Sketch Diary of The Maritimes

Hello from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The weather has been awesome-great for sketching and painting outdoors. On my journey to sketch my surroundings, using only an ink pen and a sketchpad, this form of drawing has been more of an artistic diary of things that interest me of the maritimes landscape. Here are the first round of sketches. They're all gestural and drawn on-the-fly.

This sketchpad is durable and the paper holds the ink well without smudging. 

Harbour in Montmagny, Que overlooking the St.Lawrence. 

Cape Breton Highlands viewed from the Cabot Trail.

 Water studies by the beach.

 Cape Breton coastline viewed from the Cabot Trail.

 Drew several fishing boats and piers. This is only a few.

Portable Cotman Water Colour Set

I recently purchased a new portable water colour field set for painting outdoors. 

Decided to try it at my local zoo on some quick animal sketches. Very happy 

with the set. It contains a portable container for storing water, and two water cups 

for cleaning brushes. Has numerous paint trays for mixing, and is supplied

with a brush. The paints are Winsor & Newton, Cotman series. They are

replaceable and several colours can be purchased. The downside is that the 

stopper for the container leaks because it isn't a tight seal. I compensated by adding

a rubber washer (from a plumbing store) to deal with the leak.    

Here are some samples of giraffes done with the set. The art was taken with 

my cameraand I apologize about the picture quality.

Local Daycare Colouring Day Project

A local daycare wanted to participate in the World Colouring Day event. 

I was commissioned to provide art direction for the project. During 

collaboration with the daycare staff, I decided the best art direction for the project 

would be to have the staff caricatured and drawn as their favourite super heros. 

The originals were later reduced to letter size to have the the daycare children 

colour them.

The final project was to be displayed in the daycare for staff, parents, and 

students to view. The result was a great success. The students enjoyed colouring in 

the staff pictures, and the students assisted in displaying them around the daycare.

Each of the staff participated by posing for their caricature. This proved difficult 

during work hours and staff photos were used to finalize the caricatures.

  

The final drawings were done using woodless charcoal and drawn on 

bond paper measuring 19 by 24.

Potting Shed Project

This past summer I embarked on an ambitious project to build a shed in

our backyard. This timely endeavour was necessary storage space.

This was a challenging and exciting project and it was a break from my

usual artistic work. Aside from my artistic abilities I'm an avid hobby carpenter

and woodworker. I have built many things over the years, and this shed proved

the biggest.

It began with a working drawn plan, by-law enquiries, location and foundation

prep. This shed project took me some time to complete, and the exterior

finishing touches was just finished this fall. I took photos to chronicle my progress,

as much as possible. Working around my children and free time meant slow, slow, slow

progression. I believe in educating through modeling so my kids also learned a lot

about construction through using tools through safe supervision and the joy they

experience through learning.Here are some photos showing the natural progression.

The shed is considered a Potting Shed by building enthusiasts because of

its size. It measures 6.5 ft wide by 9 ft length and 12 ft height (from ground to ridge).

It is an on-grade foundation using pier blocks and the base being an 8 inch gravel bed.

This is the foundation of the shed after the gravel was tampered down vigorously.

Leveling was necessary at this point and very challenging. Once leveled

I built the foundation using pressure treated wood to resist moisture and rot.

A huge chunk of time elapsed between the foundation and

the framing. True to plan, I accounted for the door and windows.

The roof pitch was the most challenging at this stage. I wanted

to maximize the storage space inside the shed and not have the pitch

interfere with the tree behind it and the neighbouring property line.

Alas the sheathing goes up and thankfully my father was always

on call to help me when I needed it-especially with the roof.

Board and Batten was the style I wanted for the exterior.

I'm a big fan of this simple concept. I decided to use small boards

and narrow battens to coincide with the size of the shed. I found out,

through research, that there are style guides for board and batten design.

I incorporated the Dutch Door design into the project. It can

take some time aligning both doors, but very interesting design, and

effective if you want air to circulate while maintaining some privacy.

I used red cedar shingles for the roof. This is the

amount typical of one bundle. Hmm, how many

bundles do I need? 5 more bundles! Yikes!

It's an expensive alternative to petroleum products

but it can last a very long time with treatment and much

more pleasant to look at.

The shakes are up and yours truly is cutting the door and window trim.

Yeah! The finished shed. I primed and painted the exterior

to keep it protected. The platform was retrofitted afterwards and

the ramp proved a good idea for moving bikes in and out.

Decorating the shed with bird houses and feeders was

the fun part. No birds living in the bird house yet.

I used plexiglass for the windows to keep them unbreakable.

I insulated the inside because this is often a artist's retreat in the

fall and winter. Bring in a space heater and it gets cozy fast.

The loft space measures 4 ft to the ridge and is an excellent

space saving room to help keep things off the floor.

Salon International Exhibition, France 2011

I was invited to contribute a few editorial cartoons to the Salon

International exhibition this year. The theme of the exhibit was on

"living together." The exhibit wasn't specifically about any particular area, so

I submitted work I think deals within the context of living together.

Have a look and decide for yourself.

The size of the artwork is done on 11 by 14. I prefer Arches Hot-Press watercolour

paper. Viva La Femmes and Policing with Pride are both coloured digitally,

using a pen tablet. Bora Bora is coloured using Pantone markers, while the

other two cartoons are painted traditionally with watercolour and acrylic paints.

East Coast Bugs

During our travels, our kids, Rowin and Atticus wanted

to document all the bugs that crossed our path. Using

only a Sony, point-and-shoot camera, and on the macro setting,

we began documenting. I was surprised how well

the macro captured detail, for this type of camera.

St. Andrews, NB

The historic monument of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. An old

Fort built during the war of 1812. It was home to 4-6 loyalist soldiers

who called this bunker home for long periods of time.

And some of the smaller cannons seated outside the bunker,

my kids were really enjoying.

Rowin and Atticus enjoying a view of a dead Sculpin fish down by the warf.

The upscale eclectic landscape of Main St., St. Andrews has everything

your stomach needs: Gelato made fresh, fudge, booze, and many good eats

like this place right here.

Enjoying a sunset at low tide on the Water St. pier in St. Andrews.

Cape Breton Island

A beautiful sunny day hanging out on the edge. Many waterbirds

nest on these cliffs, and seals swim by to the patient eye. Being in this

environment certainly fuels my creativity much more than in the big city.

I wonder why...

A favourite spot of ours inside the Highlands National Park. This is a

good spot for skipping stones, watching sunsets, rock climbing, and home

to bald eagles. Yep. We actually saw one nesting by the rock face.

This is a view off the Cabot Trail. Although Cape Breton is an

Island, the coast is very different every step of the way.

This was our secluded beach.