Sketches: A Sainte Anne & Senneville Outing

I’m posting some sketches from some quieter moments during a busy as well as relaxing, enjoyable, weekend.

The first is from an early dinner I had Sunday at a restaurant called Dundees on the boardwalk in Sainte Anne de Bellevue. The meal? Eh. I had a fish plate but it’s probably best to just get a burger and fries at a place like this. It’s not enjoyable eating food that’s sub-par but at least I had a nice place to contemplate that. I sketched this before the food came out.

After dinner, I drove through Senneville and stopped at a park on the water to do more sketching. I believe this is the first time I’ve sketched from here. It was so peaceful and serene.  I should come here more often.

Oh. I almost forgot about this. Earlier on Sunday morning, I was bicycling around the area and saw this fellow setting up to paint. It looked like he was going to paint the small, brick out-building there, but surely he was going to paint sailboats at the yacht club (Pointe Claire). I did come back about 2 hours later to see if I could see the results, but he was just pulling out in his car when I returned. Ah well. It shall forever remain a mystery.

Sketches: After The Fajitas Are Gone

Mmm-mmm! There’s nothing like a hot, sizzling plate of fajitas to warm your warm belly on a warm summer evening!  And afterward, I sipped on coffee and tea as I relaxed and sketched the scene before me. When I finished, the gentleman at a nearby table asked me if I was sketching. Yes, I said. Do you sketch, too? It turned out the man was Helmut Langeder, a local Montreal artist and retired commercial illustrator. I bowed to him and said, “I’m not worthy!” (Oh, yeah…I pretty much did do and say that!) But despite my bufoonery, he invited me to sit down and I joined he and his wife, and we talked a bit about art and life in general. It turns out I had met him before. A few years ago, I had stopped at a yard sale once that turned out to be his. I bought up a couple of Illustration Quebec directories from him and we chatted briefly. He also had given me a promo postcard of his. I remember looking him up on the internet and realizing, hey…this guy is pretty darn good! Anyway, I love how a day can sometimes unfold and you find yourself doing things, or meeting up with people you hadn’t planned on. ALL of yesterday was like that! Oh, how I love you, summer! Keep it coming!

And a “sizzling” video to make you gag:

I Should Be Working…

…But instead I’m drawing nonsense.

I’ll just consider these warm-up drawings. I’ve been sitting outside working for a while but now it’s time to pack it up and do some lunch!

The Piggies

I worked up another contribution to the Dueling Banjo Pigs blog. Check out all the fantastic pigs with banjo illustrations that are posted there! Thanks Stacy and Guy!

Illustration Friday: “Diary”

Something quick. And a revisit of my favorite little bunny, Clumsy. He’s changed a bit over three cartoons.

Sketches: Blues in the Park

I bicycled to another concert last night, this one being fairly close by. The Kevin Mark Blues Band played outside on the grounds at Stewart Hall in Pointe Claire, Quebec. I did some sketching, but not of the band. I struggled a lot, trying to like what was coming out on the paper, but unsuccessfully so. That’s how it goes sometimes.The music was great though. This is one of (many) things I like about summer.

Below: Video sample of The Kevin Mark Blues Band playing yesterday evening.

Sketches: Big Band in the Park

It's concerts-in-the-park time here on the West Island! And, finally, one is actually IN the park! I pedaled down to Beaconsfield's Centennial Park last night to check out the music of The Centennial Band (put together for just this occasion). They played a string of 30's and early 40's hits of the Big Band era--String of ...

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Hazy Days of Summer

The sketch, below: The above is a case where anything can become a story, I guess. It's just a quickly done cartoon version of my yesterday evening. And, yes, I was wearing hot pink ...

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Sketches: A July Fourth Evening in Canada

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The Raccoons Come For Dinner

There were six on the porch last night, and seven the night before. I must remember to bring in the cat food in the evening.

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Illustration Friday: “Satellite”

Who knew! There's a phobia for EVERY kind of fear! Is there a fear of phobias..?

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Ripple: Together We Can Help

Hey all y'all! Just letting you know that the piece you see below (which I did for Ripple (and Illustration Friday) is a 5" x 7" print and still available to anyone who wants it by helping the Ripple cause. It was sold once, but it being a print, I have more.  Just follow ...

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Fete Fireworks & Friends

This is an event from last Thursday, which was the St. Jean Baptist celebration here in Quebec. Many of the villages/towns/boroughs in the area had staged celebrations, festivals & fireworks. It had rained in the late afternoon and with that brought cooler temperatures. My husband ...

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Sketches: Breakfast and Boats

Some sketches done yesterday morning while trying to relax at breakfast (it was very noisy), then sitting on the bluff overlooking the docks.

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Samples: “Wiggly Worms”

I just this week received my copy of the May 2010 issue of High Five magazine which contains a recent spread I illustrated for them. Sometimes it takes me a while to get these as I have samples sent to my Texas address and then they are forwarded to me up north. In this case, ...

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Sketches: Parking It For Lunch

Two quick sketches from a lunch/picnic break in the park on Tuesday. I'm chomping on one of my faves, there: Chinese Chicken Salad. Cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, green onions, chicken, cashews... I can eat a huuuge bowl of it. And I did. Yum. Below: a sketch of ...

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The Lobster Boil

More cartoon/comic experimentation. I picked an event from this past weekend and only got around to doing these two panels. This was my second lobster boil, the first having been in Cape Cod many, many years ago.  Of course, lobster aren't native to South Texas, where ...

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Sketch: Summer Solstice

The above is a quick sketch I did while walking on the docks at the yacht club yesterday evening. What a lovely day--weather-wise. Hopefully that's reflected in the above drawing.

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Psychic Corgi’s and Wayward Sails

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Samples: Chirp! “Playing Around” Spread

Taking a little break from the fun of cartooning, I wanted to post a sample of a magazine spread I did recently that arrived in the mail this week. Chirp magazine is put out by the Canada-based OwlKids. They are a great client to work for and I've enjoyed all the projects they've contracted me ...

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