I volunteered to create sketches in the style of Richard Johnson's and/or sketch anything else that they might need for their paper. This led to a meeting at The Well the following week where I received a list of the planned stories for the November 2016 and January 2017 issues.
I am happy to report that the November issue is now off to be printed and you will be able to find it on the streets at the end of this week.
I am looking forward to contributing more of my sketches to this great project in the future.
My daughter loves Moleskine journals. She is a writer (and artist) and has been buying this brand of journal for as long as I can remember. I had never owned one!?
A page from my last Moleskine sketchbook ( a gift from my daughter) and the new one
My daughter bought me a small purse-sized watercolour sketchbook (Christmas 2014) and last Christmas (2015) she bought me my first large Moleskine sketchbook.
It was perfect-sized (5" x 8 ¼") for my small sketch bag and I used it to experiment and play with my new Noodlers inks and fountain pens (Noodlers and Lamy) and to focus on creating more black and white sketches.
I used the sketchbook to sketch out in the field and at home. I used pencil,
ink, watercolour and gouache and it handled all of them surprisingly well.
This Moleskine features:
104 pages
111 lb. acid-free paper
an expandable inner pocket
I thought I would scan and share some of my favourite pages here.
B&W coffee shop sketch and W/C photo sketch
Both of these double-page scans (above and below) show sketches done:
in the field (sitting in a coffee shop and waiting in my car at the Riverside hospital)
from a photo at home (a photo texted to me of me walking my dog Lexie and a photo I took of a window washer from my car)
B&W Riverside hospital and W/C pencil sketch of window washer
I didn't scan all of the pages in my Moleskine sketchbook but picked some of my favourites and sorted them into four categories
"Black and White" (B&W)
"Watercolour" (W/C) and or "Gouache"
"Bike and Sketch"
"Hospital" sketches. (I spent a LOT of time in hospitals in 2016)
I did the sketch below while I was waiting at the Ottawa VIA rail station and this sketch demonstrates one of the things I like most about my Moleskine - it's size is quite inconspicuous and perfect for sketching people in public!
Waiting for my train at the Ottawa VIA rail station
The sketch below was done from a photo of my daughter and our yellow Labrador retriever when she was a puppy
"Puppy Love"
The page on the left below was done from a photo that I took of the never-ending construction in my neighbourhood. (https://twitter.com/cindiforeman/status/728537342336733184) The sketch on the right was done while waiting in the Passport office - a wait that was MUCH shorter than I thought it would be. (Sketchbooks are great for places where you think you will be waiting a LONG time!)
Construction in my neighbourhood and the Passport office.
I have admired the eighty-six year-old Robert Bateman
since the 1980s when I was living in southern Ontario and canoeing,
camping, hiking, birdwatching and sketching some of the very same places that Robert
Bateman was painting at the time.
My poster signed by Robert Bateman in 1983 and framed
Above is a signed poster of an event that I attended in 1983 ("Be There With Robert Bateman" at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario) which has ALWAYS hung in a prominent place in ALL of my residences throughout the years.
My art books signed by Robert Bateman
Above are a few of my Robert Bateman's books that I would take to get signed by him at galleries where he was showing his work in southern Ontario in the early 1980s.
Me (in red shirt) getting my books signed by Robert Bateman (1980s)
On one such book signing, Robert Bateman asked me if I was any relation to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to which I responded that I was actively doing genealogy but had no idea if we were related. Robert Bateman suggested that I write to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan which I did and received a wonderful reply (The Senator's Irish roots go back to County Kerry as well)
Robert Bateman chatting with me (red shirt) 1980s
Thirty years following all of these 1980s experiences, I am now creating art full-time and this was a perfect full circle opportunity to see Robert Bateman again and have him look at my work and tell me what he thought. How could I refuse?
I was both excited and terrified.
What I Learned About Robert Bateman's Art
Before Robert Bateman began his critique of the work of the twenty-four artists who had assembled at the Sanderson Centre on October 2, he took us all through his power point slide deck so that we could easily understand his approach to art and some of the language that he would be using during his critique.
I won't share ALL of the slides, but I will highlight some of the slides that I know that I will keep with me and incorporate into my future thinking with my own art.
The presentation started with Robert Bateman's favourite quote by Willa Cather:
The two slides that I will remember most from Robert Bateman's presentation are "Bateman's Buzzwords" and "The ABCs"
"Bateman's Buzzwords"
This slide (above) is a painting called "Bateman's Buzzwords" that was created
by Robert Bateman's students in Montana in the 1980s. The items in the
painting represent things that the students had heard repeatedly during
their art retreat.
Bateman's Buzzwords included:
Top: Bateman "sponge method" - something Bateman employs to his own painting to create atmospheric effect. There is "purple"
in the painting above which Bateman NEVER ever uses (and he observed
that other painters, as they get older, use more and more purple in
THEIR paintings.)
"KILL": the branch coming out of the top right is an example of something that Bateman would recommend to "kill". This branch is entirely "cooked up" (meaning "not based on reality" and another phrase we would hear through the critiques.).
"Ace In Your Hand": this is something in your painting that you keep in your hand and nver play it until you have to (i.e. white)
"Cookie Cutter"
"Blended Things"
"Fried Egg": where the subject is in the centre
"Peanut Butter Sandwich"
"The ABCs"
This slide (above) would be referenced frequently during Robert Bateman's critiques of our work. Paying attention to tone is the secret to realism and it was a three dimensional exercise that he used back in the eighties when he was teaching art.
Other thoughts and quotes from Robert Bateman that I will remember forever:
"Because something is a lot of trouble does not mean it isn't worth doing". (Robert Bateman's tundra swan painting he made was painted and repainted using saran wrap)
Bateman does not think of himself as an excellent painter. He believes himself to be a good painter and not excellent like John Singer Sargent or Velázquez
"There's no such thing as cheating in art" and on this point he differentiated "copying" from "forgery" which is against the law.
He is troubled if someone praises his painting for the details. He said no one ever says, "I love your sweater because of the stitches" "Detail has nothing to do with quality" he said.
"Lines don't exist in the real world, they exist in maps." Bateman urged the artists to have the courage to leave the line out!
Bateman uses photography and he prefers back-lit, rim lit, and NEVER photographs at noon or subjects that are front-lit.
Never "paint for market" and never use a "cooked up landscape". By cooked up landscape, Bateman referred specifically to the use of "blue water" in landscapes adding "never in a month of Sundays would I paint water so blue".
Every artist should have "Five Easy Pieces". This is a direct reference to the Jack Nicholson movie "Five Easy Pieces". In Bateman's context, he said he has five easy pieces that he has perfected that take little effort and when asked to donate a painting for a charity event (which happens frequently) he does one of these.
"If someone does not understand your painting, that's not THEIR problem. It is YOUR problem as the artist"
What I Learned About My Art From Robert Bateman
Robert Bateman finished his slide presentation and then turned his attention to the twenty-four artists in attendance. I texted my sister and niece who were behind me in the audience:
"Oh no, he (Robert Bateman) is going to hate my painting! Everything he said we shouldn't do, I have done! I should leave NOW"
Would he say that my "Abiwin painting" was a "fried egg", that I used too many lines ("lines don't exist in the real world"), or would he ask me why I used his hated purple ("never use purple")!?!
My sister and niece reassured me that he would love my painting and to stay put and I am thankful that I did because Robert Bateman was so incredibly constructive and kind to ALL of the artists he critiqued that day.
I am attaching the video of the critique (thanks to my niece) and a transcript of what Robert Bateman had to say about my painting "The Abiwin". (If you are receiving this by email, the link to the video is here: https://youtu.be/YGOQHaXhMC4)
Robert Bateman's critique of my painting "The Abiwin" (see painting below):
"This is of a house in Toronto I think ...or maybe it's Guelph...(I whispered to him that it was Ottawa) that period....and it represents a part of the world and a period of Canadian history that I particularly like. It is done with great skill. The shadows, the way she has handled them, are somewhat strident. If I were doing it, which is my bottomline....I would have killed the um....that's a watercolour... its not as easy to kill.....I would have had some air in behind the tree...if it was acrylic...can even do with watercolour...I would have given a thin greying wash, especially the part behind the tree, and the tree would have then popped off. As is, it becomes part of a flat decorative design which is okay because that is what the Group of Seven does....there's nothing wrong with it.....these shadows (he pointed with the laser) are a little bit strident as well (colours). I like the composition a lot though and the choice of subject really works"
Full circle - Me and Robert Bateman at the Sanderson Centre
Full circle - Me and Robert Bateman (Mississauga - 1980s)
I am so grateful for this experience. I am also grateful for the hospitality of my sister and her family (especially on such short notice) who drove me around Milton and Brantford and photographed and videotaped the event and were so supportive. And I am grateful for my spouse and children who said, when the offer to participate in the critique arrived, "You must go, if you don't you will always regret it."
I learned a lot. I love that Robert Bateman said my piece was "done with great skill" and that my handling of the tree resulted in a "flat decorative design which is okay because that is what the Group of Seven does...there's nothing wrong with that".
I even don't mind that he found some my shadows and colours were "somewhat strident". I actually looked up the definition of "strident" and it means "loud and harsh; grating". And, in the realist and hyper-realist worlds of Robert Bateman or Andrew Wyeth or Alex Colvillemy strident shadows and strident colourswould never be found.
But my current watercolour style, as a relative latecomer to colour in my everyday work, has a tendency to be completely strident.
My plein air instructor David Jones who once critiqued my work said, "your art is so whimsical" and I responded that what I really wanted to do was to paint traditional plein air landscapes like everyone else to which he asked, "Why would you want to do that?"
The point is that all artists bring to their art their own styles. And styles evolve. Even Robert Bateman's style changed over his lifetime:
"He has always painted wildlife and nature, beginning with a representational style, moving through impressionism and cubism to abstract expressionism. In his early 30's he moved back to realism as a more suitable way to express the particularity of the planet. It is this style that has made him one of the foremost artists depicting the world of nature." (Source: Drawing Society of Canada: Canada's Drawing Masters)
Critiques are important to artists. You can critique your own work (see video below for suggestions on what to look for) but there is nothing better than having your work critiqued by others.
Yes, you will feel vulnerable, exposed and anxious like I did, but there's no better way to see your work through fresh eyes and hear what someone else sees and thinks about your art.
How blessed I am that I was able to receive a critique from a famous Canadian artist who I have admired for so many decades.
Centretown has a number of heritage properties that I enjoy sketching. Many are often scheduled for demolition through neglect (i.e. like the recent 293 Lisgar (Mauds Mortar) demolition D07-05-15-0006).
The most recent heritage home on the demolition block is at 234 O'Connor St in Centretown, Ottawa and the application will be heard at Ottawa City Hall (in the Champlain Room at 9:30)Thursday October 13, 2016.
The owner has made application to demolish the existing house and to create a temporary park (featuring a mix of hard and soft landscaping).
234 O'Connor St., Ottawa: notice of demolition application
The building at 234 O
’Connor
Street
is a two and one half storey, wood frame brick clad
structure with a rubble stone foundation that was constructed
between
1888
-
1915 and is an example of
a simple vernacular Queen Anne dwelling. (Read Cultural Impact Statement here)
The property has been vacant
for
approximately 15 years after
a fire that caused damage to the upper floors.
The windows
and doors
have been removed and the openings have been covered with plywood. All
interior finishes and fixtures have been removed, with the exception of the plaster
ceilings on the ground floor of the original building
"O’Connor St. between Cooper and Somerset was developed in the 1880’s
as
a residential neighbourhood
consisting of two and three storey brick residences typically fronting on the east west streets (
Cooper
and
Somerset) with mid
-
block residences fronting on O’Connor. The development pattern remained
static up until
the
early part of the 20
th
century when low
-
rise apartment buildings were
developed,
and
Dominion
-
Cha
l
mers
United
Church were
constructed in
the 194
0s
.
Ten years later,
a second wave of
apartment buildings were constructed
in the
area.
one of which is located across the street from the
site. Beginning
in the late 1950s through to the mid
1960s,
a number of residential properties were
demolished withi
n the block
and across the st
r
eet
, lots consolidated under one owner and developed as
parking lots.
By 1976
,
the corner of O’Conner and Somerset
within the block
had been
cleared and has
served as
a parking lot;
the bui
l
ding to the south
of the site
was
d
emolished
in 1997."
234 O'Connor
based on fire insurance maps, 234 O'Connor was constructed between 1888 and 1915.
the exterior brick was painted to protect the relatively soft brick and has peeled off due to the building being vacant and unheated.
the verandah has been removed from the front of the building.
there is a structural crack in the brick veneer extending up the left corner of the rear (west) wall of the building due to settlement / movement in the stone foundation.
In 1909, William Swetman (caretaker of the YMCA) lived there with Earl Swetman who was a student.
