12 inch bike

A new 12 inch bicycle, which we are using to wean our daughter off training wheels, and which will be handed down soon thereafter to her little brother so he can graduate from his tricycle.

Jasper Avenue views 2

Two more views from a warm and sunny Jasper Avenue this week.

tomatoes from a garden

 Every year we are blessed by being given many kinds of tomatoes from various friends. This year's include these ones which appear to have strayed most from the perfectly shaped and coloured varieties found in grocery stores.

autumn in the river valley

Edmonton boasts the highest amount of park land per capita among Canadian cities, due in large part to its river valley which becomes its most spectacular during the short autumn season. There are layers and layers of bright greens, reds, oranges, and yellows under a soft but clear blue sky at this time of year, and sketches on little Moleskine sketchbooks can never do it justice. I've especially come to appreciate this magnificent urban asset since beginning to cycle again.

Jasper Avenue views

It's been a surprising return to summer this week (though the light is definitely softer), but opportunities to sketch amongst a cheery Jasper Avenue lunchtime crowd will come to a close fairly soon. Forecast for next week is cause for some optimism...

figure drawing at Kaleidofest

 Sketches from a figure drawing session at Kaleido Family Arts Festival last weekend, which entailed  a series of 2 and 5 minute poses. This was a rare opportunity to draw a stranger so "openly"...

Wayne Gretzky Drive

A bright but nippy Saturday morning bike ride yields a sketch of a very familiar part of the city -- the bridge across the North Saskatchewan River along Wayne Gretzky Drive (75 Street). The lush green summer landscape is gradually giving way to some autumn colours in the river valley. Meanwhile, the underside of the bridge provides an unfamiliar but rather muscular urban space, with giant board-formed concrete pillars supporting heroic steel members, and the thunderous sounds of vehicles passing overhead.

MacEwan University

 Two views of MacEwan University on a cold week that saw the first snowfall of the year.

asleep

Three nights worth of sketches of the kids asleep, drawn with some dried out fat crayola markers, which I found worked quite well for this type of subject as long as I drew fairly economically.

It's been a relatively smooth transition back to the regular routine of school, and we remain amazed at how much they have developed their own personalities and qualities over the summer.

"For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well."     

Psalm 139: 13,14 (NIV)

badlands landscape

Glimpses of the badlands landscape in Wayne ("Then 2490, Now 38") and East Coulee (pop. 3800 in its heyday, now about 150). 

During the mid 20th century, the Drumheller Valley area was home to 139 coal mines. Now, none operate, and the last one closed in 1979, leaving behind the traces of what was once a booming, optimistic industry and a way of life. Witnessing a landscape that has been left by the circumstances of geology and shifts in economics and technology and now being supported by tourism (and paleontology), is what makes this place an intriguing one. 

(photos: East Coulee School Museum, entrance signage at Wayne AB, abandoned wood bridge by the Atlas Coal Mine, decommissioned grain elevator in Dorothy, AB.)

fresh apples

On this "last" day of the summer, a casual drop-by visit at a church friend's place resulted in an opportunity to pick some apples. These are not the sour kind that can only be made into pies, but sweet and  delicious. And unlike the store-bought kind, each has a unique appearance that seems to tell the story of our summer.