Our Weekend Canoe Trip

My friend Ed decided to drop by on the weekend and take me and the fam canoeing up the Rouge River. Of course we said yes, strapped the boats onto the racks and away we went.

My boys, Rowin and Atticus getting ready to board.

Ed in his Kayak.

 

On Our way.

Discovering remains of an old brick house.

 Dragon fly catching a break.

 The vista view at base camp.

 Rowin and Atticus having fun on the bridge.

Any Given Day

Cherie and I sharing a moment. Aaaaah...

My kids and their cool dad at the park.

Experiencing Geographical Difficulties

This Blog has been sadly neglected. Since my last post in April the family and I picked up and moved locations. Still living in the same city but moved from the urban to the suburban. More space for my studio and general living.

As the family goes, our overall living space take priority over my studio needs. Moved the studio to a temporary location in the house which kind of resembles Harry Potter's cozy living space under the stairs.

The good news is that I've purchased some new equipment to upgrade my tools. Godda have those tools.

Will POST SOON. Don't touch that dial.

Cheers

Education and Role Models

This editorial is a continuation of my series on education. The question of role models inside and outside the classroom is a crucial element in public education in Ontario Canada.

A recent study on education shows how many junior and intermediate students feel isolated from their teachers when it comes to matters of psychological and emotional concerns. In my opinion many students turn to celebrities and media personalities as their main influence.

Key concerns over the influence of behaviour towards others and matters of self esteem are often either ignored or overlooked not only in education but in parenting, and friendships where far too often the pressures of longer work weeks and the over-consuming culture we've become sends a message that perhaps money and status are save all solutions to shrinking role models.

But alas, a good editorial makes you think, so I leave it up to you to decide...

Education Ontario and The Monkey On My Back

Decided to break away from my usual format of the daily sketch and focus on an opinion piece for my OP/ED section.

Education in my hometown, Ontario Canada, is a controversial topic. Eduction isn't simply enough that a teacher's main responsibility is to their student's education and learning. Over the years many additional responsibilities have been added to public education by our provincial government. Some might say they've been dumped onto the elementary teachers laps irrespective of teacher's concerns.

The Ontario Government has been relying more heavily on standardized testing as a model for determining the overall status of school performance. Teachers who teach grade 3 and 6 especially feel the additional pressure in preparing their students for the standardized tests on top of their already loaded expectations.

There has been much debate over the topic of standardized tests and educational performance, and debates over the health of public education in Ontario and whether our province is producing brilliant minds or mindless minions.  You decide...
 

Alien BOB-Z

I was thinking about alien life today so I inadvertently came across my alien BOB-Z. Although BO- Z

may sound like a rapper, he may prefer the softer sounds of R&B while BOB drifts through space. 

Fantastic Four's The Thing & Mr. Fantastic

Here's my version of The Thing and Mr. Fantastic. 

Tree concept sketch

Sketchbook artwork

This is a concept I've been working on for a larger painting. It's representative of a place my family visits to escape urbanization and to unplug. Paintings should be reminders of what is important to us. Otherwise why hang it on the wall.

Captain Kirk, MAD TV

Watercolour and grease pencil

on watercolour paper 11 by 10

The next installment of my series at caricaturing  MAD TV characters is Will Sasso parodying William Shatner as Star Trek's Captain Kirk. Very funny. Will Sasso has been a favourite comedian on the show especially when he parodies William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Unlike Lorraine, this caricature proved challenging for several reasons. I posted other sketches to show the process. Stickies are used a lot in my character development. They are indispensable. To truly appreciate this caricature check out these MAD TV clips:

MAD TV Captain Kirk Show 1

MAD TV Captain Kirk Show 2

Tapir Studies

Tapir

Sketchbook drawing 11 by 14

Beginning a new category called ZOO DAYS. These are sketches of animals and other imaginative creations while at my local zoo. I really enjoy zoo days. It reminds me of my animating years and all the time spent studying and researching.

Downton Abbey sketches

Really enjoying the Downton Abbey series. Some drawings from my sketchbook while watching it. Hope to caricature some of the characters as time permits.

Daily Sketch

One of those mornings where I don't want to get out of bed. Thank goodness for my motivational coach alien buddy who helps me find the will and the way. 

Lorraine Swanson, MAD TV

This is my first daily sketch posting for the lovely new year of 2013. That's just totally bogus for me. Work has been busy, but I have to try harder at getting these sketches posted. Bear with me.

I started off the new year by watching old episodes of MAD TV. Watching the character development has really inspired me to sketch some of my favourite characters on the show.  Lorraine is the first of series I plan on sketching in the upcoming posts. These sketches are a tribute to a great comedy show and to great character development by the creative minds behind MAD TV.


Ink and Pencil
11 by 14