January Sketches

Dantattica - dark flow (sketch detail), QC. 2017.

Avocado Saplings

Today, I had planted my avocado saplings, which had been kept in jars (and an old wine-glass) since the early spring. I had given up on anything sprouting from the avocado seeds after a couple of months of no activity, so they had been shuffled against the wall of the studio, a bit forgotten, until the day I noticed two of the bulbs had sprouted small octopus-looking tentacle stems, about an inch tall.

They kept growing until I was able to pick up more soil and some large pots to plant them in. This day, I had been feeling a bit better after a doctor's appointment and the action was relaxing, replanting these alien-seeming lifeforms in the evening on the balcony.

Festival Inspire, Moncton NB

My first participation into an art event starts today. We had driven the day before from Montreal and arrived late/early the day of : and after a very short sleep, we drove further into Moncton, New-Brunswick to set up for the show.

Driving into the city, the day was clear and bright. We drove in through the industrial section and it was a while until I began to recognize forms and structures remembered from a seemingly distance past.

A few adjustments had to be made after re-uniting with my mother and grandparents in Riverview. I had found that the saw I had in storage to cut the wood-pieces out was too dull to cut, and so I was able to finish the cuts with my grandfather, who showed me step-by-step how to use his saw (a giant rotating saw nonetheless! able to complete the job).

We arrived just on time in a beautifully-clear afternoon without a tent...which was unfortunate for me. I set up a small table and arranged my pieces. I set up between two tented areas and took a shot of my crafty set-up work - which changed as pieces were moved and bought :

The experience was great in that I hadn't expected so many interesting interactions and the opportunity to meet different personalities, and to experience their reactions and feedback. One conversation with an interesting lady lead me towards the Peticodiac River, where I walked out into the mud banks formed by the tidal bore from the Bay of Fundy.

It was a great cool off at sunset, in the cooler breeze. Further out, I experienced the mud on my feet as I sunk into layers of mud built up by the tides, which would wash my footprints away by the next day. My whole life around this river and I never thought to experience it so closely.

( edited to remove sunburn!! )

My face was pretty red at the end of the day. Luckily the individuals beside me were nice enough to let me move into their shade. Can't wait to be more prepared next time!

Festival Inspire - Preparation

Getting ready for some 2016 camping! PLUS a little art show in my hometown - a place I had not experienced much of an art life, apart from the sessions I would have with Joe Collins at his studio before I left Moncton for school at Concordia University in Montreal.

beginning 6/9 frames to display at the Festival Inspire art show and festival in Moncton, New Brunswick.

 Frames in frames... I've cut some black mayfair paper as a dark frame within the frame around the pen drawings. It's giving them a new light - it's nice to see them all dressed up.

assembling some sketches and drawings out of the shoe-box archives for the Festival Inspire show in Moncton, New Brunswick.

As long as the cat doesn't find a perch here, I should be able to sort through some choices for the display at the Festival Inspire show in Moncton, New Brunswick, where I'll have my own table-space amongst the others at the Riverfront Park, which faces the Peticotiac River, between Moncton and Riverview.

This is my first showing of my work. Despite the excitement of being part of a show, I've yet to do it. I think it's fitting that I'm able to participate for the first time, back in my home town.

Sprouts First Day Out

trees outside of Montreal's Berri-UQAM station in the "Jardin Gamlein" installation

Leaves are budding outside and I'm taking the opportunity to have some lunch outside on the apartment balcony.

food photo w/ spinach plants potted in some vinyl constructions

My sproutlings came out as well. I wondered how they liked the direct sunlight from their previous view of it behind the bedroom window. Maybe they weren't ready for some of the wind...

Untitled

A sketch update. I feel like the depth of the foliage is becoming eternal.

Digital Galleries

Today, I posted some of my work on Behance, an online applied arts gallery. Follow the link to view and click on "appreciate" to show your support here.

Click to view on Behance.

Cafe Sketches

Montreal is great for having a variety of choices when it comes to cafe environments. Still, it can be difficult sometimes to find a good atmosphere that will allow some time and space to sketch or draw. Although sketching or drawing can be done in most places, I'm always on the search for a place that is in tune as a creative space. Besides that, this place has tons of character on its own and it made for a great (humid) afternoon sketching (before the eventual downpour).

a wooden table and floral wallpaper to set the mood

a figure emerges from the white space as I am immersed in coffee.

ink pens and a sketch in progress

Pen Shelter

Leaving our belongings behind, may they be the various dreaded cell-phone / smart-phone crises, or maybe a favourite pen, can be strenuous on everyone. But no where have I seen the unexpected demonstration of care in this one make-shift pen shelter to comfort a lost pen that has lost its owner in a company washroom. It brought a smile to my face to see all the support left for the pen ( probably by using its own ink... ) to write messages of support behind it.

Desolate Sign

rain falls amidst a desolate sign standing beside the highway in the Montreal / Laval industrial park

I guess it was the sad day following the death of our cat, Jaja, after she jumped from the balcony of our apartment (suicide?). It was so unexpected and definitely shocking. Although she was a cat, the impression dawned on me just as horrificly: as I didn't see her as I neared the balcony ( thinking she hopped down from the tree or safely some other way - worrying how I would retrieve her ) only to find, peering over the final side-railing, to discover a lifeless body sprawled on the pavement. That familiar form, the familiar colours, that had somehow gone all wrong through its familiarity. A dead body is something you never equate to someone or something. At least I hadn't. Even though she was a cat, the tragedy still clings to me. Rest in peace, Jaja.

Sketchbook Entry

áthas / joy (king) sketch

skeleton / flowers, pencil sketch.

With the coming of Spring from the gray frozen winter, my inspirational aspiration this season is joy.

Website Crash

Well, it happened - and soon. The story goes that I was having a nice cafe session with my laptop, editing and uploading a small update to the website (an attempt to edit the scrollbars for Windows browsers - something I've neglected). It must have been the cafe's particular internet connection that uploaded ( "successfully" ) the pages with the updates as empty files. Instead of uploading the files with changes, it uploaded only the files without any of the data. Anyhow, I had only given this update to the most important pages, therefore realizing a day later that I had just wiped my website from the face of the Internet. Bravo.
Luckily, I'm not so bad at backing up my work. Although the amount of changes I had made recently was enough to have needed to spend another week re-working my last backups, sometimes just re-creating some pages that were in development anyway. Lesson : back up the files after EVERY session. It's not a waste of time. But I don't have to mention that. I'm sure most people know this story.
More specifically, I had really wanted to dig out some old sketch concepts to work on that I had started the year before, which turned instead into more coding sessions ( which can become addicting for me ).

former homepage, click to see the update

Sketch Journal

architecturish sketching - ink on paper

Character & Feather Study

Ethauet - ink on paper

feather study - ink on paper

Eskene III

Eskene III - ink on paper

Eskene III - ink on paper

Mi'kmaq Girl

Mi'kmaq Girl (portrait) - ink and pencil on paper

Photo Inspiration

snow outside my living-window (Montreal)

Duluth Avenue, Montreal

Mountain Pass

Mountain Pass - ink on paper

Sketchbook Entry

Laundry Day means different things to some...

Laundry Day means different things to some... ink, pencil & marker on paper