from life

Sketchbook – Kaua’i

| kirsti

At long last! A blog post! Work took over my life for a very long time but I managed a Hawaiian getaway in the middle of things (but didn’t completely get away from work while I was there). These are a few non-work related things I got up to:

Sketchbook ~ National Botanical Gardens 1

National Tropical Botanical Garden Gift Shop, Kaua’i | March, 2012 | watercolour in Hand•Book trav•e•logue journal, 140 lb, 3.5″x11″

I haven’t painted for ages and it felt like I was starting all over again, but I’ve still got 950 bad paintings in me so I’m not too worried at this point. It was just nice to finally get outside and have a break from creating stuff on screens.
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Sketchbook – Bowen Island Garden

| kirsti

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Bowen Island Garden | July 18, 2010 | watercolour on Arches cold pressed, 140 lb, 7″x10″

This year, I volunteered during the PPP tour (Bowen Island’s garden tour) with my mum. I was stationed in a lovely English style garden on Adams road, directing garden-visitor traffic toward one of the many little paths that looped through the two acre property. This was my view.

Sketchbook – Sooke Potholes

| kirsti

Sooke Potholes, June 26, 2010

Sooke Potholes, June 26, 2010 | watercolour on Arches hot pressed, 140 lb, 7″x10″

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to continue these little sketches – I’m very rusty. Still got about 980 bad paintings to go before I do a good one. This one was done last week on the way home from a bike ride up the Galloping Goose trail to the Sooke Potholes on Vancouver Island.

Sketchbook – Capilano Canyon

| kirsti

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Capilano Canyon 1 | watercolour on arches cold pressed 7″x10″

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Capilano Canyon Rocks | watercolour on arches hot pressed 7″x10″

I did a little bit of work on these back at home without the distraction of the scenery. I darkened the water a little in both pieces, and did a couple of additions to foliage in the background of the rocks painting. I find I fall in love too much with some of the things in the actual scenery and they don’t alway add to the painting. So to come home and do a bit of touching up in the studio is sometimes helpful – I can concentrate on eliminating things that don’t serve a purpose and accentuating nice little paint accidents. But things can sometimes go the other way and get overworked. And there’s a danger of losing the essence of a sketch done in the field. These are just sketches, in the end. Not meant to be anything but exercises. If I have to paint 200 bad paintings to finally get a good one, I’ve got about 180 of these to go.

The canyon was about the coolest place to be yesterday. While I painted an odd mist would drift down the river, covering up the reflections, and bring cool air with it. Then it would disappear again and the temperature would rise slightly. People came down to the water to jump off the rocks and play with their dogs in the freezing water. And then they’d leave and the surface of the water would get glassy once again.

Sketchbook – Calgary road trip sketches

| kirsti

Sketches from a trip back in June.

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Yellow House, Nelson, BC | watercolour on arches hot pressed 140lb 7″x10″

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Calgary, AB | watercolour on arches cold pressed 140lb 7″x10″

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Nose Hill, Calgary, AB | watercolour on arches hot pressed 140lb 7″x10″

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Nose Hill, Calgary, AB | watercolour on arches cold pressed 140lb 7″x10″

Sketchbook ~ Hood Point

| kirsti

Stump at Hood Point | watercolour & pencil

Spent a couple of sunny hours down at the beach yesterday, sketching with a friend. The resulting painting wasn’t very successful, but it was the start of a good exercise.The beach is full of driftwood, including this huge stump, so there is endless subject matter.