Retreat Sketches... Day 1

  A collection of meditative sketches of aspen from a retreat in the woods... day 1

Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his garments

Yesterday, some thoughts during drawing an illustration for our church's Way of the Cross observance for the fourth Sunday of Lent...  

God, in his mysterious mercy, fashioned clothes for Adam and Eve, to hide our new-found nakedness. The fallen world necessitated garments; we abhorred nakedness, we preferred to hide and be separated. 

As the “second Adam”, when Jesus was disrobed and exposed naked on the Cross, he bore all of that deep and primordial disdain and shame and divine separation. That small detail, “They stripped him,” found in Matthew’s Gospel, becomes so powerful. It reveals and reinforces Jesus’ undoing of what humanity brought unto itself at the beginning of the history of our broken world.

Today, with fresher eyes, the sketch hints at what we know will come on Easter Sunday: the resurrected Jesus, no longer tethered by the bandages of death, and the freedom we can now access through Him.

Happy New Year!

 Wintry views from our window... 

A Trip to Europe... a day in Liege

A day trip to Liege in Belgium, from our temporary base in Maastricht: 

a quick doodle of the very Gothic gable face of the south transept at Cathedrale St.-Paul, one of many churches we visited, as viewed from its courtyard where we rest and listen to the carillon ring out some surprisingly modern tunes; 

and a vista down Rue Pont d'Avroy as we stop for a quick lunch.

A Trip to Europe... a bunch of early vignettes...

Some very quick vignettes from early in the trip, in Maastricht, Cologne, and Liege... mostly doodled while the rest of the family pops in and out of shops... 

A Trip to Europe... In Transit #3

Airport in Halifax... 

A Trip to Europe... In Transit #2

Scenes from my seat... 

YEG to YHZ, and YHZ to AMS

 

A Trip to Europe... In Transit #1

From last month's two-week trip to Europe... some ubiquitous transit sketches. Inevitably, there is a proportionately high ratio of transit sketches, as with most long-haul trips involving airports. 

It's been quite some time since I've been able to draw my son while sleeping, now that he's well into being a teenager...

 

 

Local Urban Sketchers prompts...

Four sketches from a local week-long Facebook sketch-prompt group... 

May 2: "Alleys"

May 4: "Urban Flora & Fauna"

May 5: "Perspectives"

May 7: "Reflections"

All in and around my house as it's been too busy to venture anywhere!

 

Easter Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Sunday:

 

A homily earlier today brought to my attention the notion that Easter is not just a celebration, but also a calling. We not only remember and praise God for what He has done for us through the Resurrection, but are called to be transformed by it, to live it, to reflect and share its message and power. 

 

As I follow Jesus' disciples this Easter season, I think of how they were transformed from fearful fugitives hiding in the darkness of guilt and oppression, to bold and adventurous messengers of the gospel message. It was the experience of Jesus' Resurrection that utterly and decisively changed them; they went on to spark a movement to reach the ends of the earth, dying for their mission and changing the course of history forever. Without the inner transformation that took place in them, we would not be here today. 

 

As I, a spiritual descendant of Jesus' disciples, continue on this journey, I pray that the Resurrection be ever more central to my faith so that I might see my call with greater clarity.

Holy Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Saturday, as we await the news to come:

 

The disciples, in their time of despair, and fear, had nothing to go on except the mysterious utterances of their teacher Jesus, who said something about being raised again on the third day. Those words, though unfathomable to them then, were perhaps their only source of hope.

 

As I also look towards that day when Jesus comes again to restore all things, I too cling to memories of His presence and His promises. With the disciples, I seek to respond to God's continuous encouragement to remember, and to not be afraid.

 

I pray that I might be granted hope despite a faith that sometimes feels smaller than a mustard seed, that we might see reality made new through the resurrection, each and every day.

Palm Sunday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Palm Sunday: 

 

I came across two meditations today that made me more aware of the tensions posed by the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. 

 

Shall we, like the crowd, sing a joyous Hosanna knowing that on Friday we will mourn his death?

And as we wave our palm branches and lay down our cloaks to welcome our King, don’t we also recognize our voice in the crowd demanding that Jesus be crucified? 

 

I am grateful that this story seems to give us permission to experience and even live in this tension, as we work out our faith with Jesus in the coming week.

just hanging out...

Some recent sketches... hanging out at a local coffee shop before a site meeting, and chillin' at home...

It's been a while since last doodling at a cafe... loving the Paper Mate pen's ability to make me loosen up and be spontaneous (top 4 sketches); also a perfect pen to use alone with opportunities for quick washes with water. I'll have to buy a box of them. 

Bottom image is with my trusted Pilot fountain pen, which I've been using 95 percent of the time for four and a half years. I've learned to control it. I trust it and know its ink flow.

I realized there's an interesting dynamic between pen, paper, drawing subject, and style, in which it's not so much me solely choosing the tools based on what I think I want to achieve, but the instrument and medium and subject (and me) all meeting somewhere in the middle to produce something of a collaboration. I get to choose the tools, but those tools, in turn, change me...and even the way I see.

 

All the sketches from Burstall Pass Trail and beyond... Day 3

Sketch dump day 3:

We had an extended lunch break at Burstall Pass on the trek back to the trailhead, giving us an opportunity to explore Snow Peak and the expansive long views all around. 

Mount Leman, Leman Lake, with Sharks Fin and Mount Soderholm in the background

The view northwest from the pass (sans Mount Assiniboine...😅  )

Snow Peak, from Burstall Pass

Rock formations along Snow Peak

Pig's Tail

Mount Birdwood

All the sketches from Burstall Pass Trail and beyond... Day 2

Second day's "sketch dump": 

After the previous day's trudge up and over Burstall pass, the group takes a leisurely hike westwards to the BC border, and we hang out at Leman Lake all afternoon...with some extended time for a couple of larger panoramic sketches.

Snow Peak

Mount Leval from the camp site river

Smutwood Peak, Mount Smuts, and the lower flanks of Snow Peak from the campsite

Snow Peak... again

Mount Leval from the lake

Mount Smuts across Leman Lake

Smutwood Peak

Smutwood Peak, Mount Smuts, and a part of Snow Peak from the lake

Glacier-nursing Mount Sir Douglas, Mount Williams, Sir Douglas W2 from the campsite

Burstall Pass, Whistling Ridge, and Mount Sir Douglas from Leman Lake

Snow Peak

Smutwood Peak and lower parts of Snow Peak

The last two sketches... combined