gakugeikai (2014)

Scenes from this year's community school Gakugeikai...

the box

 My son sets up a sleeping spot inside the huge box our new IKEA sofa came in, and insists he sleep in it for the night. There's something profound about this desire, or instinct -- the beginning of architecture! It also reminds me of The Boxtrolls, which we all watched a few weeks ago...

River of Ice, day 2

The sky cleared up and it was a glorious winter morning... another visit to yesterday's discovery, where slabs of ice have naturally piled on top of one another along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. It was a much colder day, but I decided to make a point of applying washes on site, only to see my paintbrush (and paint) freeze during the process. 

River of Ice

Large chunks of icy snow kept blowing into my eyes and I could hardly see at times, making this morning's bike ride a source of valuable insight into the varied winter conditions one can expect in the coming months. It was well worth it as I discovered slabs of ice piled all along the North Saskatchewan River's shores... I was struck by the thought of the river's immensity, and was reminded of a Romantic era painting I encountered in art history class decades ago... Again, I fought the snow falling and melting on the page as I attempted to sketch the frigid river. I lost the struggle, and attempted to salvage the images by applying washes later at home.

winter at last...

 It has been a very fast transition from a relatively long autumn to the frosty winter, with a snowfall this weekend that will likely stay till spring. Highs well below minus 10 forecast all week this week... sketches of a dreary snowy day and night from our house today. 

more coloured markers

a few more sketches using an assortment of colour markers...

new coloured markers

 Some sketches using a set of 16 Paper Mate coloured markers bought at Staples last week. It will take some time settling into some comfortable colour combinations and strategies... having to change pens constantly disrupts the general flow of the drawing process I find, and my daughter has turned into the Hulk.