Tracing Indigenous Roots in the Downtown East / Jane's Walk 2017

Urban sketches from Jane's Walk in Toronto, Ontario

"exploring the intersection between art, culture, innovation plus enterprise and what it means for Indigeneity, reconciliation and city building."

 (sketch and note taking by Barbara Eguchi, 2017)

Map of the walk / Starting point was Good Earth Coffee House, Toronto, Ontario

Here are a few sketches from some of the stop's along the walk.  The first one is of the British Home for Children / The Fegan Home

Historical plaque of 'Dr. Oronhyatekha'

Allan Garden's 

Sketching Cherry Blossoms at High park

I have been to High Park several times, but this was my first time to sketch cherry blossoms during peak season in May. 

Did you know? The first Japanese Somei - Yoshino Cherry tree was sent as a gift from the citizens of Tokyo in 1959. Later, the trees were donated under the "Sakura Project" to High Park and other locations such as Exibition Place and University of Toronto. 

12 Trees @ Gardiner Museum

It is a 12 trees show in Gardiner Museum. The Toronto urban sketches group has an event here. I picked up the one piled up with books. When you get closer to the tree, it will speak. And other trees was made of men's shirts, The pattern is quite interesting. The trees are designed by different artists in different styles, very creative! 

The museum is located in a very convenient location near the subway. It's a small museum but very cozy and informative. You went to the second floor where they have different ceramics from different periods and different countries. 

Robarts Library - University of Toronto

On October 30, TOUSK met at the University of Toronto Library called Robarts Library. We hoped to sketch outside since the building has a very interesting architectural structure. It is shaped like a turkey, or maybe a peacock, or is it a turtle... ; ) We all seemed to hear and see different things...

Nonetheless, the cold weather drove many of us inside where there was lots to sketch. 

Here are my 5x7" sketches, done in 6B pencil on 90lb watercolour paper. 

I didn't bring watercolour paint with me since I wasn't sure the library would be cool with it... so, I added paint to this one once I got home.

The students were so busy studying, they didn't notice me drawing them.  Also, I don't believe there is enough of a likeness to anyone to cause offence. 

 I liked the composition of this one below, so I left it alone.

 Practising a bit more perspective on this one. 

There were lots of new member there last week. Great to see so many more Urban Sketching Enthusiasts out there!! See you all next time.

Nora MacPhail

My Etsy Page - https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/WatercoloursbyNora

The Old City Hall view from Toronto City Hall Green Roof

I didn't know there is such a nice place on the 2nd floor at The City Hall. You can walk around and see different views around The City Hall. Lots of high rises there. I picked The Old City Hall to sketch. It is the only old building in the middle of the high rises and seems that the time has frozen there no matter how the surroundings change. It was really hot today, but we found shades and stayed there for sketching. There were not many visitors and was very tranquil. If you have found the ground was too noisy and crowded, the green roof definitely is a nice and quiet place to visit.

McMichael Plein Air Painting Competition

I always want to paint at McMichael and didn't think that the first time I painted here was in a competition. We were about 50-60 artists painting on location during the weekend. We had a sunny but not very warm day, unless you stayed under the sun without shades.

The arrangement was simple and easy to follow. McMichael staff and volunteers provided the artists fruits, coffee and water twice a day, one by one! We scattered around McMichael and Kleinburg area, it was not easy for them to find us. Thank you!

The first day I painted the gallery building because I wanted to paint this building. I loved the sunlight behind the cloud and put more trees behind the gallery. I had not enough sleep the night before and planned to work faster so that I could go home and sleep. However, I was very tired and worked very very slowly. When I got home around 4 pm, I threw myself on the couch and slept right away.

On Sunday, I went to Kleinburg, a beautiful town, to paint one of the beautiful houses made of logs and this painting was selected to be the 3rd place in the group 11" x 14"

Some of my artist friends won too. Congratulations to Hasibush Shaheed and Dougal Haggart from our group, and Karin from my art club, amazing works. I met many talented artists there and saw their wonderful works, same locations, different styles, definitely very inspiring. It is always amazing to see different approaches, styles while everyone is painting at the same places and similar scenes.

My Travel Watercolour Palette

Flower pots in front of Sony Centre on Front street.

    


Some people keep asking me about what kind of travel watercolour set I am using/  what do they consist of. I have to say I am an amateur painter who is still finding the colours that suit my style best. I have yet to try all of the different watercolour brands or art supplies out there.

A few years back I wanted to sketch on location, I started off with Winsor&Newton Cotman Watercolour Set for my first travel watercolour palette. The reason I bought this set was because of its small size, convenience and the colour quality is good enough to paint on my tiny sketchbooks. Later I realized some of the colours were not bright enough for my style. I personally love vibrant colours, so I purchased some artist grade watercolour paint to try out. 
Here are the colours I am using in  my travel watercolour palette - Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Hue, Winsor Red, Cadmium Orange, Purple Lake, Lamp Black, Sap Green, Viridian Hue, Cerulean Blue, French Ultramarine, Indigo, Burnt Umber and a couple of tiny colours I put on the top are Cobalt Blue Hue and Permanent Rose.

I would love to hear what travel watercolour set are you using. Want to share? Comment below.

Oakville – Plein Air June event – “Paint the Town Extraordinaire” 160626

I travelled to the historic downtown Oakville for the last day of “Paint The Town Extraordinaire”.  It was a plein air event put on by the Oakville BIA and Oakville Art Society. The Town of Oakville, home to over 180,000 people, is located 30 kilometers west of downtown Toronto along the shore of Lake Ontario.  I was hoping to meet some local Oakville artists and socialize, but it seemed that I was the only one painting that day.   I felt like a foreigner from out of town who would be painting alone on the main commercial street. But I set my heart on challenging myself.

I was pleasantly surprised by the volume of people up and about mid morning – eating breakfast, jogging, walking their dogs, biking…engaging in life.  It seemed like a very active and vital community.  Many people stopped and said hello and were very curious about what I was doing on the street painting.  My first painting was at a place called The Goldstar Café.  It is one of many cafes on the main street teeming with people while manifesting a rich street life.

After painting on the main street in the mid-day heat, I moved to the waterfront.  It was much cooler and the view from Lakeside Park was spectacular. The many large historical homes that I walked by are a painter’s/sketcher’s dream.   

I painted at the OAKVILLE Museum gardens that sit at a high point along the waterfront and my painting captures a view over a pier that has a lighthouse at the end.  There was a naturally sculpted pine tree in the foreground and the gardens poetically framed the view.  In general, the harbour is wonderfully picturesque.

I was delighted to discover that the Post Office and Thomas House at the museum was also open for visitors.  What a treat to explore.   I toured the old historic buildings and learned a bit about the history of Oakville.  I sat and sketched these two historic buildings that had been relocated and now overlook the lake.

What a lovely day I had. It was a truly an experience “Extraordinaire”.

Thanks for the invitation.

I will visit again soon!

My Victoria Day!

We didn't go anywhere for the long weekend.  I planned to go to The Distillery District to complete my unfinished painting. However, the booths blocked most of my view. Went back to the car, I felt at least I needed to do something before I left. I saw a senior crossing the road with a walker. I put her on my sketchbook, adding the background for her as well.

One of my favorite ramen restaurants is Kinton. We always go there whenever we come to the downtown area. I love to sit at the bar table and watch the staff preparing the ramen, using a fire gun to cook. 

Before going back home, we went to St Lawrence Market. I have found a good spot under the shade. It was not much traffic. People were walking the dogs, buying lunch. Everyone seemed to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.

Sketching at the Museum of Inuit Art

It's always a bit of a challenge to find an new and interesting place to host an urban sketching event in the winter, specially as the group keeps growing. I tend to spend hours online searching for new places and planning the day around it. Fortunately I came across the Museum of Inuit Art and despite its relatively small size, it looked like there were quite a few interesting sculptures for everyone to sketch, so it was chosen as the first destination for 2016.

I've always been curious to find out more about the culture and history natives, as I find it's not a topic that is readily available to non-natives, so the fact that this museum exist definitely got my attention. What an awesome place!! I love the modern minimalist design of the space which is a great backdrop for the intricate artwork in the museum. It is meant to evoke the ice flows, snow drifts and wind swept tundra of the Canadian Arctic, so that Inuit art can be appreciated with some sense of the environment in which it was created. 

As the organizer, I ofter only have time for one good sketch, so after greeting the participants and taking pictures and videos of the space, I chose to sketch a piece from master sculptor Abraham Anghik Ruben called Beowolf, made out of Brazilian soapstone. It just captured my attention right at the entrance of the museum. The receptionist was amazed that I could stand there for an hour or so, just fixated on the sculpture. 

There's something interesting that happens when you start sketching something like this, at least for me. I get in some sort of trance where only me, my thoughts and the object I'm sketching exists and I start discovering all kinds of things I wouldn't have if it wasn't for essentially interacting with that subject. In the case of Beowolf, I was intrigued  by all its intricate parts and how the openings create intense contrasts. And then I noticed all the little creatures embedded in the sculpture like a mix between a rabbit and a chameleon on top of his head, a pig nestle on his side, a dolphin and a bird closer to the front, and other animals I probably missed on the other side.

I worked a little more of the contrasts and the details of my sketch, carefully noting where the darkest area were so that I could complete it later on at home, as I knew I wouldn't have enough time that day. Later on, I went over my drawing with an Inktense pencil that's water soluble. Using a water brush, I then increased the contrast of the sketch and added a green and blue wash over it.

We had a great turnout. A little over 20 sketchers took part in this event and many, including myself, plan to go back again in the near future. I also was made aware of two other places where we can see more native art in the city : the TD Gallery of Inuit Art and the Bay of Spirit Gallery. 

The next sketching event will take place at the Yorkdale Mall. For more information, you can visit our meetup group here. 

on holiday

Today I went to a cafe to do a quick bit of people sketching. I like the way these two figures, from my perspective, had their hands, shoe and legs cross each other. It was like a game of Twister! I drew with 6B pencil first.

Then I added some darks, trying to 'spot' the darks as they say. I used a Micron Brush Pen. By this time, the main featured fellow had put on a scarf, which I happily added.

At home, I added watercolour. I took lots of liberties with their clothes. I wanted the featured man to be wearing red. Lots of fun and I'm happy with the unique perspective. Happy Urban Sketching Everyone!

My Etsy Shop - https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/WatercoloursbyNora

Another food sketching @ Balzac's Coffee Roasters

Yesterday I stopped by Balzac's coffee roasters (Market St. location) before doing grocery shopping at St. Lawrence Market. I grabbed a seat near the entrance door and thought it would be a perfect spot for sketching. The interior of the coffee shop looks very cozy and rustic. 

I indulged in a decaf coffee and a lemon tart and started a quick sketch. It was challenging by painting watercolour without the outlines. The result was not bad at all. For the counter angle, I sketched like I always do with the pen lines and watercolours. 

Sketching at Neo Coffee Bar

Sketching food is one of my favourite things to do. Today I went to Neo Coffee Bar which is a new Japanese-style coffee shop on King St. East. I wanted to try J-desert and coffee. This time I got a "Rose and Berry" roll cake with a blueberry, rasberry and a blackberry on top. I thought I would like to use my bright watercolours painting berries. I wanted to try a latte but I ended up getting a cold brew coffee instead. I loved the aroma of the coffee while I was sketching food at the coffeshop. It took 30 minutes to sketch, but less than a minute to finish my roll. That was my reward!

Dim Sum Day

Almost every Chinese loves dim sum, especially in weekends. Families and friends get together, ordering different kinds of dim sums and sharing them. It is very mysterious that you cannot hear what other people said at other tables even you found they talk very loud. The tables are pretty close to each other too. This one has western style in the hall. Large traditional western-style paintings are hanging on the walls. It's a bit weird to me, the styles don't match simply. However, the dim sums taste good, love the pu-er tea which is good for digestion. Going to a Chinese restaurant for dim sums is called "Yum Cha" in Chinese.

"Orange Dancing Daylilies"

 

Thank you for accepting me as an Urban Sketcher Correspondent! - for my first blog posting I thought I would start with a subject that I have been playing with for the past month.  The orange daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) in my garden which arrived in bloom a month ago.  My first sketch is titled “new arrivals”.  The container in the sketch is a new reclaimed pot ready to be filled with plants and the tall daylilies are the backdrop.

I tried to capture the dancing graceful ever- changing shadows on the neighbourhood sidewalk.  I thought about how each pedestrian interacts differently with the moving patterns and wondered if anyone notices the beauty of this connection? 

 

Sketching and painting the orange daylilies helped me to slow down and appreciate what was happening in my daily life.  Each flower lasts for only ONE day!

Now there are only a few blooms left.  I am sure they have certainly naturalized ( s p r e a d ) in my garden for next year’s colourful arrival!!!  In the mean time I will delight in the arrival of the shadows of the tall dried up dancing stocks on the snow to come.