Daily Sketch: R.I.P. Boushey's Fruit Market

Boushey's Fruit Market (1946-2016)

It's official. The Boushey's Fruit Market at 347 Elgin St. in Ottawa is officially closed forever as of July 31st

Mark Boushey said,

"It's bittersweet. We realize how iconic it is, but it's also a tiring job,"
"Everything has a beginning and end. We have to move on."

(Source CBC)

I am embarrassed to admit that I have always pronounced the store name as "Boo-shey's" and it took the news reports of the store's closing to learn that the owners pronounce it as "Bow-shey's".

When I walked by on July 31st, folks were signing a piece of bristol board with messages of thanks and best wishes - the neighbourhood loved Boushey's! (See: CBC http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/bousheys-closes-70-years-1.3702592)

Trevor Pritchard tweet

My sketch was done when the store was almost completely empty and any merchandise that was left was being sold at 50% off.

My full sketch (watercolour)

Wishing the owners and the workers the very best in their future endeavors. And thanks for being there for so many years!

More Daily Painting & Urban Sketching in July

My Tweet

I must apologize. I have been incredibly busy with a number of deadlines and art projects on the go. I will try to post when I can in July but, for now, here is a small sample of some of the pieces that I have been working on.

"Mom" (acrylic 6x6)

My mother (above) passed away on June 30, 1981 and I miss her every day still. She would have been 80 years old on July 7. 2016. She has been on my mind a lot. I love her smile in this portrait. I always loved her smile.

"Rangoon Restaurant" (acrylic 6x6)

I plan to keep up with my urban sketches in my sketchbook but to also practice doing one quick 6 x 6 acrylic each day in under 2 hours. And to stop sharp - which is REALLY hard. (See my tweet of a Dave Coverly cartoon here https://twitter.com/cindiforeman/status/752136757919883264)

More samples

So the paintings here are NOT polished gems but they are samples of my daily practice pieces. Like a musician practices by playing scales - I am playing with subject matter, composition, colour schemes, getting the values right etc. I like to place a bunch of 6x6 samples down and ask my family which one they like best. They all have different favourites!

More samples.

My blog posts will be quite scant for July and August. It's much quicker and easier for me to post my daily sketches and paintings using my mobile apps for my Instagram and/or twitter accounts. You can follow me there at https://www.instagram.com/cindiforeman/ or https://twitter.com/cindiforeman

Have a great summer!

Today's Daily Sketch - "Sketch Du Jour"

The purpose of today's post is to share some "jour" themed sketches and ramble a bit about the word "jour".

I take it as some sign of serendipity or synchronicity that the word "jour" has been popping up and causing me to take pause over the past few days.

JOURNEY

First, it was a lovely piece, "The Art of Arrival", written by Rebecca Solnit that immediately started with what the word "journey" used to mean:

BONJOUR

Then I was drawn to the light at my front door, and the coat rack with the winter coats (*sigh* still) and the sign in the hallway that says "Bonjour".

My Moleskine daily sketch " Bonjour"
Lexington Grey Noodlers ink and watercolour

JOURNAL

Then I though a little about my art journal and how, as part of my daily practice, I sketch in it each and every day or "chaque jour" and create what could be called a "sketch du jour" or "daily sketch.

CONTRE JOUR

I couldn't help but follow this tangent even farther and I encountered a new term"contre jour" which is French for "against daylight". I guess I had not heard of it before because it is a photographic term and technique in which the camera is pointing directly toward a source of light, like this:

"contre jour"

On of my favourite Ottawa photographers, Christopher Ryan, had posted a recent photo to facebook that I thought "that would be fun to sketch" and I realized that what I liked about it was that it was a contre jour photo of sorts. The light is in such a way that only the silhouettes of the couple holding hands is visible. I loved that and the shapes and colours of all the signage. I liked the photo so much I asked Christopher for permission to use it as a reference for the daily sketch below.

Photo by Christopher Ryan (used here with permission)

My art journal colour study of "Elgin St"
 (Gouache on 100% cotton paper)

SOJOURN

I will end this post with the word "sojourn" which is both a noun and a verb meaning an impermanent stay reached by journey, or a period of temporary residence. (The words sojourn and journey are cognate through their roots in the French word jour, meaning "day").

A synonym for "sojourn" is "rest" which will be a future blog post

A dictionary of etymology of the English language: and of English synonymes ... By John Oswald

Isn't it funny how a single word "jour" can take you down an interesting path that can feed your art?

This "tangent du jour" led me to another artist, Paul Madonna, who marries his art with text in a most fascinating way.

Paul Madonna quote

"Madonna is an artist and writer with a background in painting and is best known for his series All Over Coffee, which he calls a 'strip,' a comic strip without the comic. Madonna's ink-on-paper drawings are characterized by their detailed depictions of urban cityscapes paired with stories. Madonna prefers to draw on site and straight to ink" (Source: Wikipedia)

Results from a google search of Paul Madonna

If you are unfamiliar with Paul Madonna's work, I strongly suggest that you visit his website https://www.paulmadonna.com/

Who knows what kind of journey it will take you on aujourd'hui? Enjoy!

Daily Sketch: The Canadian Museum of History

Sketch #2: Grand Hall

Thursday evening I attended a free lecture given by Gunnar Anderson, (Senior Curator at The Swedish History Museum where admission is always free) on the Viking Exhibition at the Canadian Museum of History which ends April 17, 2016.

I also decided to go to the museum early and sketch for the three free hours before the lecture started at 7 pm .

Sketch #3: Grand Hall

Sketch #3: Detail

Notes On Free Admission: Every Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. admission to the Museum of History is free. The Canadian Museum of History also offers free admission to all Aboriginal peoples, including Inuit, Métis and First Nations, upon presentation of  their Status Card.

And the Canadian Museum of History loves artists and welcomes artists who want to visit on the free nights to sketch! If you have a Thursday evening free, grab your sketch kit and head over to Gatineau, Quebec.

Twitter @CanMusHistory

Todays Daily Sketch

"The colours of spring emerge with the first sweet sounds of song birds to fill our winter weary souls, bringing hope, new beginnings, and inspiration."

My Daily Sketch - Lovely Lily

My daily sketches are really important to me for a number of reasons. They are a permanent record of my journey as an artist over the years and my sketches record everything I love.

"Lovely Lily" in my art journal
(Strathmore500 series - 100% cotton paper)

I have so many art journals filled with my urban sketches created from direct observation or sketches made from photographs that I have taken or found in magazines or online.

Sometimes the daily sketch idea is born from something I heard on the radio, or poetry I have read or an article that inspired me. Often I sketch members of my family. In fact, I sketch family a LOT!

Daily Sketch "Lovely Lily"
(Gouache and watercolour)

This was a family photo posted on Instagram captioned, "When you call her a cat and she insists she is a lion!!! ROAR " I have such love for this sweet child (and her whole family) Of course "Lovely Lily" is today's daily sketch!

My Daily Sketch

My daily sketch: " Me Drawing Her Drawing Me"

My Daily Sketch - Abiwin Morning Light

My art journal (Strathmore500 series - 100% cotton paper)

Daily Sketch: Centretown Melt

"Centretown Melt"
Watercolour, gouache and pen and ink on 100% cotton paper

Done in two hours while I was waiting for my laundry to dry.

Photo on left and progression from watercolour to final mixed media.

Pets in Windows Etc.

"Pets in Windows" are part of my "daily sketches" created from photographs.

I see a lot of  pets looking out windows and watching me and my labrador Lexie while we are on our daily walks around Centretown and Lowertown, Ottawa. It always makes me smile and I always snap a picture to sketch later when we get home.

Some pets seem curious. Some seem sad (like they are hoping for their owner to return?). Some seem to be just relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the window sill and the view. They all pose politely for me and Lexie.

They seem so happy to be noticed.

I thought it would be fun to just keep all of my Ottawa Centretown "pets in windows" sketches in one place on my blog.

Pets In Windows #1
Inktober No.13 " I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat
Taken from my art journal

Pets In Windows #2
"Behind Bars"
Taken from my art journal - ink and watercolour

Pets in Windows #3
"Golden Triangle Kitty"
Taken from my art journal

Pets in Windows #4
"Cool" Cooper St. Cat
Taken from my Moleskin art journal

Pets in Windows #5
"Locked Out"
Taken from my Strathmore art journal - mixed media

Pets in Windows #6
"Sitting Pretty on Somerset West"
Taken from my Strathmore art journal - ink

Pets in Windows #6
"Chillin' and Relaxin' on Bank St."
March 2016: Strathmore art journal -watercolour

Pets in Windows on Balconies #7
"Cooper St. Cats"
June 2016: Moleskine art journal -watercolour, gouache, and ink

Pets in Widows #8
"How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?" (Elgin St., Ottawa)
June 2016: Strathmore art journal -watercolour, gouache, and ink

Pets in Widows #9
"August 8 is International Cat Day!" (Cooper St., Ottawa)
Strathmore art journal -watercolour, gouache, and ink

Pets in Widows #10
"Pooch On A Pillow" (Cooper & Bank, Ottawa)
August 23, 2016: Strathmore art journal -watercolour, gouache, and ink

Pets in Windows #12
Cats at Hi Jinx  (Kent and Cooper)
August 2018;  Strathmore art journal ink and watercolour)

Pets In Windows #14
Being Watched on Cooper St
India Ink on Bristol (for Inktober 2018)

Pets In Windows #15
The Benmore Cat
Acrylic on Strathmore Canvas Paper 400 Series

Pets In Windows #16
 Husky on Bank St
 watercolor and Ink on Fluid Hot Press paper

On The First Day Of Christmas....

My Centretown Gave To Me".....

I walk the sidewalks in Centretown, Ottawa a couple times of day with my yellow labrador retriever Lexington ("Lexie") and I always see things that I want to sketch!

I carry a camera so that I can take a quick photo of things that catch my eye and, time permitting, I will do a quick sketch (1 to 2 hours) when I get home. I call these my daily sketches and I post them on twitter using the twitter hashtag #dailysketch.

My #dailysketches are very different from my #urbansketches or my #pleinair paintings which are always done on location.

I thought it would be a fun December challenge to sketch the twelve days of Christmas in Centretown. I am already at Day 8, but I am anxious and a wee bit worried about finding material for Days 9-12!

When the daily sketch is finished, I will tweet it and add it here. I hope you enjoy! Best of the season to you and your loved ones.

"Wooden Snowman", Cooper St."
Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch
(ink and watercolour)

On the First Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me..

A Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Two Shefford Urns", Cooper St.

Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

(ink and watercolour)

On the Second Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me..

Two Shefford Urns,

and a Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Three (O'Connor) Door Wreaths", O'Connor St.

Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

(mixed media)

On the Third Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me..

Three Door Wreaths
Two Shefford Urns
and a Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Four Candy Canes", Bank St.

Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

(mixed media)

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me..

Four Candy Canes, 
Three Door Wreaths,
Two Shefford Urns,
and a Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Five for Fifty Sale"", Aziz & Company, Bank St.

Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

(mixed media)

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me..

Five for Fifty Sale,
Four Candy Canes, 
Three Door Wreaths,
Two Shefford Urns,
and a Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Six Skaters Skating", Ottawa City Hall
Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me

Six Skaters Skating, 

Five for Fifty Sale, 

Four Candy Canes, 

Three Door Wreaths, 

Two Shefford Urns, 

and a Snowman Carved From A Tree

"Seven 'Franks A Grilling", Bank & Laurier,
Cindi Foreman-Moynahan's art journal sketch

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, My Centretown Gave To Me
Seven 'Franks' A Grilling

Six Skaters Skating, 

Five for Fifty Sale, 

Four Candy Canes, 

Three Door Wreaths, 

Two Shefford Urns, 

and a Snowman Carved From A Tree