My Summer Plein Air Painting & Sketching Adventures

I am feeling so grateful to have spent the last four weeks urban sketching and plein air painting with other local artists.

Since my last blog post on June 18th, Ottawa experienced a record breaking heat wave that lasted for many days. Looking back, I am surprised that I actually ventured out as many times as I did.

Here are some photos, sketches and paintings I created (some finished, some not) from June 19 to July 19, 2018.

June 19th: Drawing at the Rooster

I really enjoy the monthly Drawing At The Rooster event hosted by artist Peter Purdy (of Art Battle fame) at the Atomic Rooster on Bank Street every month.

Drawing At The Rooster: Model Ringo (2018)

The models for the month of June were great (as usual) and I thought there was something familiar about our first model Ringo. I later realized that I had also sketched Ringo way back in 2016!

Drawing At The Rooster: Model Ringo (2016)

Drawing At The Rooster: Model Ringo (2018)

June 20: Block Sketching at Glebe and 2nd Avenue

This was the third Block Sketching event organized by artist Colin White. I sketched the Octopus Book Store (and it rained) then moved over to Felena's Mexican Cantina to sketch until the skies threatened rain again and I had to hurry home on my bike to avoid getting soaked.

Block Sketching 3: "Felena's" watercolour

June 21: Sketching & Plein Air Painting 

at the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park

The Ottawa Plein Air Adventurers held their first outing at the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park. The organizer, Ottawa visual artist Lissa Rachelle, has a blog post that explains who the group is and she reports on this adventure at the Humanics Sanctuary and Sculpture Park. http://lissarachelle.com/blog/2018/06/plein-air-adventures-at-humanics/

The Ottawa Plein Air Adventurers

I managed to do a watercolour before lunch and I started an acrylic after lunch that I later finished at home .

My lightweight set up for watercolour and acrylic

On the left: As far as I managed to get in 60 minutes; On the right: Finished details

 

Acrylic on canvas paper

June 21: Sketching at the Jazz Fest

For my Artist Date for the week June 21st, I decided to catch some free concerts at the Ottawa Jazz Fest. It was a big challenge trying to sketch the musicians because they were moving around quite a bit as they played and as they marched through Confederation Park.

 June 24: Bike-n-Sketch 

I love these 60-minute sessions and I found this lovely, quiet and bug free location behind the Drill Hall.

My bike-n-sketch gear

Bike-n-sketch: Acrylic on canvas paper

Here is the link to the video https://twitter.com/cindiforeman/status/1010916728295968769 that I tweeted https://twitter.com/cindiforeman/status/1010916728295968769

June 26: Pride 

During Pride Week I spotted a great restaurant on Somerset Street West called T's Pub that had a beautiful patio with lots of rainbow flags and I just had to do a 60-minute sketch of it.

Detail: Finished "T's Pride" watercolour

I sat across the street where there was a lovely park bench to sketch from.

T's Pub; 323 Somerset Street West, Ottawa (in progress)

June 28: Sketching at the War Museum

We had a great turn out of artists at our monthly Ottawa Urban Sketchers outing at the Canadian War Museum to sketch the exhibit "Armour"

The Ottawa Urban Sketchers at the Canadian War Museum

My sketch of the horse and rider at the Canadian War Museum

July 2: My Encounter with Ottawa's Black Swan 

I was exploring places to sketch and it was dreadfully hot. I parked my car near the Rideau river and then I spotted the Black Swan. I took lots of video and photographs and sketched and painted it later at home (in air conditioning).

A page that I created about the black swan in my art journal

Ottawa's black swan

I later created a small 5 x 5 acrylic of the black swan using Indian yellow hue and Prussian blue. I loved the deep greens I was able to mix with just those two colours.

"Black Swan: acrylic (5 x 5) on canvas paper

July 12: Notre Dame & Beechwood Cemetery 

The second gathering of the Ottawa Plein Air Adventurers was held at the two historic cemeteries in Ottawa

Plein air painting at Beechwood cemetery

Beechwood cemetery : watercolour & gouache

Beechwood cemetery : watercolour & gouache

 July 19: The Artists' Residency Project

I am so grateful that I could attend the Artists' Residency Project on L'Île-du-Grand-Calumet (Quebec) for one day this past week. I am a member of the Pontiac Artists Association and I love this group of incredible artists very much!!

Photo (used with permission) was taken by Pontiac artist / photographer Cheryl Dolan http://cheryldolan.blogspot.com/

Photo (used with permission) taken by Pontiac artist / photographer Cheryl Dolan (on twitter as @PontiacLady) http://cheryldolan.blogspot.com/

 I managed to get two monotypes done (thanks to our printmaking teacher Rob Hinchley) and i finished an acrylic (2 hours) on site.

"The Pond"; Acrylic on canvas paper

Lots of Sketching & Painting 

From Photographs 

(On the HOT Days!)

Here in Ottawa, we had a week-long heat wave and on some days it was just better to stay indoors with the air conditioning on than be sketching outside.

Here are a few of my sketches done indoors from photographs this past month.

My art journal June 23, 2018

My art journal July 6, 2018

My art journal July 5, 2018

I fell in love with these two cats in the window of High Jinx in Ottawa I will have to add this latest sketch to my #PetsInWindows page https://moynahanstudio.blogspot.com/2015/12/pets-in-windows.html …

My art journal July 13, 2018

 

My art journal July 13, 2018