Local sketches

The Beamer, Flatrock
pen & ink & coloured pencil
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This has to be the worst summer in terms of weather this year. The rain and cool temperatures just won't go away. I took advantage of a reasonable day yesterday to do a little sketching locally. I haven't done a lot of on site sketching this year so it was good to get out and just get lost in drawing again.

My drawing drew lots of interest this time as at each place, tourists and locals kept coming up to me asking me what I was drawing. I don't usually mind people asking, but sometimes constant questions impede my progress or interrupt my ability to stay focused.

The first sketch is in Flatrock, overlooking the harbour. There is a long piece of land jutting out from the shore that is known as The Beamer. It is topped with many large boulders; left overs from a glacier that swept the area many thousands of years ago and gave the area its name.

Torbay
pen & ink, sketchbook
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I drove down the coast a little further to reach Torbay and sketch the cliffs overlooking the harbour . The name Torbay comes from an area of the same name in Devon, England and was first mapped in Newfoundland in 1615 by John Mason. The word is the old Anglo-Saxon "Tor" which means a tower.

I'll continue to document local scenes over the summer and these couple of weeks off will provide some free time to access areas that I usually don't have time to visit.

Cupid

When I was a small child, my grandparents lived with our family. They had separate living quarters, a little like the original 'granny annex' but we came and went and shared a formal living room. In that room there were a number of antiques. Of course then I had no idea of their worth, except that a couple of pieces appealed to me and I was occasionally allowed to touch my favourite, the sculpture of a knight on horseback.

The commanding pieces in the room were two huge framed prints on either side of the fireplace of a curly haired child, called Cupid Awake and Cupid Asleep. These were prints of the photo taken in 1897 by Morris Burke Parkinson of Josephine Anderson. Josephine was the daughter of a friend of Parkinson, a single mother who worked and sometimes left her child in Parkinson's care. Josephine was four when the photos were taken and she continued to model for M.B.Parkinson for many years, some of the photos are in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The later prints of Josephine are also very sought after collectibles. Josephine died in the 1970s.

I spent hours staring at the face of the child in these portraits, the child that I was, thinking they really were a fairy of some kind. After my grand father died in the early 1960s, the pieces were sold by my grandmother, money was a factor I presume, and I didn't really think of them again for years until I was given a large Cupid Asleep print for which my sister found in Ottawa. I wanted the Cupid Awake to match it, but had trouble finding one in a similar size. Then a year or two later I was given a small pair for Christmas, which had been hunted down by a friend who is an antique dealer. I have the original larger Cupid Asleep and now the smaller pair which I framed and now keep as a reminder of those large portraits my grandmother had.

Looking at these photos now, I think how well they would look as drawings. The sepia tones and hand tinted pink cheeks, along with the dramatic lighting would make a lovely exercise in values. I may just try one and see what happens. Carbon pencil or charcoal perhaps...

The smaller pair are, I believe, some of the original prints, dated and signed with copyright while the larger print doesn't have any information on it. The colour in the larger print is a reddish brown while the smaller images are much truer to colour in terms of sepia and the pinked cheeks as well the image quality is much crisper.

Parkinson copyrighted his prints in 1897 and they were distributed by Taber-Prang Art Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1908, The Ohio Art Company began selling metal picture frames in which the Cupid prints were displayed, some of them hand tinted. Sold at Kresge’s, Sears, and Woolworth’s, people bought the frames for the pictures. The Cupids were immensely popular and were seen in millions of homes across the country. In 1938, Ohio Art Company (makers of Etch a Sketch) bought the copyright from Taber-Prang after their bankruptcy. Originally sold for a nickel or dime, the Cupid photos now command high prices, as much as $450 a pair in larger sizes.

A hibiscus was on the Weekly Drawing Thread at WetCanvas and I found myself doing a few minutes of work on it at lunchtimes throughout the week. Flowers are not my forte and never will be, but I still like to test myself and push into the dark zone now and then. :)

The Regatta

Before bed meltdown

Here is a recent photo of my 18 month old grand daughter having a little tantrum before bed one evening. I don't love the photo because she's obviously unhappy, but I do love it because it shows such natural expression. Can't we all identify with that total breakdown of frustration and anger that we'd sometimes like to express like this, but have to keep bottled up inside because we're adults?

Life's unfair my baby, but you get used to it.

To escape some of the madness that I call work, I'm taking a couple of weeks off. During that time I have some personal things to take care of and some art to catch up on. I hope to do a little travelling, even it is only exploring some of my surrounding areas. There are many places and sights that I pass by, some even on a daily basis, that I overlook. Details that they provide turn them into something extraordinary and turning those details into drawings or paintings make them unique not only to me but to others. I will still be posting when I can during this time. I haven't been posting as frequently as I have been and find that many bloggers aren't during the summer months. There are so many other things to catch up on during a short warm season.

Here, on the first Wednesday in August, the Royal St. John's Regatta, the oldest organized sporting event in North America., is held and it is a municipal holiday. The holiday for the Regatta is also a floating holiday which is weather dependent. The wind plays a big role in this so the committee must decide early in the morning whether or not the forecast is suitable.

The purpose of the Regatta is competitive rowing in fixed seat shells. The shores of the lake on which it is held are also lined with concession stands and if the weather is good, you can find 50,000 attending. This year weather has postponed it and it may not go ahead tomorrow either. This has been one of the worst summers on record. We had a slow start with a cold wet spring and early summer, then a blistering heat wave and now back to chilly temperatures and drizzly rain again.

I haven't attended the Regatta in years as I don't like being jostled in the crowds. The races can be interesting but more so the championship ones at the end of the day. So most of the time I take the holiday that goes along with the day and catch up on other things at home which I likely will be doing again this year.

When I'm 84

84
line drawing, graphite 11 x 14
copyright Jeanette Jobson

It was my mother's birthday on July 31st, but we had a party on Sunday for her. I can see time's changes in her more and more and the years go by. She denies her age constantly and I'm sure she's fixed in her 50s or 60s and doesn't believe time has played this trick on her, making her 84.

My mother and I have a relationship that has never been an easy one, even now. I try to assist in her life when I can, but its hard to do when the other person is unwilling. There are a lot of issues, going back over many years and I choose not to dwell on them most of the time.

I had taken some photos at the party and found one that I thought I would draw. My mother hates photos of herself and would also dislike a drawing of herself as well, especially one that showed her age or characteristics that she denies.

I recall sketching a portrait of my father many years ago and he had a small moustache. I went to her house one day and saw the portrait tucked away and the moustache was missing. I asked her about it and she said she never liked that moustache so she erased it!

Summer sketching

The advantage of having people to stay is that you have a whole new cast of characters to put on paper. This past weekend was my mother's birthday party so people came and went for a few days, food was prepared and eaten, drinks were consumed, and I sat in my corner when I had a spare few moments and sketched.

I really try to be as unnoticeable as possible when sketching as I don't want the person to be aware of me drawing them and stiffen their position or get up and move! Most of the time I can get away with sketching people without them knowing. Sometimes people are aware and humour me by sitting there. Sometimes, especially in the case of my mother, she won't have any of it and doesn't want me to draw her. And sometimes I let her believe that I've stopped too then continue on once she's gone back to doing what she was before she noticed me.

I had hoped to make a start on a larger drawing this weekend, but it was impossible to find time to do anything significant so I stuck with some sketching. I've been a little lost in terms of inspiration for a few weeks. I think the summer tends to do that. There are so many other things to take your concentration away from art, it becomes difficult to find time or inclination to knuckle down and draw.

Because the summer is so short, I feel as if I'm wasting it if I've been inside all day drawing. Yes, I could go outside and draw, but I need to get away from home to do that as I get distracted by other things around the garden and barn, then drawing gets waylaid again.

Illustrated journals

There are lots of sunflowers blooming now and I took a bunch for my office and did a quick sketch of them at lunch the other day then filled in with some colour and information around the image.

I haven't done many detailed pages like this for quite awhile and I enjoyed producing the simple sketch, colour and words. There are endless talented artists whose sole work is producing interesting illustrated journals which are a treasure to look through. There is something appealing about illustrated journal pages. Its liking having an inside look into someone else's life in more detail - just my own in this case!

Necklaces

Sea Bed - Blue porcelain necklace

East & West - Cherry bomb quartz & jade necklace

I have company for a few days and my mother's birthday celebrations over the weekend so time will be sparse. I hope to get in the bones of a new drawing and will share that when I can.

Meanwhile here are a couple of new necklaces that I have created. If anyone is interested in purchasing them, please contact me.

Broadening my horizons

Bucket o' Duck
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This image was taken a couple of years ago when one of the Pekin ducks decided she wanted to get into a bucket of water, then got stuck. The photo op was too good to pass up before she was rescued. This will be the basis of a future drawing or painting. The image was placed in the Reference Library of WetCanvas, for members so if anyone wants to use it, please do. Or click on the photo here for a larger resolution image.

After some soul searching I have decided to bow out of doing tutorials for another art forum. They do take time to produce and while I enjoy the process, there isn't enough return for my efforts, so I am rethinking ways of using these tutorials.

While it doesn't all boil down to dollars and cents, let's be realistic, it is a large part of being an artist. So what do I want in return for sharing my knowledge?

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience
2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
3. Potential sales of existing pieces
4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons

How can I achieve any of these objectives? Let's examine each a little more.

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience.
I had that to some degree, but the audience was limited to a fairly specific demographic of the population - complete beginners. To be able to reach a wider audience, I have to go outside of a specific framework or area and show multiple options, not just one section.

2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
I want to be able to reveal the 'secrets' of drawing and take the mystique out of it. Some artists hold it close to their chest as if mentoring others in drawing or painting will diminish their own spotlight. I want to be able to watch people learn and see them grow in ability. It really is interesting to watch the process of someone go from beginner to more advanced.

3.Potential sales of existing pieces
I have a room full of art pieces, some I sell from time to time, some sit collecting dust. They need to be out in the world, being viewed. Its the old saying revised "If an art piece isn't seen, does it exist?" Prints? Galleries? Online?

I think the majority of art sales are done either through word of mouth or through a gallery. I don't have the 15 - 20 pieces for a body of work to approach a gallery at this point, so I'm limited to marketing my work locally or to a broader audience in a virtual setting.

Prints have a limited market and need research before investing money in them. The same applies to greeting cards. These also require an investment of marketing time and dollars.

4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons
This is a double edged sword, depending on how I approach it. I can do a form of online lessons and that frees up some of my time, with but my preference is to teach in real life. It may become a a bit of both.

Reviewing this information, it is starting to point me in the direction of a website. This has been in my plans for the last year or more, but I haven't acted on. I think it is time to do so. It can be a showcase for my art and a teaching tool as well. I will have to do more research into how I can work both into a good site.

It seems I have some work to do in terms of designing the site and considering what the content will be. Does anyone have any well designed artist websites that they recommend I can review and experiences, good and bad with creating your own website?

Farm life

Its been another very warm and humid day and all the animals feel the heat and are a bit cantankerous. The pigs however, seem serene and if anything, smiling. Their pen was cleaned out and new sawdust put down so they were rolling around it, happy as ....well pigs! This is the second group of pigs that were raised and they are approaching the 200 pound mark. Off to market in a few more weeks. Yes, boys and girls, remember where your food comes from...

I visited the vegetable garden when I got home from work today to find a cow and calf moose had wandered through likely the night before, trampling several plants and munching on some beet leaves. They came in through the gate, so I guess its time to add yet more fencing to the little garden.

I also discovered that deer flies are attracted to blue, so a blue bowl plastered with a sticky fly trap and set on a pole in the field worked wonders for the horrible insects, catching 5 or 6 in the first couple of hours.

I really hate deer flies. They are so persistant in flying around your head trying to bite and if they do bite, its painful. They can easily drive me indoors while doing a dance in the field trying to get them away from me.

I've been playing with watercolours a little more, but am not pleased with my efforts. Its too washed out. I need to be bolder with watercolours but never seem to for fear of overpowering the piece. I'll keep trying. After all, I have 3 pads of watercolour paper to get through before I can buy something new....

Gina at Dogberry Hill Studio has given me a Brilliant Weblog award and I agreed to forward it. Thanks Gina! Its always lovely when someone goes to the trouble of choosing another artist or craftsperson to shine a spotlight on.

As with all awards, there is a process to keep it moving which is:

• When you receive the award, post the award image to your blog.
• Link to the blogger you received it from.
• Give the award to 7 other blogs and link to those blogs.
• Leave those seven bloggers a comment about receiving the award.

My nominees are....

Stacy Rowan
Rose Welty
Teresa Mallen
Chanan Mazal
Marsha Robinett
Steve Chipman
Laurel Neustadter

There is a variety of talent and ability in all of these artists in both artistic effort and being able to paint a picture in words in their blog.

Virtual Sketch Date image

Sunquats
Carbon pencil and white charcoal on mi-tientes 5 x 7
copyright Jeanette Jobson

* I've changed the original image here as it was a digital photo and didn't truly represent the paper colour. This is the scanner version and is much closer to the real life image.

Sunquats was the subject for the July Virtual Sketch Date and the reference was supplied by Leslie. I had never heard of sunquats before this but a llittle research shows that they are a cross between a lemon and a kumquat, with edible rind, like a kumquat. Somehow I doubt I'll ever see them here.

I have to say I struggled a bit with the image, starting out with coloured pencil then abandoning it. Still life subjects don't usually hold my interest, especially fruit and flowers, but in the spirit of the VSD I thought I'd have another try.

This time I did a tight crop of the photo then using the smooth side of an orangish toned Mi-tientes paper I used carbon pencils and a touch of white charcoal to complete the piece.

It really is good for me to go outside my usual genre. I know I can do it, I just choose not to most of the time as the subjects don't interest me as much as people or animals do. However, once I have done a piece outside my comfort zone, it is satisfying, as if I've crossed another hurdle.

We never stop learning.

The stash diet

This moose track was found in the field after some rain we'd had. The moose have been so frequently wandering across the planted field that barriers and electric fences have had to be erected to keep them from trampling/eating plants.

My art cupboard is burgeoning under the weight of art supplies. Papers that I haven't touched, well, except to fondle in passing. New sets of pencils that have barely been sharpened that sit in pretty tins waiting to be used. Canvases, paints, gesso, brushes, books, magazines, the list goes on. And I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation.

I draw regularly - daily - and I use mostly a few sketchbooks and some larger stock paper. My main tool for drawing is a mechanical pencil (and yes, I have a half dozen of those too) yet I go to an art supply store and come out with something else. Or I see something new in an art forum or online supply store and I want to try that.

So I've decided that I'm going on a diet. A stash diet.

From now until 2009 I will not buy any new art supplies, but only use what is in my stash. The only exception will be if I run out of a staple, such as basic paper or a sketch book (like that will happen she says). I will make a dent in the supplies in my cupboard. I wonder what's in there these days? Let's see....well a quick look shows me what's there in paper.

4 pieces of smooth Illustration board
Bristol plate 500 & 400 pads
A pad of Canal paper
At least three pads of Bristol vellum and smooth
A roll of white Stonehenge paper
Somerset paper
A pack of Colourfix paper
Ampersand panels
Sanded Sabretooth paper
three watercolour pads
scads of canvas panels and stretched canvasses
and more......

I think I have some work to do - or hold a garage sale? Confession time. Do you dare reveal what's in your art supply stash?

Does anyone else want to join my stash diet? The rules are simple.

1. Work only with the supplies you currently own until December 31, 2008.
2. Do not buy ANY other art supplies between now and January 2009.
3. The only exception to rule # 2 is if you are COMPLETELY out of basic supplies such as general drawing paper (or whatever your main support is), your favourite pencil has died or the dog crunched up the last of your only Alizarin Crimson oil paint tube. (but I suspect you have another tube stuffed away somewhere don't you?)
4. You may wander in art supply stores in real life and online, but you cannot buy anything. Remember you are reducing your stash. Doing this, of course, can be a form of mental and physical torture so wander wisely.
5. As an added incentive, you can put away a little cash each week so that by the time January rolls around, you can hit the sales for new art supplies! I'm aiming for about $10 a week. That would give me about $220 to play with in January. And a much reduced art supply stash at home.

Sport and art

This is a quick line drawing of a Canadian international lifesaving sport competitor in a beach race events. I love the lines and movement sketches of athletes provide. With the Olympic Games coming up in a couple of weeks, its prime sketching time, sitting watching the competitors in various sports and trying to capture the motion.

The work I do deals with both humanitarian and sport aspects of non profit work. The sport is lifesaving. Lifesaving sport is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and is unique because it is the only sport in which skills are learned for humanitarian purposes and only then applied to competition.

Lifesaving sport is divided into six different disciplines including; pool events, ocean events, Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC), Stillwater boat competition, surf boat competition and the inflatable rescue boat (IRB) competition. With this type of diversity it is easy to understand why this sport has been deemed the most demanding multi-discipline sport in the world.

This week - July 19 - 27, 2008 - is National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada. The week is designed to draw attention to the drowning problem across the country and to encourage Canadians to stay safe in, on and around water.

Revisiting a portrait - 18 years later

Draft portrait - Robert William Barber
16 x 20, oil on panel
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Ok, I have that watercolour/self portrait thing out of my system for the moment. Now I need to concentrate on some other projects, one of which are some test illustrations for my daughter's wedding invitations.

I haven't been given a lot of direction in what they want as the backdrop for the invitations, except for ideas for an old sepia map of Newfoundland or coastal scenes in blues. I'll work on a few test pieces and see if anything appeals to them.

I found a 16 x 20 oil portrait that I started of my father before he died, which was 1990. I had the bones of it in place, but then he died and it got pushed to the back and I had more or less forgotten about the portrait until I unearthed it last weekend.

I would like to finish it, but haven't got the reference image that I used for the original piece. I'm hoping that with what I have done so far and some other photos or him, I can make it work. The background was toned with black - I need to lighten that and bring in some other colours so it won't be so stark. Its also difficult to get a good photo of the portrait with that very dark background. I'll try again tomorrow with better lighting to capture the composition and overall feel of the piece as it currently exists.

First cuppa

First Cuppa (adjusted)

I adjusted the shadows in this piece as the scan below just didn't reflect the depth of values and was washed out. These colours are now very similar to the real life version of the sketch. I also adjusted the hairline, bringing it further down the forehead. Its still not perfect, but its better.

First cuppa
watercolour pencils, 9 x 12 140lb watercolour paper
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This is the last watercolour of the early morning trio. My cup of coffee to start my day in a giant anniversary Tim Horton's mug.

I'm not happy with the scan of this and can't seem to tweak the colours into good behaviour. I've also muddied the colours a bit. I wanted pure simple colours without too many adjustments but that didn't quite happen, so this may be a do over some other time. Watercolour can be one of the most difficult mediums to master and I am definitely no expert in it, but I enjoy seeing what I can coax out of the paper.

I rushed putting this together and the proportion isn't quite correct. I don't like the hand position and the shading isn't right in a lot of areas. But its only paper and always good practice to keep on trying.

8AM

8AM
Watercolour pencils, 9 x 12 140lb watercolour paper
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Another sunny morning and another self portrait. And no, I still haven't found my set of watercolours. I used the watercolour pencils once again and added a few graphitint pencils too.

Every portrait that I do of myself seems to look entirely different but I enjoy the process, even if I am not always entirely pleased with the end result. I'm in the mood to experiment with colours in portraits and see what I can get away with but that will still be representational.

Its quite amazing how viewer's eyes 'read' unorthodox colours and accept them as representing the form they expect to see. Is it shape that is recognizable and the colours are ignored or is it the values not the colours that create the form?

6 AM

6AM

Staedtler watercolour pencils, 9 x 12 watercolour paper
copyright Jeanette Jobson

I had to a meeting for work this morning and was up early. The sun was streaming through the window and I captured the bright light and shadow in a portrait using the web cam as my 'mirror'.


Later this afternoon, I decided I'd try my hand at watercolour. I searched the house for my pan set of watercolours. Could I find it? Nooooooooo. So I settled begrudgingly for a set of 12 Staedtler watercolour pencils. I don't often use w/c pencils except for sketches. I find they don't always dissolve completely and I can still see the pencil strokes on the paper despite my efforts with water and brushes.

So my colours were limited and some colours a little unorthodox, but I kind of like that effect. The viewer's right arm isn't correct. I need to make that far line diagonal, not straight to reflect the angle of the pose, otherwise it makes the arm look artificially wide. I find that with watercolours, it isn't ise to go back and make too much in the way of changes as it can lose the freshness of the original layers.

Drawing at the end of the day

The Ravine
graphite & coloured pencil 5 x 8
copyright Jeanette Jobson

My time for drawing has been limited lately so I've started to make little sketches once I've gone to bed at night. These are of anything and everything. Some take a few minutes and some take 30 minutes if I start putting in details. Either way, I have been putting something on paper each night.

Most of these images are from things I have seen during the day or something from my imagination that I try to recreate. This sketch is a bit of both. It is partially based on a place that I've been and the colours and some features have been enhanced. This isn't the usual me as most often I need a subject in front of me or a reference image to be able to achieve detail in a drawing. I like seeing how much I remember about a subject, then check the reality of it the next day or simply see how far away I can get from the real thing in another drawing.

Its fun to let my mind run loose at the end of the day and I'll continue this exercise for awhile and see where it leads me.

Virtual Sketch Date

I can't remember if I've shared this drawing or not previously. I was looking through old drawings and found this one. I remember the drawing and the model well, even parts of the conversation of that night in the life class. The model was Pip. The setting was the studio of Tom Greenshields on the farm in Hawkchurch in Devon. The year was...I'd say 1981 or 82. Time does indeed fly.

Its that time again when we start another Virtual Sketch Date. This was the original idea of Rose Welty back in April when she contacted me to become involved in a project that would provide each other with some drawing opportunities, using the same reference image.

Well, it got very popular and now it has its own blog where the reference images are stored and the participating bloggers links are listed at the end of the event.

July's VSD reference be posted on Friday July 18th and you have one week to draw the reference image and post it on your blog. All drawings must be posted on Saturday, July 26th and the summary of all drawing links will be completed on Sunday July 27th. There isn't a limit to how many individuals participate, but you must let me know if you do, so that your drawing can be viewed and your blog listed.

About Virtual Sketch Date

The blog was set up to help administer monthly virtual sketch dates. Once a month a group of artists band together and draw from the same reference image for a week. At the end of the week, each artist posts their image on their blog. A post will be put up on the VSD with links to all participants' entries.

Want to join?
1. Once a month, when the reference image is posted, leave a comment to let us know that you are participating.
2. Sketch from the image
3. On the "date day" post your sketch on your blog.
4. The next day there will be a post here with links to all the participants entries.

Guidelines for Virtual Sketch Date Reference Images

• * All photos must be "suitable for work"
  
• * No camera phones
• * No blurry images
• * Natural light is preferred to using a flash

* Resolution must be at least 800px by 600px (higher resolutions uploaded to Flickr are greatly appreciated)

Relaxing

A cat pours his body on the floor like water. It is restful just to see him. - William Lyon Phelps

This photo kind of makes you rethink that quote doesn't it?

Tripod loves his bed more than food almost, but when he gets too hot in it, he can't decide which is better, the floor or the bed so this is the result. He's done this 'play dead' look before on a warm day. Remember this shot last August?

Apply heat and you have a collapsible cat who sleeps so soundly that nothing wakes him except picking him up body and bones.

I've been playing around with clouds and charcoal lately. I ran out of coloured paper except for this brownish grey one. I finally went out and bought some new paper in various shades of blue on Saturday but I was too far into this one at that point to want to do it all over again. I'll try another cloud on the blue later.