Day 210

"The Cottage Mantlepiece". Art journal, ink

I'm visiting with my long-time friend Wilma at a cottage she rented in Muskoka. It is chock full of stuff, like this array of things on the mantle.  

Day 210

"The Cottage Mantlepiece". Art journal, ink

I'm visiting with my long-time friend Wilma at a cottage she rented in Muskoka. It is chock full of stuff, like this array of things on the mantle.  

Day 209

"The Audacity of Hope".  Art journal, watercolour  

I couldn't resist staying up past my bedtime -- and, strictly speaking, missing my art-of-the-day deadline -- to watch Obama's speech at the Democratic convention. I'm glad I did.

Day 207

Title TBD. Pastel, 8x8" 

Decided to do one more little imagined landscape in pastel, inspired by the scenery we have enjoyed on our drives out of town recently. 

Day 206

"Happy birthday, John!"  Art journal, pencil  

Today my family gathered at my folks' house in Trenton to celebrate the 80th birthday of my stepdad, John Clay. We are lucky to have him in our lives and have been enriched by his kindness, generosity, affection and intelligence. I did this drawing of what he looked like when we first knew him about 40 years ago, from a photograph taken by my sister Alison. Happy birthday, John-dad!

Day 204

Rushed bedtime sketch of my left hand holding my keys. 

And thus ends a week during which I have wished more than once that I had never started this darned daily art project. #undertheweather

Day 201

"It's Official". Art journal, ink

Remember back on Day 74, when I vowed to stop indulging in "Potato Chip News"? Well, that hasn't worked out so well, especially in the last couple of days. Last week I had an awful cold which this week developed into a sinus infection (or something) that has had me feeling tired and listless, so I have been lying around binging on Twitter and Trump/RNC-related articles (and not feeling much like art-making). 

This evening, with the Republican Party officially naming "The Donald" as their "presidential" candidate, I decided to try drawing him, in a caricature kind of way. As I drew, my sketching pen (it's a fountain pen) started leaking big blobs of ink, so I smeared them around with my hand. That was just what the drawing needed, I think.  

Day 198

"The First Corn of the Year". Art journal, ink

Came home from the cottage today via Highway 7 and Perth, where my favourite fresh corn stand, to my surprise and delight, already had local corn for sale. There goes my low-carb diet.  

Day 196

Five-minute "cocktail hour" sketches, art journal, ink and watercolour  

"Cocktail hour" is a tradition at our cottage. It's partly about having a drink and some snacks, but it's mostly about enjoying the view at that special time of the day when the late afternoon sun is sparkling on the water. Today during "cocktail hour" I did some five-minute sketches, then added some paint later on, for good measure. 

Day 194

"The Point". Art journal, ink and watercolour. 

A different take on the view of the point. Stacey helped to paint it. 

Day 193

"Rainy Day on Grand Lake". Pastel, 8x8" 

It was warm and sunny today, but I felt like trying to capture the mood of the rainy weather we had over the weekend.