Winter Sketching in my Car

When it's -21 degrees C. with some kind of wind chill and you still want to paint outside, you have no choice but to do it in your car.  I had it in my head that I wanted to do a couple of really great trees. There's a beautiful specimen tree right on Park Boulevard South which is particularly interesting in the winter time when you can see its skeletal form. I also have this thing about willows and wanted to go back to Beaumont Park to sketch the long row of willows that just happens to be right next door to my sister.

Now ... what to take to sketch? I decided on a BEE sketchbook that had black paper in it. I'm doing a pastel course on February 28 in Carmen and was looking for a good subject for a black painting for the group. I also brought along a tin of 5 or 6 Derwent sketching pencils that have really never been used. They had the usual lovely range of white, very dark, ochre and some reddish pencils. I also threw in a few oranges to red Derwent pencil crayons, thinking these were needed for the willows.

In both locations, I parked on the street where I had a clear view of my subject in front of me. In both cases, I was able to work for nearly 30 minutes; running the car for only a few minutes near the end. I worked without gloves. It helped that it was a bright, sunny day so there was some heat gain through the windows. This was so much fun! Making art really distracts you from feeling cold.

Working with soft, velvety pencils is very similar to working with soft pastels. I really enjoy making short, agitated strokes which is probably why I keep coming back to subjects that make good use of this type of mark making.

A beautiful tree on Park Boulevard South of Grant

My favorite stand of willows in Beaumont Park

Another Good Winter Painting Day

Today was another good day to be painting outdoors. It was just below 0 degrees with some wind; perhaps upwards of 30kmh. I had thought that it was going to be too windy but after being out for the morning, decided it was pleasant enough for painting.

I decided to park my car on an access road on West Taylor which butts right into Assiniboine Forest. My plein-air gear fits nicely into an Oakley backpack that I had bought just for this purpose. It was a short walk across Shaftesbury into the forest. I decided to not go far down the path as occasionally people will treat the forest as an off leash dog park which is not good for setting up an easel. I tried this last winter and found my tripod/easel seemed to be a magnet for dogs. I found a spot just off the path that didn't have a lot of snow on it and set myself up. I had a nice view of a larger tree with bands of grasses and clumps of grass poking up through the snow.

I had a 1/2 inch canvas which didn't work well on my new STRADA easel. It was really designed to hold boards rather than stretched canvas. Fortunately, I had a few clamps in my bag which I used to secure the canvas. I started with a very turpy wash of color; a little too wet as I had trouble trying to put more paint down. I did like the texture it created in places however. This was a little bit larger canvas which I was glad I had taken. It is difficult to work on too small a piece especially when you're trying to manhandle brushes with big mitts on.

There weren't a lot of people out in the forest today but one runner stopped to talk to me. She said she does do some painting outdoors; but not in the winter time. She does take her paints out on the water in her canoe. I should have asked her if she was interested in going out sometime since she probably lives in my neighborhood or not too far away.

I was happy with this quick painting. I think I will try and do just a bit more work on it in my studio. The grasses seem to need some more definition.

Assiniboine Forest - the view I selected to paint

A closeup of my STRADA box and painting

The painting as it stands after painting outdoors

Winter Painting

Winter Painting - January 20 and 23rd

We have had a much better winter in Winnipeg so far as compared to last winter. Through the xmas season and just the last few days, the weather has been unseasonably warm; hovering around 0 degrees.

I was scheduled to paint indoors today with a friend but due to a cancellation, I found myself wondering whether I should take advantage of the +4 degree temperature outside. I didn't have a car available so I decided to take my plein-air gear out in the backyard. I have a large berm in my backyard to shield us against the noise of the main CN line which runs right behind our house and yard. It gives  a great vantage point for the developing shopping, condo and restaurants going up behind our house.

In addition to the weather being great, I also have some new equipment. I have been painting using a Judson's pochade box which I enjoy using. To streamline the weight and size of my box, I ordered a new STRADA box in December. I had used it indoors 3 or 4 times but until this week, hadn't taken it out in the "field". The first session outdoors was at Assiniboine Park on Tuesday morning.
Today's session felt much more comfortable than the previous session on Tuesday. I believe that's due to the difference in temperature. It was at least 5 degrees warmer and above 0 which meant I could take my mitts off once and awhile to do things like the setup of my tripod/easel.  My toes still became cold today but still not as cold as the Tuesday session. I have not yet tried to stand on a mat; I've heard that that helps keep your feet warm.

Condo Construction - Friday morning




 

Today's subject was very appealing to me. It was of the condo development which is underway. You can see the condo off to the right with the green Hydro boxes in front. One of the cranes is suggested in the distance. I liked the bands of snow and grass which were in front of the condo construction. The sky looks a bit dark but this probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was painting on a very dark support; one of my many painted with Venetian red.  I had very few colors on my palette; white, transparent red oxide, burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and cad yellow.


Setup at Assiniboine Park - Tuesday afternoon

Assiniboine Park Duck Pond - Tuesday afternoon

A good view of my STRADA easel - Tuesday afternoon



Capturing the last fall color

When I saw what the temperatures were going to be this week, I called on my friend Diane to come plein-air painting with me. Today it was projected to be 20 degrees c. with no wind; a perfect day to paint. My goal for this painting session was just to paint the fall colors. Not having slept well, I didn't feel ambitious enough to drag out my oil box so watercolors and pastels came only.

After picking Diane up at 9:00am, we headed to St. Vital Park. We had hardly started down the road, when I spied an open reflection of the far river bank in the water. It was absolutely breathtaking because the water was like glass; reflecting the scene in its full color detail.

We went down to the bank and I did two watercolor sketches; one facing the trees behind with the sun coming through the trees and one facing the beautiful reflections in the water. It was a little chilly but I had dressed for it with my Costco down jacket and gloves. Only my big toe was cold. After approximately an hour and a half, we drove around to the duck pond which now has a beautiful new shelter which we had lunch in. Enjoying the warmth, we decided to stay inside and sketch a tree right outside the shelter.

This was a spectacular day and makes you wonder why anyone would want to paint in their studio!

Beautiful pattern of sun and shadows through trees

Diane sketching the above scene

Shirley about to paint what's behind her

Rather abstract pattern of light and shadow

My attempt to capture the glorious fall reflections

A particularly nice shaped tree 

Glorious Fall Painting in Headingley

Tuesday was a really warm and pleasant day. My first thought was to paint in Assiniboine Park; someplace close by. As I drove through the park, I just didn't see anything that really grabbed me. This is probably due to the familiarity of the park. New or less frequently seen locations really help to inspire. I got back out on Roblin and headed out to Headingley and right through the town until I hit the gravel road. There is some low wetland there but a fairly new posted NO TRESPASSING sign turned me off of stopping there so I headed back to the first intersection into Headlingley. Here, there was a small area to pull off onto and it was right beside a walking/cycling path that took you down past the old railway bridge.

I had intended to do a small pastel but decided to start slowly and do a watercolor sketch of the old bridge. Only once cyclist passed while I was working on this sketch; nice quiet location to paint. After finishing this sketch, I walked back to the car and hauled my rolling backpack out that contained my pastel painting gear. I set myself up in the shade beside the walking path and decided on a nice pair of trees right at the intersection with a stop sign.

I did the initial drawing with charcoal. I don't normally use charcoal but the trunks were quite dark so I decided it wouldn't be something I would have to work hard to cover. I really liked the composition of this little pastel. I've "zoomed" in close to take in only these two trees and there's the nice curve of the road on the left hand side. I also like the contrast of the fairly dark oak tree on the left with the brilliant gold tree.

This was a satisfying and very relaxing outing; probably due to the lack of traffic in the area and the absolutely gorgeous day. One thing I am finding increasingly frustrating is that unless you go to a park, it is hard to find a place to pull off and paint. It's not a good idea to park yourself on private property or on the side of the road so it really limits your options as to what you do. This makes it difficult to paint all those really scenes that I see as I drive down highways and roads.

Watercolor sketch of old rail bridge at Headingley

Pastel sketch of Headingley intersection

From St. Boniface to Transcona

It really is nice to think that you have a whole day in front of you when painting or sketching. The Charleswood Art Group was meeting at the St. Boniface Cathedral today.  I decided to start in this area and then head to Transcona to paint. I brought both my watercolor sketching and pastel painting art supplies.

Last year I had completed a nice little oil of the St. Boniface Cathedral so I was looking forward to again visiting this site. I had admired the St. Boniface Museum building last year and hadn't done anything with this so I decided to start there. There was a nice picnic table in front of the museum to set myself up on. This is a fairly large old wood building with a lovely center windowed porch and green wood shutters at every window. I chose to just sketch the front porch area.

My second subject was a view of hi-lited tombstones leading to the front of the St. Boniface cathedral. I didn't spend time with this subject so the cathedral itself is very loosely suggested. The rest of the gang decided to go for lunch and I decided I wanted to keep going. Just as I was leaving, the bells at the cathedral began ringing; announcing 12 o'clock noon.

My next and last stop was out to Transcona. After having a quick lunch at a Tim Horton's, I headed down Dugald road and right on the perimeter highway where I took the first right to an access road that winds around and goes past the cemetery. As I proceeded around the curve, I notice the field full of those lovely wild purple flowers in random mounds. There was a place to pull off the road which made it easy to stop and sit myself down on the grass to do a small pastel painting. I was running short of time as I had agreed to meet two daughters for a coffee so rather than set up my easel and travel adaptor, I held the small 5x7 Ampersand pastel board in my hand to paint. I had brought my Unison landscape set, my new Diane Townsend blue set and a few Unison dark pastels in another small box. I had a lot of fun doing this last little painting and think it would scale up well to a larger pastel painting.

It was a good day ... still wanting to get out and find a wonderful sunset!

Pastel of field in Transcona

Sketch of St. Boniface Museum

Tombstones in front of St. Boniface Cathedral

A Day at the Beach

Summer just isn't summer if you don't spend a day at the beach. I had wanted to get to the beach for some time now and finally this past Monday, it seemed to be the perfect day to go. I had two sketching ideas in mind; the obvious kind of sketching you would do on a beach and canola fields. I love the bright chartreuse green of canola fields.

Our first stop was Whytewold, where I was hoping to sketch the dock that's so beautiful with it's spindly supports.  Unfortunately, the water was high enough to cover a lot of the supports. Also, you can see that they have brought in chunks of rock to try and preserve the shore but they aren't at all natural looking. Also, there is no place to park right at this spot. Cottagers would hate me but I would rather see no one allowed to live directly on water and leave it open for everyone to enjoy the view.

After Whytewold, Winnipeg Beach was next on the itinerary. There weren't a lot of people on the beach but what caught my eye was the water tower which is on the south end of the beach. When sitting on the benches, the water tower was not in view so I plunked myself down on the sand and did a watercolor sketch of the tower. I really liked this view with it's strong diagonals of the beach and boardwalk set against the horizontals of the trees and their shadows and the narrow spit of land on the left.

Being almost close to lunch time, we headed for Gimli where we enjoyed fantastic battered pickerel and French fries ... just delicious. Following lunch, we set up our lawn chairs in the shade next to the beach where I had a view of people doing what people do at the beach. It's always hard to sketch people. The easiest ones to sketch are the ones that are sitting or lying down rather than standing. Sketching was followed by a little walk aound town to see what was new and to stop in the must stop spots like Tergeson's.

About 3:30pm, we left Gimli and as we started down the highway, it occurred to me that I hadn't been out on Willow Island for years and years. Bill had never been so I took us down the narrow peninsula known as Willow Island. It was just starting to spit a bit but I did stop and take some photos. I liked the marsh area on the south side of Willow Island where people docked their boats. This was the most inspiring material I gathered on this little trip and resulted in a pastel painting of the scene which I show below in a nearly finished state. On Willow Island, again I was struck by the difficulty in getting to the shore on the north side as it was built up with cottage/home after home lined along the shore.

As we continued home down number 9 highway, I'm still on the lookout for a chance to get in those canola fields. When I was almost to Petersfield, there it was ... the perfect canola field, fringed with lovely Manitoba ditches full of a variety of grasses and weeds full of colors and textures. From the car, I did a quick watercolor sketch. This will probably be done up in oil on the same size board.

A very successful and enjoyable painting expedition!

Willow Island Marsh done in pastel on black

Sketching a the beach at Gimli

Canola fields near Petersfield