living room gathering

A family with six kids, related to my wife, spends some time at the in-laws...

garden tomatoes

A variety of juicy ripe tomatoes given to us by a family friend from his garden... they are much more fragrant than the store-bought kind, and somehow "feel" heavier; the little "flaws" each one exhibits make them much more interesting to draw.

Cromdale Hotel

The Cromdale Hotel is now a heap of rubble... it had remained desolately empty for years at a major intersection in this part of the city. Its demolition follows in the footsteps of a few other infamous old hotel/drinking holes with shady reputations that have disappeared fairly recently, like the Cecil (demolished in 2005) and the York (demolished earlier this year) Hotels.

Sunday nap

My son taking an early evening nap after a full day at church... tired enough that I was able to get 3 different views in at one go (including one particularly challenging angle).

tee off

Waiting for our tee off during the office golf tournament, the only time I play golf nowadays.

nectarines

Some nectarines...

I thought they were a different plant from peaches, but as it turns out, they are essentially the same thing... 

garage sale fundraiser

A scene from a garage sale my wife helped to organize and that took place over the weekend, in support of a church member who will be serving for a year in Haiti with OMS (One Mission Society).

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 6

A scene from the Quiz Night in the main hall, and a sketch of the accommodation some campers chose...

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 5

Day 2 of the sketch sessions entailed some more little exercises, and then some time by the old truck... it was a treat to see so much variety among all those who took part in the 2 groups!

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 4

 At this year's camp, I had the wonderful privilege of guiding two separate groups for 2 hours each (an hour a day over 2 days) in some sketch sessions. Thankfully, it was sunny every afternoon, and we were able to go outdoors for a couple of quick exercises to develop loose linework and an extended time with a more complex subject. On the first day, each group spent some time at a heap of freshly cut logs. This is what the second group came up with...

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 3

A new feature at the campground this year was the huge heap of logs at the side of the main entry... and it's a refreshing feast for the eye given my naive urban sensibilities. With so many different and interesting shapes and volumes, textures and shadows, it's a goldmine as far as sketching goes.

I was intrigued by the faces of each cut log... the obvious reason is the sheer diversity and sense of time, history, character and personality that is inscribed so reverently in each face. But the logs also seem to symbolize an interesting confluence between nature and human intervention, both mutually allowing the other to reveal itself; one a persevering and incremental growth, the other an instantaneous incision; one with a radial and organic pattern, the other a series of hard geometric gestures juxtaposed onto an existing order. Each log face reads as a landscape... like a condensed version (or memory) of the prairies.

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 2

 The old truck that I sketched last year is still at the same location, and I felt compelled to draw it again. It felt like greeting an old friend. I tried to get my daughter involved this year...

CJM Sunnyside Camp 2012: part 1

This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the family Bible camp that Canadian Japanese Ministries has run, and our family participated again this year for an intense and joyful time of worship, learning, and fellowship. It was only the second time that I stayed the whole week, but for many including my wife, it is an annual event that is an essential and vital part of their journey of faith and personal history... and one that I pray will help inform my own kids' paths as well.

 

At the core of the small campground at Sylvain Lake, Alberta, is the main sanctuary. There is something very powerful about gathering in praise, in a humble, utilitarian timber structure... it recalls the humility and mystery of the incarnate God, and our response in living out an authentic life of worship and community.