Art in My Sketchbook – Part 3

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….on day 2 of Sketchbook Revival we meet Leanne Oliver and Sarah Matthews

Leanne walked us through an exercise she calls Cracks in the Road. She loves to make marks in her paintings and she finds that this process helps her with her art. The steps involved wetting some watercolour paper and adding a little bit of neutral acrylic paint over part of the surface. Then she took a charcoal pencil and drew lines from a photograph of cracks in the road. Then she wet the lines so that the charcoal would bleed out a bit. After that she took Gesso and applied a coat over some of the areas and while it was still wet she went over the lines again but this time with pencil. Then she added some colour using a soluble coloured pencil or pastels and more water.

The whole process was a lot of fun and I can see how I might use this technique in my next painting. Here are the two samples that I did.

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Sarah Matthews is a print maker and she makes her own stamps. I thought I had a block of material to carve into but I’ve either used it or couldn’t find it. I’m hoping to order some more so that I can try her art lesson at a later date. Stay tuned for that one.

Sculpture Saturday – March 20, 2021

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…some wonderful finds in High Park, Toronto

Today was another beautiful day in Toronto; sunny and warm (for March) and the paths and roads were dry and clear of ice and snow. I was in search of the red tail hawk that I saw last week but I saw no signs of him. Instead I spent the two hours taking photos of trees, squirrels, broken bits of picnic tables, stadium lights, fences and birds. On my travels throughout the park I came across some lovely sculptures a statue and a memorial stone cross.

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Thanks to Susan Kelly at No Fixed Plans for hosting Sculpture Saturday, https://nofixedplans5.wordpress.com/2020/11/14/sculpture-.saturday-9/

Cousin of the Rat but Cuter

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Debbie Smyth for hosting Six Word Saturday https://travelwithintent.com/2021/03/20/trying-to-think-inside-the-box/

Today in High Park the squirrels were out and about, running up and down trees and through the tall grasses. I had my telephoto lens with me and was able to capture these beauties.

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Art in my Sketchbook – Part 1

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…I haven’t posted any art for awhile

I haven’t worked on any large pieces lately. My focus has been mainly on drawing in my sketchbook. I signed up for two classes. One was with Lewis Rossignol called
Sketchbooking and the other is a two week class with Karen Abend called Sketchbook Revival. The latter is a free set of classes with 27 artists that each give a lesson that takes about 30 minutes. Sketchbook Revival is free and you can still sign up. https://www.karenabend.com/sketchbook-revival-2021/

Lewis’s focus is on being loose and not too precious with your sketchbooks. In fact he encourages you to mess up your pages a bit so that it is easier to start drawing. He likes to work in ink, pen, and pencil and he uses collage to add interest and balance.

Here are a few of the sketches that I did after watching his lessons.

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I will post my art from Day 1 of Sketchbook Revival in a post tomorrow.

Monday Window – Oak Hall

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Ludwig for hosting Monday Window https://mondaywindow.wordpress.com/2021/03/15/monday-window-march-15-2021/

On our outing last week to Niagara Falls I noticed a grand building high up on the cliffs and my husband told me that it was Oak Hall. Once we explored the falls, the river and Dufferin Islands we got in the car and drove up to the top of the cliff to take a closer look.

Oak Hall is a 37-room, three-story Tudor-style stone mansion that was built in the late 1920s for mining tycoon Harry Oakes. The Oakes family lived there for six years before moving to the Bahamas. Oak Hall was purchased by the Niagara Parks Commission on May 25, 1952 and for a few years, it housed displays by the Niagara District Art Association. Oak Hall currently houses 23 offices, meeting and storage rooms. Displays of Niagara Falls art and the furnished rooms are still open to the public.

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The house overlooks the Niagara River and the Dufferin Islands. I can only imagine that it is a lovely place to sit in the summer while enjoying the view.

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Water, Water Everywhere – The King and Queen of Waterfalls

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Jez for hosting Water, Water Everywhere, https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2021/03/15/a-lonely-bouy-water-water-everywhere-69/

Last week we took another day trip to take in some more waterfalls. We headed toward the Niagara region where the world’s most famous waterfalls reside, the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls wihich make up Niagara Falls.

The falls are fed by the Niagara River and the force of this powerful river and subsequent falls powers a huge section of Ontario and New York State.

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Niagara Falls is not the tallest falls in North America but the width and volume of water that flows over the edge makes it the largest falls. Worldwide it is only the ninth largest falls but it is probably the most famous of all the falls and the city is considered the honeymoon capital of the world.

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A Fan of…..Raptors

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Jez for hosting A Fan of …. https://mamacormier.com/2021/03/15/new-flower-march-15-2021-open-double-tulip/

As I was walking through High Park last week I notice a couple of people intently looking up through the trees. I was looking a for short cut back to my car so I headed in their direction. When I got closer I looked up and I could see a beautiful Red Tail Hawk with his back to us. Here was a moment when I wished I had my telephoto lens with me but I had use my iPhone and hope for the best.

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I wanted to get a shot from the front but when I stepped on a twig and snapped it the hawk flew away. He didn’t go far so we followed him to the next tree, a couple of times. I tried to walk without making too much noise but it is almost impossible this time of year with all the debris that lies on the hard ground.

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I knew that If I waited longed enough I might be able to get a shot of him taking off for the next tree.

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It pays to be patient.

Silent Sunday – March 14, 2021

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Mama Cormier

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Lost #7

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…today I lost one of my favourite gloves on a walk through High Park

I didn’t want my glove to become a Lost object for someone else’s post so I retraced my steps. I figured I walked about 1 kilometre before I found it and I’m sure that one of the dogs in this off leash area had picked it up and moved it off the path. I was lucky that I spotted it. Then I had to turn around and try to catch up with my group. I was exhausted when I got home today.

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In this last photo Lucy isn’t lost but she stood there for 10 minutes as if she was lost. When my son-in-law got home he got her to move. Getting old sucks, even for dogs.

Water, Water Everywhere – #68

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Jez for hosting Water, Water Everywhere https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2021/03/08/tradeston-footbridge-water-water-everywhere-68/

After our adventure to Tiffany Falls last week we were hoping to find another falls close by but for some reason our GPS kept taking us to someone’s private address. We knew we were close to the Ancaster Mill so we went there instead. It’s beautiful in the summer. Unfortunately or luckily (it’s pretty expensive) the restaurant is closed because of the pandemic but we were able to take in the falls that flows past the mill.

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On our way home we decided to find one more waterfall. Kevin had forgotten that we had actually seen Albion Falls last October but he never got out of the car that day so this sighting was new for him. I must say that most falls take on a different appearance when the seasons change and I was pleased to see it again.