Postal Trout

Jessica Gowling at Nature's My Friend put together a collaborative project dear to her heart.

The idea is for participants to use the trout as a tool to inject something natural back into a man-made and urbanized space, so that the power of nature and animals can again be a part of the lives of those roaming within the urban landscape.

 I was lucky enough to be a recipient of one of these fish and set out to find a good home for him. I don't think there's a more accurate description of 'man-made and urbanized space' than the suburbs. While the 'burbs aren't everyone's cup of tea, I love where I'm living and this particular town embraces nature much more than other areas.

I noticed that my local post box could use a little touch of nature. For selfish reasons I also liked the idea of having him close by so I can check up on him and see people's reactions once he's been spotted. I was also hoping he'd be the good luck charm to forgo a postal strike... but I guess he's not a powerful enough charm.

... J

Facebook + Sketchbook = Fun

There is an almost euphoric state when an illustration works. From brain to paper things click perfectly in place. These are the illustrations I like the most. They were instant ideas, an easy process and fun to do.

Does this sirloin make my hips look slender? Watercolour, Ink & Clippings.

Hopefully the peanuts didn't give the jam a hard time. Watercolour & Ink.

The virus is a bully. He should really partake in some anger management classes. Watercolour & Ink.

Facebook Inspiration

I've collected a real eclectic assortment of status updates. They vary from observances to gripes to confessions. I start the process by checking my Facebook page to see what people have been saying. I copy and paste the ones that spark some interest. When the kids are down for the evening I review my collected notes and pick a few that I think might work well. Sometimes I sketch in another book to see if my idea will work, other times I just go right into it and start painting.

A pink tracksuit. Wonder if she was on her way to somewhere special, like bingo. Watercolour and ink.

While I'm off of the Timmie's myself, I do appreciate the uniquely Canadian understanding of what a double-double is and what it means to NEED one. Watercolour and ink.

The cream and sugar are making plans.

Is complaining about the weather uniquely Canadian too? Ink.

The End of Summer

There are a few trees in the neighbourhood that have a touch of yellow. Kids are back in school shortly and the school supply sections of stores look as though it has been severely pillaged. The 'F' word is nearly here. FALL.

Not only is it literally the end of summer, but I have gone as far as I can with the summer section of my sketchbook. I went nearly a week without feeling terribly inspired so I knew it was time to move on to a new idea.

Here are the remaining pages from my summer section. I realize I'm not posting these in the proper order, which has either gone unnoticed or is incredibly annoying to my whopping 5 readers (Hi Mom!) Once the sketchbook is fully complete I'll post a link to all the pages in order. Plus, once it's online back at home in Brooklyn, I'll post a jumpy-clap style email.

 The title page for the summer section. Watercolour, Crayola marker and ink.

The right-hand page of the summer intro. Some tomatoes from my garden. Watercolour & ink.

 

The full summer intro spread.

 One of my balloon flowers. Watercolour, ink and marker.

What would summer be without popsicles? Watercolour with ink.

Summer sketchbook

Before receiving my sketchbook I pondered my theme (It Must Be...). When I received the book I was anxious to get started but also felt like I should plan it out first. I started toying with the idea that I should plan out each page and create sections dedicated to themes. This over-thinking and over-planning lead to some creative block. In the end I decided to let it be what it is. It's a sketchbook and I have always viewed sketchbooks as a random collection of thoughts and ideas.

I am in the throws of completing a couple of pages every few days. When I think of a theme, or what 'must be', I create as many illustrations as I can think of under that theme until it stalls, then I move on. Here are a couple of pages from my It Must Be Summer section.

I made a vow that I would not purchase any new materials for this project. Anything that goes into this sketchbook is supplied from the vast amount of bits and bots I have in my collection. I recently forgot my vow and bought some more water colour paint. I rationalized this by noting that I had tossed a load of old, hardened paint and my collection was severely dwindled. Let's be honest though, I could rationalized just about anything. So far the materials I've used are: water colour, pencil, sharpie, pen, markers origami paper and scraps of magazines.

I am getting back into water colour painting and loving it. I think the majority of this sketchbook is going to be in water colour and I'll be going back into it with a fine-tip pen. I'll post more pages as I finish them, probably in no particular order.

The Sketchbook Project

My friend Karin suggested that I contribute to an art exhibit entitled The Sketchbook Project. I was very hesitant at first, considering my regular daily schedule, but I reviewed the site and it looked like something I could squeeze in between diaper changes and meals.

From the site:

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country.

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

Anyone - from anywhere in the world - can be a part of the project. To participate and have us send you a sketchbook that will go on tour, start by choosing a theme to the right.

I chose the "It must be..." theme. It was one of the subjects that seemed open ended so that I could finish the sentence and let my tone change from serious to casual.

I've already started a couple of sketches and I'll post my progress from time to time. I always get a 'back to school' giddiness with a new sketchbook, but the true test will be whether I can finish it, something which I'm notoriously bad at doing. I must have a dozen unfinished sketchbooks in my house. Wish me luck, great ideas and time.