Everyday Sketches

Our massive, old, unusual Manitoba Maple – with so much character, and rot at the fork of it’s two big branches – finally collapsed to the ground last week. One side with a great thump, then the other eased itself down with only a sigh.

We had been monitoring the crack in it’s fork, so we knew the end was nigh.

The first sketch was done a day before the thump, standing close to this massive trunk (that measures over 100 inches in circumference) . The second sketch was done yesterday as I sat and mourned the loss of this distinct feature in our garden.

The arborist will leave a good chunk of trunk, then, with the tree removed (cut for firewood and chipped for mulch) we can plan what to plant in this spot.

Both sketches done with emotion, ink and wash.

The garden is offering forth a variety of goodies this week. I had to do a quick sketch of this nice assortment before we gobbled it up.

The shapes of clouds, the light from a setting sun, and the shadows cast across the fields were distinct and dramatic the other evening. But the light changes quickly. Fortunately I had loosely drawn the shapes that caught my eye, then relying partly on my memory, painted quickly what had been there only seconds before.

A few sketches of things growing, and finished growing, in the summer garden.

Next door we have hay bales and a clear view of this odd structure now that much of the hedgerow has been cut down. Just as I was starting to paint this my cat Harrley jumped into my lap and insisted on staying. Fortunately he didn’t paw at the paper.

I was relieved to see the local farm stand open recently. I feel fortunate to have this nearby, just down the road from my auto repair place. When I had to wait for my car recently I had time to sketch this. I’m not sure what happened to the “ce” on their sign.

As I was trying to sketch this I was wishing I had completed Shari Blaukopf’s course on light, colour and shadow. Next shadow attempt will be better.

Today is the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere, specifically at 5:44pm when the sun reaches its highest and northernmost point in the sky, marking the start of summer for this part of the globe. And this is the last sketch in this series (and last page of the sketchbook devoted to it). This sketching theme has been a good focus during these recent exceptional months in our human existence. What lies ahead is uncertain, but hopefully, as Sam Cooke sang many years ago, “a change is gonna come” — on many fronts.

Happy Solstice greetings from my home to yours.

The variety of greens growing in my raised beds are doing very well. And soon the Scarlett Runner Beans will be climbing the cedar obelisk. As I was sketching, a gorgeous bird landed on the top of the obelisk – but the top was not in my sketch. This lovely Waxwing stayed long enough for me to observe it’s most distinctive features (Batman-like mask and tuft of head feathers) to include on the page.

Although technically it is still Spring, it does feel like summer this week. The Summer Solstice is just days away. So this sketching project is drawing to a close. Good thing, because the sketchbook I started for this is almost full.

I have several rhubarb plants growing along one side of the back deck. I let it go to flower and the result is rather dramatic with the plumes of alien looking flower tops reaching high above the masses of enormous leaves.

Porch life

I love my front porch – from Spring through Autumn. So does my cat Harrley. The chair is a vintage garbage find from decades ago. It makes for a fun and challenging object to draw. It is a remarkably comfortable seat.