Sketching tools

I bought a box of Rembrandt watercolour metal basic set pans when I first started my plein air sketching. I love it very much. Then I bought a larger one after I finished some colours.

After a while, I wanted to make my own one which can carry more colours. I bought a cosmetic box and stuck more colours. I love this box very much, very light. For cleaning water, I use the bill plastic bottle. It won't leak.

Later, I used more and more colours so I bought a larger watercolour palette and put those pans in it.

After some years, I went back to a smaller size. I put some pans into a pill box which I bought from the drug store. You can put a short brush or more colours in another size.

For the easel, I made my own one with a camera tripod. These things are very light-weighted. The stool was available from an outdoor camping equipment store.

Markham Ribfest

It was near Markham Civic Centre and it moved to Downtown Markham this year. The parking is better. The weather was pretty lovely. Lots of sunshine with the breeze. It was so windy, the vendors with the tents had to hold it or the tent would be blown away.

There were long lines in front of the rib booths. We tried the deep fried onions and it was so yummy! I wanted to drink the beer. Well, I didn't because I didn't want to go the portable washrooms so often.

Toronto Botanical Garden

I don't remember how many times I have been to the Toronto Botanical Garden. However, today was the first time I saw so many flowers blooming!

The peonies bloom everywhere. There is a path with flowers. Some fellow artists were painting there. I also took many pictures there.

Another plein air painting day of DVAC, we met at the cafe where I always wanted to paint. Today I didn't have enough time to do a bigger painting. I just did a quick watercolour sketch. It was very nice to see people chatting and enjoying such a great weekend here. Everyone was so content. There are so many negative things and comments around us everyday. It is important to see people smile and enjoy their live.

I love the pattern on the ground. It is the shadow from the big trees. It led us to the group of people.

Berczy Park

The only cat in the fountain

There is a very beautiful and lovely fountain in Berczy Park. There are 27 water-spewing dogs on the new fountain. I always drive by the park on Front Street. The park had a traditional fountain before. It was smaller than the new one. The city redesigned the park and rebuilt the fountain. It is now bigger and more interesting with putting the ceramic dogs on the fountain. All are looking up to the top of the fountain where you can find a bone! Another interesting design is that there is ONE ceramic cat sitting there, and the cat is not looking up to the bone. It seems to say, "I am not liked all of you, I am special, who cares about the bone!" Actually, the cat has a mission which is to project streams of water towards a golden bone at the top.

The new fountain is protected with a fence without water. A fountain is not a fountain without water! Hence, I made it up.

A little bit more about the park:
Berczy Park is a small triangle-shaped (3,606 square metres) park in downtown Toronto. It is next to the Gooderham building on Front Street. The park is named after William Berczy, an architect and surveyor, who worked with John Graves Simcoe, the first Governor of Upper Canada.

E.T. Seton Park

At this moment, Toronto's weather is so unpredictable. It rains few days a week and it's already in May. Sometimes it is pretty chilly tho. There was an BBQ event from the Volks club and William was going to join it. E.T. Seton is part of a chain of parks in the area forming a green forested corridor to hike along the Don River. It was a sunny sun and I could miss the chance to enjoy the sunshine. I was doing the sketches while Will was enjoying the gathering with friends. 

I picked a spot near the flyover, Overlea Blvd, where I can see a high rise behind it. In front of it, there are big trees. Under these trees are the picnic tables. There were kids playing the Sprite Scooters. I saw a mom and her daughter playing badminton. From the distance under a tree, a group of people set up a grill for BBQ. The park was full of laugh and smell of nice food from BBQ. And of course, mostly importantly, full of sunshine.

水彩畫班

未完成的作品

今次第一張的水彩畫是畫提子,學習如何掌握顏色與水的份量,以及時間的配合。這個是個很好的練習。同學們很用心，並嘗試運用不用的色彩。

完成作品

經過一星期的耕種，提子終於收割了！

Can you imagine that you really sketch the real warplanes?

It was an extraordinary experience to me to sketch the warplanes in the museum. Thank you Urban Sketchers Waterloo Region for organizing a sketching event at The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
The staff are very knowledgable! They know everything about the planes. You can sit in the pilot seat for some planes. The museum is not very large but it has a lot of information and history about the war and these planes. I learnt a lot from this visit. You also can book a flight to let these planes take you up to sky. Most of these planes still works very well.

Thank you Nick for telling us so many things about these planes.

I always want to draw the real planes and I am so happy that I did it!!

Sketching in Tokyo

Japan is a special country. People are very polite. The streets are very clean. "Simple and caring" is my impression of Japan. We stopped over in Tokyo for few days on the way to Toronto. I met some Tokyo sketchers there and had a fun afternoon. It was a bit chilly but nothing affects a Torontonian, really. We met at Omotesando Station then we decided to stay in the Spiral building where is quite and neat. There are glass walls in the building with chairs facing the glasses. We sat there and looked outside. People were rushing on the streets, coming in and out from the restaurants and shops. 

The buildings on Aoyama Dori opposite to the Spiral Building

We sat there and looked outside

Thank you Kumi and everyone!

Our sketches from Spiral Building

Then we went to a shopping area near Harajuku (原宿). I used a water-soluble pen to draw the line and then fill with watercolour. I touched some lines to make them bleed. It was quite interesting. We were supposed to spend an hour on the street OUTSIDE. However, it became quite cold and we decided to find a coffee shop to stay after about half an hour staying.

Our works on the street outside! 

Look at us! With the hot drink in our hand, we chatted and shared our works. Yumi and Atsuko sketched us when we were talking. We shared everything! Edgar is a talented artist who uses red wine to paint. I enjoyed very much the whole afternoon. The weather was cold but the sketchers in Tokyo were so welcoming and warm! Thank you!

Portraiture Exercise

It's fun to do the portraits but it's not easy. I have done the watercolour portraits but I want to study and explore more. Nothing you can do but practice, practice and practice!

I got a nice sketchbook and have decided to do the portraits everyday, hopefully!