Inspired by New Life

Some of the "other projects" I have been working on are graphite portraits of the new babies that have joined our family. With a population explosion happening within the family, this is going to keep me busy for the next little while.
I was able to finish a few and give them to the new parents this past weekend so now I can post photos of them.
The first one is the son of our nephew and niece that they named Hunter and the second is our new grandson, Samuel.

Hunter

Samuel

These were both done in the same way on the same paper. The reason they look different is due to the different lighting used when photographing. I frame all these portraits the same as well. I use a cream coloured mat with a border of black (the paper is creamy coloured) and the frame is a thin shiny black.

Emma

Here is yet another portrait I did this year of the daughter of another niece and nephew. Her name is Emma.

I really enjoy doing these and they also serve to keep my drawing/shading skills up. It is also my way of praising God for the new life he gives us.
There is one more still on my drawing table.

Sketchbook Skool Session #2 "Seeing"

In the winter months at the beginning of this year, I had enrolled in Sketchbook Skool and I blogged about it here. When the second session started, I was really busy with my bookkeeping due to the Spring season and I decided not to enroll at that time. Now that summer is coming to a close (boohoo) I think I'll have more time to take the course and do the required homework so I've enrolled again. The second course is titled "Seeing". As with the first course, which was "Beginnings", there will be 6 different teachers from all over the world sharing their expertise and art with us via video feed on the computer. I really enjoyed the first course and it got me sketching again.

There is actually already a third course which is called "Story Telling". It also looks interesting and it may be one I'll enroll in as well in the future.

I think it is really great to be able to take courses in your own home, however, it is a bit isolating and I think at some point it would be nice to get out with others to sketch. I don't know a lot of people who are into that so it may be a bit difficult to plan. In the Beginnings Course I was doing some sketching at our Garden Centre and that might be the compromise; scheduling sketching sessions there will give me people contact as well as practice.

Below is the latest sketch done at the Garden Centre.

Progress on the Latest Acrylic Painting

I am working on many things at once at the moment so the acrylic painting is taking a little longer to complete. I am making some progress on it, however. When I work on it, I am transported back to the place the photo was taken and that's such a nice perk of painting landscapes. As soon as I begin to paint, I become relaxed and the worries and busyness of life falls away. It is definitely true that making art is therapeutic.

Below are some of the progressions from the last few weeks.

Middle ground trees are being developed.

Details in the rocks and the weedy bay are added.

I decided to go with the white canoes although you can see
 that with the reflections of the sky light and the water,
 they are not really white.

Fibre Content Show and Cottage Sketches

This weekend I'll be delivering my "Algonquin Rapids" Art Quilt to the Art Gallery of Burlington for it's Fibre Content Show which runs from Tuesday, September 9 to Tuesday September 16. This show is comprised of various fibre and textile art. If you are in the area, why not drop in there to see the show. Below are more details.

Here are also some sketches I did on my week at the cottage.

This sketch was done in the cottage owner's guest book.
I wrote about our stay in the middle of the two sketches.

View of the cottage from the dock.

Here it is painted.