Barn on Elmira Rd

Another from my short drive around the block (about 10km) last weekend.
This one is located on Elmira Rd.
A slightly different approach this time pen (sepia ink) and wash
Same paper as before

C&C always welcome :-)

It's been a while ..

Life happens even when you are not paying attention.
It's been months since I put pen and brush to paper, yes I have been struggling to track down my muse(s) but today I actually did something!

A small line and wash study of an unknown barn (mostly out of my head) on a sunny day ..

Now the ball is rolling lets see if I can keep it rolling !

Out of the closet ...

Not many people have seen my work , over the years it has pretty well been my immediate family.
This year I decided to 'come out of the closet' so to speak and I entered one of my recent watercolours into the Wellington Artists Gallery 'Juried Art Show'.
To my surprise it was accepted !

So that was that .. no more hiding in the closet.

Homage to A.J Casson - White Woods
and me (No I wasn't the waiter)

Scotsdale Farm

Niagara was too far (KW Urban Sketchers went there today) .. so I decided to stay closer to home and visit Scotsdale Farm nr Georgetown.

600 acres of trails and buildings, another hidden gem.

The old house is currently unoccupied ( boy, what a place to live!) I have sketched it before from a different angle but wanted to try and work on my limited perspective skills.

Saunders Waterford 140lb NOT 16" x 12"
Windsor and Newton watercolours
My handy dandy W&N field sketch brushes

Yes that was way to big for a sketch !!
No my perspective skills still need work

But I enjoyed myself and met several people who stopped by to chat and even admire my work :-)

Alan

Morning up on Hwy 6 North

I was going to start a 12 " x 16" painting but chickened out and created this in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook.
So it is about 5" x 8"  

A misty morning photographed as I drove north on Hwy 6 several years ago seemed like a perfect opportunity to try creating mist over the landscape.

Maybe I should try the 12 " x 16"

:-D

Winters Swimming Hole ..

Winter loves to go splashing about in the man made (or kid made) area that is a bit deeper because of all the rocks piled to stem the flow in the 'creek' that runs through our local park.
Unfortunately the mosquitoes love it too, so this was created from memory after we returned home.

Hand Bound Paper Co Travelogue 5 1/4" x 81/4" sketchbook

Pen, Ink and watercolour pencil washed with water.

Patrick was correct the Noodler's Black ink takes a long time to dry to permanence ;-(

Kissing Bridge.

Larger size here .. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajn_photography/19015248265/in/dateposted-public/

Yesterday I decided to visit the West Montrose covered bridge. I had an image in mind for a watercolour, so off I went.
It was a perfect morning, just warm enough to sit in the shade and cool enough to keep the bugs asleep.
I sat by the river for I don't know how long, as usually happens when one is drawing or sketching.
. I was brought back to the present time when a Mennonite Lady approached to see what I was doing, after all I was sitting on her property .. oops.

A short but genial conversation followed and I continued with my painting, here is the result.

A two page spread in my Moleskin Watercolour sketchbook given to me by Constance ..

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there :-)

Alan

Lilacs in the Spring

A few weeks ago my friend Vickie offered me some watercolour pencils.
Today I sat in the soft morning light on this holiday Monday and tried them out, after cutting the grass which was my chore for today...

This was taken with my cell phone and the low morning sun didn't help as it emphasized the grain of the paper..
Daler Rowney "The Langton" 140 lb Not 7" x 5"
Derwent Watercolour Pencils

Signs of Spring..

I was away in the wilds of Quebec this week, where winter still has a grip. Temperatures well below freezing (-14c) freezing rain and snow.

However back in balmy Guelph and while out walking Winter this morning I spied a cluster of snowdrops on a neighbours front lawn.

Using a bit, OK a lot, of artistic license and my memory I created this when I got home.

HandBook Paper co. Watercolour sketchbook 8" x 5.5"
Lexington Gray ink
and W&N watercolours

The greens got lost in the translation to interweb ('onest)

The Ruins III

Another rendition of the Ruins.

Close to the original sketch but on 'real' paper.

I think:
the Jack pine (the tall skinny one) has to go

the shadow colours are getting muddy

the background is too cluttered but I am not sure what to do with it..

Alan

Blue shadows and yellow sunshine

Recently I was chatting with my friend Constance, who likes to review my watercolour sketches. During the conversation she mentioned using blues for the shadows and yellows in the sun lit area's as base washes.

So in a quiet moment, which are rare now as we have a new-to-us 40lb Siberian Husky puppy who has to be watched constanlty ;-) ... but I digress...

In a quiet moment I sketched the arbor and the fast fading lilacs in our backyard to try out the technique..

A good place to start ..

Goldie Mill - Guelph - June 28 2014

A good place to start...
I have had my photography blog for several years but in recent times I have reignited my need to draw and paint. This caused a confilct with my photography so I have decided to give it its own space.
Why 'Happeninks'?
Well in trying to find a catchy name for this blog I used Wordoid, a nifty name generator.

I knew that the majority of posts would be pen and ink sketches so I used the tags 'pen' and 'ink' and hit generate and 'Happeninks' was born :-)

My visit to Goldie Mill in June was my first En plein air excursion, my coming out of the closet day so to speak, so it is fitting that a pen and ink sketch from that day should be the first post.

I hope you find inspiration here and return often to see where I have been, what I have been up to and where I am going with this...

Alan