 Moleskine.  I was so resistant to painting in the Moleskines because I found the paper to be of very poor quality.  It is very lightweight and has very little tooth.  However, they were on sale at Deserres and I bought one just to try it.  I was very surprised just how much I like them.  The paper acts like hot press paper in that you can really manipulate the paint on the surface before it dries.  Now, I am hooked.  I still reserve Arches 140 for planned paintings, but for everyday sketching, I really enjoy the Moleskines.  It took me a month to fill my first 30 page journal...a painting a day~!  I started my new journal today.  I am trying the larger format 8.25 x 5 this time.  As you can see, I am not very good yet at planning the size of my sketch on the page.  Hence, the cut off top of the house.  However, I find pleasure in the fact that I am getting out daily and sketching on site. 

Sunday, May 25, 2014

A quick sketch of a garden bench.