no smoking

I have never been a smoker. I tried it way back in high school but it never took, thankfully. Both my sisters & even my younger my brother smoked. My sisters have long since quit & I have no idea about my brother. I can't picture him smoking anyway so hopefully he has quit too.
When I was thinking about this post, I remembered this email quiz that I was given years ago which asked which way the diagonal line of the no smoking sign goes. Is it right to left or left to right? Most people think it goes right to left but it actually goes left to right - just as if you were reading in any Latin based language. The cigarette symbol can be modified slightly but otherwise, they're all pretty similar.

Regardless of all that, I drew a box of matches last night. I like wooden matches. I think I like them because they normally come in some nice little boxes & they light easily. I generally grab a box whenever I see them at restaurants which, let me add, is rare now-a-days. The last ones I picked up were over a year ago when I was in Vancouver with my previous boyfriend. Matchboxes are handy to keep around since that way I can be reminded of where to go on a future visit to Vancouver. I didn't go to either of them this time, but the restaurants are still there so I'll shoot for next time!

dried

I did this painting and actually let it dry between stages. I don't totally understand watercolour aside from the fact that I need to let it dry and it can go on in layers. So that's what I played with on this painting. It took a long time to get this done. Thankfully I had something else I was working on as I was waiting.

I did all the fruit first then added the bowl at the end. The avocado in the group is off but not much can be done when it's on the paper. I like how the apples turned out.

chirping

As I type this, there are these birds outside making quite a racket. I can't see where they are but they certainly are busy chatting. I guess they're saying good morning. And suddenly the commotion stopped. Funny!

Anyway, the last day in Vancouver I had breakfast with my friends from Texas then we went back to the hotel so I could say good bye, pack up, check out then go visit some friends of mine who live there.
In the lobby of the hotel was this double sided panel which looked to be carved. It was quite ornate & there wasn't a 'pattern repeat' anywhere so we really started looking at it to see what it was made of. In the end, we realized it was plastic with a coat of gold paint. Either way, it was well done. It is clearly a story of some sort.

on ice

I bought a bottle of wine when I was in Vancouver that I actually didn't finish so I wonder why I bothered. In any case, when we were out at Granville Island, I didn't use my camera so by the time we got back to the hotel after dinner at Provence Marinaside I still needed to draw something.
I drew this initially with graphite but it was way too light to scan it in. I used ink pens last night to get it to this point.

I had this idea of how I would use the ink pens but it kept changing as I was drawing. This is not quite what I was after yet I'm still ok with how it turned out.

drop

I was in Vancouver for 3 days to visit a friend & her husband from Texas. They drove up from Seattle where they were visiting friends there.
After we went to the Vancouver Art Gallery, we walked on the Coal Harbour side of downtown. I hadn't been over there for years.

What I like about Vancouver (one of the things) is that they have random art scattered around. I rarely venture out of the downtown area so I'm not sure this is true outside the core.

The piece below was interesting to photograph. It is extremely tall & there are buildings quite near it. The first image gives you a sense of the scale & the second is more fun showing reflection of the buildings across the way. The second image makes it look shorter than reality. I was sitting on the ground to get the shot.

branded

We are bombarded with brands. Everywhere. I knew of a person who would remove the brand's logo from items like clothing so he wasn't branded. Seems a bit extreme to do that but whatever works for you.

Last night, after I finished packing for Vancouver, I wandered outside in the parking lot of my condo building to draw the logos of the cars. I disregarded any that had words in them like Ford and Kia. I went left handed since it's been awhile since I used my left hand to draw. Not my finest work but it was fun to do on such a warm summer night!

Can you name them all?

morning sun at noon

This morning I saw a few mushrooms outside my neighbours yard (it's common space for the condo building but is in front of my neighbours actual condo). I saw them earlier this week but haven't had a chance to take photos of them until this morning.

The mushrooms are quite small & are no taller than the grass. The area is in complete shade so I used a flash to get lighting similar to morning sun. Fun to play with. I also used my extension tubes so I could get closer. It seems that I can't get close enough sometimes. I guess I could crop to get the image I want.

Here is my final shot. Totally looks like morning sun.

I upped the strength of the flash as I was taking images. I also used the self-timer to avoid camera shake.

edge of the earth

As usual, we hiked yesterday (Saturday). The plan was to go to the summit of Cirque Peak at Helen Lake but that didn't happen. We hiked up to Helen Lake then up to the ridge for lunch. We looked at the trail up the the peak but couldn't sort out how to get up there. We tried one route but it clearly wasn't the way. We turned around & gave up vowing to do it next time we were there. It didn't take much to talk us out of it to be honest. We had one friend who had done the hike before & was not with us past Helen Lake. He was willing to wait for us but since we pissed around for nearly an hour up there, we didn't want him to wait that much longer for us.

This hike is easy & gorgeous. All the wild flowers are still out but some of them are near the end of their season. Most of the yellow daisies were dying back.

It was also odd that about 30 minutes from the bottom, I was done. I wanted to take my pack off & get out of the sunshine. We were exposed for at least 80% of the hike. That's a bit much. Needless to say, I got a bit of sun on my forehead & nose.

I was hoping to take this image at the top of Cirque Peak but since we didn't make it up there, I couldn't do it there. So, I modified the location & came up with this shot:

I realize now, looking at the image, that it's slightly out of focus. Dammit. Sometimes carting around a tripod is not a bad idea. Oh, I did take my Canon 7d for a change.

near the bench

On Friday, I wandered over to Bowmont Park which is across the non-named park by my place which now that I think of it, is likely also Bowmont Park. I wanted to draw something outside but I will say that the view off the ridge is not that pretty. COP is there but at a bit of a distance. There's also something else down there near the river (perhaps a quarry of some sort? - I've never sorted out what is actually there) and that's the not so pretty part. Due to this, I realized I had to look smaller. Being, look at the plants around & see if there was anything interesting. There are many different grasses around the park and not too many flowers - at least from where I was anyway.
I sat my butt on a bench & since the City of Calgary trims near the benches, the grasses were limited in front of the actual bench. I didn't bring my seat with me so I drew some that were growing up the side of the bench leg/arm (one piece). I drew them individually yet together. They turned out well. I did them with my ink pens (0.5 & 0.1).

on my coffee table

Quite awhile ago, I drew some leaves I picked up near my condo. That must have been back when I first started this creative journey since it was clearly in the fall. I looked it up & it was in November. You can find the post here.

On Thursday, I chose to draw one of the leaves again. I was expecting a friend of mine to stop by so I couldn't really venture outside to draw. I had considered it then it started to hail & rain! Nutty weather here in Calgary. Thankfully Bennie survived the drama.

I really like the woodless coloured pencils I have. I realize there's no real sharp point to them but I think that's half the fun for me.

This isn't as good as the first time around. I do find graphite easy to draw & shade with and I feel like I should be trying to step outside the box right now since I'm in my last 25 days. Won't happen but it's a nice thought.

2 more days

I finished the base of the sundial I started on Sunday afternoon. When I posted last time, I only worked on the upper part. I noticed after that post, that the column was looking squashed or pinched in where the upper leaves covered the column. I fixed that. Now it looks proper, as if it's encompassing the column.

I like it. The upper part is darker likely due to the bend & curves being more severe.

stage 2

I chose to darken the upper portion of the base of sundial I drew on Sunday. It turned out pretty well. I referenced my photo that I took but I'm not 100% sure I was sitting in the same place when I took the image. The shadows & shapes seemed slightly off.

I may finish it tonight or later in the week. The lower part almost looks like a reflection.

more than one

I met up with my sister again yesterday to sketch. We went to the same park (Wood's Park) that we went to on Friday since we both wanted to draw a few more things there. We both started with the sundial. The dial itself has been broken off & all I really wanted to draw was the base which has leaves around it. My drawing at the moment is a line drawing but I did get all the lines in! It is tough to see but here it is:

I darkened it slightly in Photoshop™ since it's so light. I may shade it in tonight since I took a photo of it.

I was tired of sitting on the ground drawing the sundial so I got up & wandered around. Actually, I first drew a yellow daisy with my ink pens. It was right in front of the sundial where I was sitting.

Then I got up & had to sit somewhere else. My back was not happy. Eventually, I saw this rose that I wanted to draw (there were lots of roses around) and thought of drawing it from where I was but it was a bit far away. Back to sitting on the ground (I had loaned my seat to my sister & was using my trail seat I use for hiking).

I used my woodless coloured pencils. Funny, I used three different mediums for the three different drawings I did. I'm surprised now that I didn't pull out my watercolours. These were all drawn from life, not from the photos.

snow angels in August

Sometimes, being creative isn't always about drawing, taking a photo or creating something with your hands. Sometimes, it's about thinking outside the box and having a giggle.

Yesterday, 5 of us hiked Burstall Pass in Kananaskis. It was a beautiful easy hike and it was a great day for it; sun shining & not too hot. When we reached the pass, there was a sign saying that anyone passing the sign was entering into Banff National Park & that permits were required if you were passing the sign. Are you kidding me? I need a park pass to walk into the park? Well, the park pass stays in the car where I/we always thought it belonged. There was a number to call with any question yet there's no service up there. Needless to say we ignored it. We didn't go beyond the pass but were in Banff National Park for part of our fun.

Since I have seen snow at the top of every hike I've been on this year & my girlfriend from the UK had never made a snow angel in her entire life, I said we were going to make snow angels in the patch of snow that was up there. She was concerned about the shape of the snow - wondering if it would be too hard to actually make said snow angels. I was the first to the snow & was happy to report the the snow was soft & perfect for a few snow angels. Four out of 5 of us partook in the snow angel creations. What a giggle.

my angel

my friend's angel

We also slid down the small hill of snow in races to see who would get to the bottom first. Needless to say my ass was frozen after all this & my pants were soaked! The pants took no time to dry, my ass took longer to warm up.

She can no longer say she's never made a snow angel. I guess she really is on her way to being a Canadian! Making snow angels in August no less. (:

have a seat

My sister & I went sketching today at Wood's Park in the SW. I never knew the name of the park where the longest Playground Zone in Calgary is situated. We were in the Gerry Shaw Garden drawing the benches & my sister drew some other things there too. Great morning to be out & also that way my drawing is done early! Yay!

A photo for reference:

I drew in graphite - as per usual. I had coloured pencils with me but I thought it made more sense to just draw black & white.

This drawing was done in my 11x14 sketchbook & I chose to scan it in rather than photographing it. Easier. The scan is not ideal but you get the gist of it.
These benches have a concrete 'cushion' as part of the seat of the bench. Kinda funny, actually.

all colours

Abstracts. I don't do them very often yet I used to when I was younger. When I try to do them now, I really don't know what to do. Sometimes it's easy & it just comes to me yet other times, I stare at the blank page. Yesterday I just started drawing. I started with a sphere then the central elongated hand then went from there. As I mentioned before, I like to draw hands & I draw them often so these are not from 'life', I just drew them from memory. They kinda all look like the same hand - my hand. I used every colour in my woodless coloured pencil pallet. It wasn't my initial goal but it ended up that way near the end when I only had a few I hadn't used.

This really should be darker though.

an inch tall

After a night of catching up on my ironing, I didn't have much time left to draw - yes, it was piled high! I really don't mind ironing - I just watch a movie or tv & do it. I like being able to go into my closet & grab anything & it's already ironed. Sometimes things need touching up but that's minor & quick. I have considered drawing my iron but never do. It doesn't seem like a fun thing to draw but maybe it is; who knows, I didn't draw it last night.

I'm not 100% sure how I ended up drawing the photo from Sunday but I did. I was looking at my computer wondering what to draw & chose to draw the mushroom shot I took. It's was simple & quick. I like the white space & the hint of grass around the mushrooms. I really didn't want a green/yellowish background.

I drew this with woodless coloured pencils in my 6x9 sketchbook.

bark

When we hiked on Sunday, I was taking photos of some macro stuff with my S95 camera - I chose not to take my 7D with me. The S95 works pretty well all around for a 'point & shoot'.

I was posting all the images from the hikes I did over the weekend & noticed one of the images I took of the tree bark which I didn't post for the Sunday hike (I posted another shot). I really liked the bark shots so I drew one of them with markers. This drawing took awhile & I was getting a bit light headed by the time I stopped. The smell is pretty strong from the markers I have.

My first thought is always to use graphite so I chose to use colour instead. Using markers proved not to be an easy task. Perhaps I can do something similar with coloured pencils. Or maybe add to this one with coloured pencils. I've done that before & the coloured pencils add some sharpness to the drawing. Otherwise markers tend to look a bit 'cartoony' to me.

friends & pens

I have a glass on my desk that holds the pens I normally use. On top of a few of them are some finger puppets I purchased in Peru. I drew a different finger puppet in May (he disguises the chap stick I have on my desk).
I chose to use markers since I haven't used them for awhile. I often have a vision of how the drawing will turn out & this just didn't reach my vision. That's ok, it was still fun to draw.

I realized after I scanned it in that there is no shadow on the table it was resting on. I wonder if I couldn't see a shadow since the surface was black.

stroll

Due the fact that I had that tough hike planned on Saturday and I promised to hike with a few others this past weekend, we had a very easy hike which was ultimately just a stroll on Sunday. Even though it was easy, it was beautiful! I swear it took a whole hour around the loop. What a contrast in hikes! It was a very pleasant day & I really enjoyed playing with my S95's macro setting since I hadn't really used it much before Sunday.
This the lake at Mount Black Prince Cirque:

...and here's all the fun shots I took along the trail on the way back to the car:

love the green!

my fav

fantastic hike

A friend of mine & I went on a long hike on Saturday. The estimated time to complete this hike was 10 hours & we did it in 7.75 hours including lunch & all breaks we took at the summit & otherwise. It was an awesome hike! You can see everything from the top of Mount Allan/Nakiska ski hill.
The hike itself is called the Centennial Ridge hike and it was built by Calgary's Rocky Mountain Ramblers to celebrate Canada's Centennial in 1967. It may have been called the Mount Allan hike before 1967. The map says it's the highest maintained trail in Canada which I do not believe since Mount Bourgeau is higher & is also maintained.

Initially I figured I was going to call this post 'killer hike' (aka kill-her hike) which it wasn't. The hike was tough and really not much harder than others I've also done (West Coast Trail, Machu Picchu). From the summit, you can see all the way to Canmore - or at least while you walk up you can see it. From the ridge, the view is pretty impressive.

That's the same ridge behind me (self portrait). We are at the summit here & we had walked this ridge with more ridge walking on the south end going down.

We were fortunate. We had a friend who helped us out in the morning. She followed to drop off one car at the south end & drove both of us to the north end so we could hike the whole ridge. Assuming I do this hike again, I would start at the south end and end in the north (the reverse) due to the trail. The south ascent has loose rocks on the trail whereas the north does not. Much safer on the way down. The way we went (north to south) my toes & knees were arguing as to which were more unhappy with me. My knees won. They were sore for a day or so but were totally fine on Monday.

Also, this hike has fantastic flowers - everywhere! Easily the most flowers I've seen on a hike anywhere.

This is on the way down but still on the ridge (lower than the summit) on the south side.

This is my friend pushing this boulder over - ya right! Had to have him there for scale! The boulders above are the same scale just slightly shorter.

kinda cheated

I had a modelling gig Thursday night so I did a quick sketch of a decorative glass I have & this ceramic cat which normally hangs on the edge of a plant peering in. I moved it to peer into the glass instead so I could see it better. The reason I say I kinda cheated is cuz the next day I was out a bit later (Friday) and I had to prep for a long hike in the morning plus make dinner so I just darkened & added to the drawing from Thursday. That's all I could think of to do. Both drawing days were quick. I can tell I'm near the end of this year journey of being creative. I am finding it harder & harder to find things I want to draw/photograph everyday.

Can you believe I have less than 40 days left?!? I counted, I have 35 days to go.

metal

My sister (years ago) had these hair clips that were small & metal. I rarely put my hair up but I thought they would be handy to have kicking around. I recall hers were silver & when I went looking, all I could find were gold ones which I did purchase but rarely used. Well, I ended up finding another set of smaller clips in silver & bought them as also. Well, I rarely use them too but I have them. I use the small ones more even though I figured I'd use the larger ones (the size closer to the ones my sister had) more often.
I have them clipped to a hair elastic in an ashtray I use for my earrings & rings in my bathroom. The ashtray is just a vessel; certainly never used as an ashtray by me!

Anyway, there are actually 4 of them & I only drew 3. These little things are NOT easy to draw!

I started the drawing last night & finished it tonight. I drew outside on my patio yesterday but drew inside tonight since the evening is quite cool. The shadows may be a tad bit off due to this. I still like it though.

pretty purple

Another gorgeous day in Calgary. My sister & I met late in the afternoon to sketch. I ended up using watercolour instead of graphite or ink since we went to Memorial Park & there are loads of flowers there. Must use colour when I can! Watercolour is not the easiest medium for me and I keep at it; eventually it'll get easier.

Here is a reference shot with a small bee. He would not stay still long enough for me to paint him in. ):

I have no idea what type of flower this is. I was going to draw the snap dragons but they were in the sun & too far away from where I could sit in the shade to draw them.

lunch

A group of us hiked Healy Pass & Sunshine Meadows yesterday. Gorgeous hike! Most of us had hiked it before & chose to hike again since the wild flowers are out right now. They are not at full bloom yet though, damned late spring!! The flowers in Waterton, AB were further along. Perhaps since Waterton is further south?

It was a gorgeous day. Sun shining and warm. We hiked Healy Pass first, had lunch then crossed over the meadow to Sunshine (the ski hill) and hiked down the mountain there. I am not a skier so I can't tell you where we stopped for a drink after the 'hike' part. We ran out (not all of us ran it) the ski-out after our refreshment to the building at the parking lot. There's a creek there (Healy Creek) where we cooled our tootsies after a long day of being on them. All in all a glorious day in the mountains. This is not an exceptional tough hike, it's just long.

The clouds in this shot are great. And wow, look how green it is! I guess it's all the rain & late spring we had (i.e. snow from late 2010/early 2011).

I actually sketch after I ate lunch. It's rare I have time! I believe the sketch below was the first.

This is a lipstick brush flower (or that's what I've been told).
Didn't have time to colour it since it clouded over & cooled slightly.

Here's at the summit of Sunshine Meadows.

Yesterday saw deer (when in the car), a marmot or two & a gorgeous black wolf - which was totally missed by 4 of us as we hiked with our heads down then a friend yelled as us from behind to turn around to see it (thank you!).
But with all the warmth & humidity, you can't forget about the other lovely friends you meet in the wilderness; those being of course, the mosquitos.
I stopped to take the photo below and when I stopped for what seemed like less than one minute, I was swarmed. I literally wiped off my arms of mosquitos & I easily killed 5 or 6 per arm. My legs were not so lucky. Thankfully mosquito bites don't bug me. Rarely am I bit by mosquitos when in the city but when I am, they don't itch. The bites I got yesterday are no exception. They're there and not itchy. Yay!

This is where 3 of us 'cut' down one of the ski runs to cut off some distance.
Not sure why at this point. It wasn't faster & all it did
was stir up some friendly mosquitos looking for a snack.