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Hi Paula,

It’s me again,

I was wondering, since you use ink and watercolor to you draw in ink first and follow by watercolor or vice versa. I ink and then watercolor most of the time, and I do think there is a difference. What do you think? Email me back. Thanks, it’s a pleasure to visit! Oh and how is Montreal compared to Texas? What a big life changing experience!

I like this. Illy is the most well-known brand of Italian espresso. It’s amazing (and expensive) stuff. A lot of quality bakeries serve it.

Every time I go, I just have one of their ice cream sandwiches. I could eat them by the dozen. Good thing I don’t go too often.

Indegene: When I do use watercolor while sketching, I add the watercolor AFTER I ink. In most cases I’m colorizing my line work, much like a coloring page.

And Montreal compared to Texas. Hmmmm…Where do I begin?! There’s the climate/temps. I was used to an endless summer and no winter. Montreal: long winter, shortshortshort summer. Culture: Texas is English-Spanish; Montreal, FRENCH-english. That’s it in a nutshell!

Blythe: Oh, thanks! I had no idea. I’m not a coffee drinker.

Jazz: Ice cream sandwiches? I missed those! So I found out what the cocoamotion, or coco… the flavor you mentioned is. Sounds yummy but I decided to start with the chocolate!

Well actually it’s Mr. Jazz’s favourite. I’m much more of a Chocolate/vanilla/strawberry kind of person. Or sorbet, the pear sorbet is yummy. So is the lemon.. and and and.

Anyway, ice cream always tastes better with friends…

Jazz: Mmmm! All those flavors sound yummy! Well, I was going to get some of that Choco-chic out of the freeze tonight and MISTER had eaten it all! Or the REMAINDER (which wasn’t much he said). So I had some of the Nestles crap in our fridge–with milk and chocolate syrup (I like making a dirty milkshake: none of that whipping or blending it at a high speed so it’s smooth–oh no! mixed just enough so the milk and ice cream mix together, but still chunks of ice cream and ice. Yeah…). They gave me a card so if I buy 9 more pints (or 4 1/2 quarts?) I get a free pint. And if I get a coffee flavored ice cream, Big P won’t eat it. I am rambling…

Lovely.

I like this one! I’m such a fan, as I’ve told you before!

It´s so quiet.. i can hear the sound of the wind.

Thanks, Jazz. : )

Shirley: Thank you! You’re too kind.

Mia: It was this odd calm. Thanks for commenting!

You’ve captured this scene really well.

I grew up in Beaconsfield and spent many wonderful times at Stewart Hall. Then being the tete caree that I am I fled to Toronto. I once heard a group of middle eastern musicians playing for themselves and whoever was lucky enough to wander by. Being the bookish type I also have fond memories of Stewart Hall library.
Thanks for stirring up lovely memories.
Regards,
Neil

Neil: Oh, I’m happy to make you happy. : ) This area of the island is lovely, isn’t it?

I’ve seen several shows at Stewart Hall. It’s a lovely place for a concert.

I’m sorry you feel stale; Your drawing and painting skills seem fresh and interesting to me! Especially the tree at twilight.

I don’t think your sketching has gone downhill at all. I guess we are all our own worst critic. You’re complaining about your sketching, and I’m sitting here staring at it wishing I could sketch like that!!!

What Shirley said! I’d kill to be able to draw.

Yeah, feeling stale or unprogressive happens to the best of us. You could always take your sketchbook somewhere you’ve never been before. Just being somewhere new can be very beneficial.

Nice job approaching the guys. I’m not one to talk about bad sketching, because my failures are usually complete messes. Of course, we are often the worst ones to judge. Call it all part of a ‘learning experience,” and continue on to the next time, when things will go better.

Thanks, ElizT, Shirley, and Jazz. I…guess I don’t see what I’m doing as any big deal. My skills at sketching, as I see it, are average so I don’t see why any of you guys can’t do it, you know? Like that Right Side of the Brain book. Just turn your world upside down and draw what you see, the lines and shadows. Actually, I’m not doing that, now that I think about it. I’m essentially doing a characature of what I see. Anyway, it’s probably heat and lack of sleep that’s bringing me down a notch or so. I’ll just make more ice cream!

Sam: That’s an idea. That’s what drawing the buildings in The Village was supposed to be out, trying something new. It’s tough when a general malaise sets in. Gotta just push through. thanks for your thoughts and encouragement, though!

Jack: Thanks. Yeah, I didn’t want to just be staring at them. I knew they could see me and I had a plan this time around. First time I’ve done that.

You’re mighty prolific at your sketching and posting and such. You must know that’s really a feat, yes? To keep it up like that. Thanks for your encouragement, too.

Drawing is a break from the hard work (finding the next writing gig). So I do a lot of it, and since the computer’s at hand, have been putting it up. Working on comic stories at the moment. Darn, when it becomes work, it’s hard. Still, I’m so happy to splash away with a brush, or scribble with my pencil.

I’m going to do a post on my “kit” for on-the-spot sketching, sometime. I inherited my late uncle’s stuff, but it’s super heavy. He packed horses into the Alberta Rockies in the 1940s and 50s to do his paintings which were very popular way back when (haven’t aged that well). Google “Roland Gissing” (cousin of the novelist George).

From him, I had a folding stool, handbuilt wooden boxes for paints, etc, and big big wooden boxes you could slide whole canvases into, and canvas boards. I’m much happier with my little watercolour box and Chinese brushes, brush pen and bottle of water, plus whatever book strikes my fancy. And that stool, which makes people think “I’m with the band.”

Jack: Cool about the sketching uncle! Neat that you inherited his sketching stuff, etc. At this point, I wouldn’t want to lug a load around to sketch. I’m usually doing other things (biking, hauling my laptop around, etc.) so that’s not ideal. Sounds like too much for you, too. However, if I was treking into the mountains of Alberta, I might just want something like that!